Junkyard Jewels NI Easter Monday 2018

[Datsuncog]

Unhappy and anonymous Triumph Herald saloon, alongside a wingless but locally-plated Standard Super 10 (VZ1419 - Tyrone office registered, but again not showing on the DVLA system) cosying up to the Minor Trav in this particular corner of sadness.

WOOD.

[lesapandre]

Kind of 'Hark the Herald Mangy Thing'. Westminster does not look too rusty upfront. Complex monocoque may be hiding a lot of horrors tho.  

[Datsuncog]

There was now a bit of space to get a proper pic of the remaining wrecks in this line-up:

So we've a Standard Vanguard III / Ensign, with its eye poked out: SZ6312 (Co. Down registered - nada for this one too on the DVLA site)

Some roof patina, anyway.

Been a while since this one last drove anywhere, I'd guess.

[Datsuncog]

Blind Morris Oxford gaping - 837HFC. it's a long way from its place of first registration - also Oxford.

[Datsuncog]

Big Rover P4, also potentially in use until fairly recently - CPJ900B

Again, didn't really bother my arse to get a good shot of this one. Sorry, Rover fans.

[lesapandre]

Further along the line - a somewhat patina'd Vauxhall Viva HB, still wearing a fairly local (Armagh office) registration: 1021XZ

 

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Given their massive appetite for rust, this one actually looked surprisingly sound (comparatively), given how little paint is left on it.

 

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Alongside, a Standard 8. No separate pic for it, but seems pretty far gone...

 

I also missed getting a proper snap of the Bedford HA van (in what looks a bit like British Airways livery?) to the right of the Standard - in my defence, there was the autojumbler's Bedford CF in the way.

The 8 is a later one. The early ones did not have an opening boot, the luggage went in through the back door via fold-down rear seats. Money saver - some 50's cars had extreme mingebag versions. I think you could even buy a Ford popular with one wiper and one rear light.

[Datsuncog]

Some assorted panels and wheels in the rain, outside the covered Autojumble section, completed this area's chod quotient...

and so off I went to have a sniff at what was to be found down the other side of the yard in ZONE 3

Oh, now...

[Datsuncog]

So right up at the top corner, then - a sad-looking ADO16 4-dr, probably Morris, which is so unbelievably dangerous that it's had to have its wings clipped and be kept behind bars.

Behind are an A35 in green...

...and a more recent-looking red Mini, neither of which I managed to snap properly.

Rampant BMC rot a-go-go, and sadly no registrations fully visible in the pics to assist me when grubbing around for any history - though the partially-visible acrylic PXI plate on the A35 suggests it may have been another plate-rape victim of the early 1990s.

[Datsuncog]

Beside the little 1100 and friends was another BMC rarity - this Morris J2 camper, locally registered as 6699GZ (Belfast plate, no details on DVLA but showing as a June 1965 registration on car-checker sites) though fatally compromised in the structural rigidity department.

The interior was actively shudder-inducing. At some stage in this vehicle's life (I'll hazard a guess that it was the 1970s) someone had the bright idea to fit the interior out with Fun Fur. It's now all rotted and falling off, and reminds me of the unpleasant time I had to move a roadkill fox that had been languishing for some months...

Floor is GORN, as is the engine.

The rear compartment was heaped with car-related junk. Like many old campers, looks like this one has spent its twilight years doubling up as an ad-hoc storage shed... looks to be some interesting vehicular stuff in there, mind.

Sad to see a classic camper like this scrapped, but it appears to be well beyond earthly assistance.

[Datsuncog]

Downwind from the camper, a somewhat scabacious Mk1 Ford Consul - UNK882

Originally registered in Hertfordshire, this 1955 car with the little 1508 ohv unit last put in an appearance on the DVLA database in 1987 - though, due to administrative quirks, it should be noted that the car may well have been registered with DVLNI after 1987 for subsequent use on Northern Irish roads, but details of untaxed NI cars were not carried over to the combined database when DVLNI was absorbed into DVLA in 2014.

So, long story short, I don't know when this Ford last saw the road.

STANCE YO.

[Datsuncog]

Next up - a Hillman Minx Mark VIII 2-dr hardtop, to my untrained eye.

[EDIT: Minx Californian, I'm told - thanks!]

The interior wasn't really up to much. I'd say it's been a while since this has been on the road.

 

No identifying marks here, I'm afraid.

Note well the pair of blue Mini doors stashed down the side; you'll see more of what these came off later.

[Datsuncog]

MOAR Minxing adventures next, this time in Super Minx flavour.

Real, real gone. Annoyingly, the raised-digit plate's not fully visible in the pic but appears to be possibly an Irish registration - with the first digit missing, I can only make out *049.

[Datsuncog]

Sportsing now, with the perenial EmGeeBeeGeeTee/Sherpa Sports... CHG44V

Seemingly a Preston native, this one actually didn't look all that bad - although, with a DVLA registration date of 1989 against a manufacture date of 1980, I'm wondering whether this is an import that's been RHD converted?

[lesapandre]

The Minx  2dr was known as the Californian. Presumably referring to this California....in Norfolk

[Datsuncog]

Next along, a sad-looking little Ford Anglia 100E with no visible plate.

The tinworm's fairly roared through this one, I'm afraid.

Interior is a spartan as you might expect on a '50s Ford offering...

… but also comes with its own small jumble sale. Which is nice.

[LightBulbFun]

any Invacars hiding in this magnificent junk yard?

 

whats the story behind this junk yard? is it one that specialises in vintage cars, or just one that closed down in 1973 or something?

 

(on the Morris Van, according to some sleuthing iv done it was registered on the 15th June 1964)

[Datsuncog]

Moving along... a significantly more rotten Sherpa Sport, which looks like someone's made an effort to dicky it up not so very long ago, but now finds itself in requirement of a sympathetic restoration by a true marque enthusiast.

It's banjaxed. Goodnight, FJJ488J.

Looks like it's worn a few different colours since its first registration in London, but I think it's on its last blowover now.

[Datsuncog]

On 4/3/2019 at 1:55 PM, LightBulbFun said:

any Invacars hiding in this magnificent junk yard?

whats the story behind this junk yard? is it one that specialises in vintage cars, or just one that closed down in 1973 or something?

(on the Morris Van, according to some sleuthing iv done it was registered on the 15th June 1964)

Sadly, no Invacars! I definitely would have been straight over to your thread with it, had I known of one here!

Yes, it's a specialist classic breaker out in the wilds of Co. Tyrone. The first I heard of it was back in the mid-1990s (though it may well have been going for much longer than that) - Junkyard Jewels used to advertise in the Classic Cars section of Autotrader (back in the days when it only existed as a print publication), listing a number of older cars they were currently breaking for spares, and advising that they would happily buy up any old wrecks, either for parts or for re-selling if they seemed not totally unsalvageable.

Although I had a huge interest in scrapyards, it was miles away from me and I didn't even know whether it was a 'proper' scrapyard, or just a unit in an industrial complex. Back in those heady days, there were still quite a few local yards with interesting cars that I used to enjoy poking around...

So it was only through this thread posted by T_A_D_T_S last year that I even learned they were still going, and where exactly the yard is.

It seems that the yard's not technically open to the public, presumably to comply with safety legislation - there's a customer office at the front of the premises, and storage workshops to the rear with shelves and shelves of trim and lamp clusters and instruments and any other good-quality salvaged items which are for sale. However once a year, on Easter Monday, they host a small autojumble event and, well, if there's a bit of a gap in the fence that separates the complete cars for sale and the storage area for the cars being stripped, and customers choose to slip through for a closer look... well now, that's not the yard's responsibility, is it now? We're all grown-ups...

It seems they still buy up old cars, some of which are broken up, some which are re-sold complete. From the look of them, many of these cars have probably been left to rot in gardens and farmyards for many a long year before ending up here, hence the extreme patina to some - although some shells at the very back of the compound have small trees growing through them, so they've been there for a wee while...

Thanks for the info on the Morris J2, I'll update the post accordingly!

[Datsuncog]

A real tragedy, this one:

Apparently this Allegro was enthusiast owned and in really nice original condition only a few short years ago, only to be sold, stripped of its engine and the rest dispatched to the scrapper - according to a guy I got talking to while surveying its stripped carcass with an air of despondency.

Of course, he could have been full of horseshit. Large amounts of wob around the rear screen suggest some rot problems. even if the engine bay is remarkably clean.

Registration of 79-D-303 (I think) suggests an original Irish car, although re-registered in the 1986-on ROI number plate format.

Woody interior (and driving lamps) also suggests PLAH version to me.

All competely ruined now, of course [Sadface].

[LightBulbFun]

Sadly, no Invacars! I definitely would have been straight over to your thread with it, had I known of one here!

 

Yes, it's a specialist classic breaker out in the wilds of Co. Tyrone. The first I heard of it was back in the mid-1990s (though it may well have been going for much longer than that) - Junkyard Jewels used to advertise in the Classic Cars section of Autotrader (back in the days when it only existed as a print publication), listing a number of older cars they were currently breaking for spares, and advising that they would happily buy up any old wrecks, either for parts or for re-selling if they seemed not totally unsalvageable.

 

Although I had a huge interest in scrapyards, it was miles away from me and I didn't even know whether it was a 'proper' scrapyard, or just a unit in an industrial complex. Back in those heady days, there were still quite a few local yards with interesting cars that I used to enjoy poking around...

 

So it was only through this thread posted by T_A_D_T_S last year that I even learned they were still going, and where exactly the yard is.

 

It seems that the yard's not technically open to the public, presumably to comply with safety legislation - there's a customer office at the front of the premises, and storage workshops to the rear with shelves and shelves of trim and lamp clusters and instruments and any other good-quality salvaged items which are for sale. However once a year, on Easter Monday, they host a small autojumble event and, well, if there's a bit of a gap in the fence that separates the complete cars for sale and the storage area for the cars being stripped, and customers choose to slip through for a closer look... well now, that's not the yard's responsibility, is it now? We're all grown-ups...

 

It seems they still buy up old cars, some of which are broken up, some which are re-sold complete. From the look of them, many of these cars have probably been left to rot in gardens and farmyards for many a long year before ending up here, hence the extreme patina to some - although some shells at the very back of the compound have small trees growing through them, so they've been there for a wee while...

 

Thanks for the info on the Morris J2, I'll update the post accordingly!

 

 

ahh interesting/cool thanks for the info

 

I find that with NI registered cars, if they dont show up on the DVLA

 

you can shove them into various 3rd party Car checker type websites, and they will happily pop up

 

https://totalcarcheck.co.uk/FreeCheck?regno=6699GZ

 

https://cazana.com/uk/car/6699GZ

 

heres a couple examples with the Morris van for example

 

its how I was able to pull up info on the NI Model 70s

 

(on the J van, on the Number plate to VIN website I have on hand it specifically comes back as "Model: J-SERIES CAMPER" so I wonder if its been a Camper its entire life?)

[Datsuncog]

Concluding this run, an Austin A35 van having a bit of a 'whoops' moment with its sill:

Co. Down registration number of 3765IJ is not on the DVLA system.

Brave restoration, mebbe? There can't be that many of these still around, surely.

[Datsuncog]

Meanwhile, facing this particular row, there's another few items:

I'm not 100% sure what the chassis in the foreground belongs to, but I'm sure you can find similar in the eBay Tat thread at north of two and a half bags. MG TD, at a wild guess?

This Midget does not look to be in a good place. 

Again, an incomplete plate - though ***6374 suggests an NI registration, while the pressed black & silvers indicate that this was still having fun at classic rallies as someone's cherished toy not so very long ago.

Well, perhaps it is a complete project...

 

[Datsuncog]

Squaring up to the arse-end of the Midget, another interesting BMC beast...

A Wolseley 16/60. Not sure why it appears to have a Peugeot alloy wheel attached - possibly being prepped by a banger racer before realising that it was too soft to be usable?

It is pretty far gone, in fairness.

Interior: mank central.

Boot: not much better.

Retro-tastic tiger print seat covers seem to be putting in an appearance, but on such a wet and horrible day I wasn't going to be prodding them. Eurgh.

No registration plates visible on this one, either.

[Datsuncog]

Locking horns with the Wolseley is its Rootes arch-rival - a Humber Sceptre Mk 2.

Similarly developed as an upmarket version of its bread-and-butter family saloon, the Mk2 Sceptre appeared in 1965 with a twin-carb setup and extra lights and chrome to set it apart from the cooking Hillman Super Minx version, but was displaced by the Arrow-range Sceptre in 1967.

No plate visible.

There also appears to be some sort of 1940s/50s Austin behind the Humber - maybe an A70 Hampshire? It was pretty wedged in and I don't think I have a specific photograph of it, though here's some close-ups from the background of other pics, in case that helps to identify it...

[Datsuncog]

As well as a badly-wobbed wing, this next-door Riley One-Point-Five reveals...

...when pick-up conversions go wrong.

Maybe. Actually, probably not. I'm sure there was an excellent reason for slicing the back of the roof off this one, though.

Again, plateless and identity-less.

But plenty of moss in the engine bay, so... swings and roundabouts.

[Datsuncog]

I didn't take any pics of the just-visible MGF (P285RGN, a September '96 car last taxed and MOT'd in early 2014), because hey, we're not here for '90s MGs...

Instead, beside the MG we have this... a Sunbeam Talbot 90

This might not look much any more, but I understand they were the Subaru Impreza WRX of the late 1940s/early 1950s, being fast family transport with exceptional rally pedigree (Stirling Moss drove 'em to podium finishes in the Monte Carlo and Alpine rallies, amongst others). Also in common with the Impreza: pillarless(ish) rear door glass.

[lesapandre]

Just to add. It's either an Austin Hereford or the smaller Somerset behind the Humber. It looks bigger so I would guess a Hereford. Lord knows the logic of making your upmarket car the same as your smaller model - though they shared the same doors.  Easy way to tell them apart is the Hereford had oval chrome vents in the front wings. 

 

The Humber was intended to a be Sunbeam originally but Rootes changed their mind. It would have been a car aimed at the Sunbeam Talbot 90 market.

 

The 90 is criminallly undervalued given its pedigree and capability. Quite nice to drive. You would not see a contemporary XK Jaguar for example left in a yard. But hey-ho no accounting for taste!

 

The Austin was built like a battleship so might be saveable. It used a 2.2 4-pot  I recall - also used in the Austin-Healey 100.

 

Right at the back is a Standard Vanguard III estate too. The kind of no nonsense car that would have appealed to a local farmer or vet etc. So two Vanguards in one place.

[Datsuncog]

Another unusual one, here - a Bedford Beagle, as indicated by the stripe and brightwork.

Although clearly based on the Bedford HA van, these were marketed as the estate version of the Viva HA saloon, and were built to order through Vauxhall dealers by Martin Walter Ltd with a higher standard of interior appointments than the lowly van version.

The Walter-built Beagle was kept on the books alongside the HB Viva estate, once it came along, and was only officially replaced by the Viva HC estate in 1973 - although the HA van had the last laugh (sorry), outliving all its Viva successors until production finally drew to a halt in 1983. 

I'm not 100% sure what that blue car beside the Beagle is - a Z-series MG Magnette, perhaps?

[lesapandre]

Yup a Magnette - you can just see the number plate - if it was the equivalent Wolseley it would be up on the boot.  A Nuffield car - BMC replaced it with a Farina type. A big mis-step as it was still selling well - a kind of baby Jaguar. 

 

The crazy world of British cars. Make your prestigious car look identical to your bread-and-butter model and discontinue your sports models and replace them with slightly warmed over family models no one much wanted.

 

The Magnette and 90 had no equivalent replacements. Bit like if VW stopped building the Golf and put the Golf badge on a Dacia.

 

The nearest equivalent to a Magnette replacement was the Riley 1.5 (of which there was a Wolseley version) but BMC did not make a MG Magnette version which would have been the equivalent to the earlier car. Doh!

 

And then go bankrupt...and repeat...

[Amishtat]

Following with interest!