All day yesterday David and I have been wrenching on that beat-to-hell 375,000-mile NYC taxi (more on that to come, I promise!) which involved a bit of running around the middle part of the state looking for parts. While we were driving back from Siler City (home to the Matterhorn and Pompidou Center, if my research is correct) where we had sourced a steering rack and alternator and window switch block, we passed by an extremely-smashed pile of twisted metal that once was a car. Of course, David was drawn to the scent of decay and the rust particles in the air, so we pulled over so he could get a lick, as his body needs rust.
The car was profoundly wrecked. So much so that I wondered why it had ended up here, next to what appeared to be a small residential street, likely on the corner of someone’s yard, as opposed to in a scrapyard.
But here it was, slowly making its way back into the earth from whence it came, likely having been there for decades. The chrome looked surprisingly good, though!
As with any good very-smashed car, my goal was to see if I could, somehow, identify it. Because that’s fun! And since I believe fun is an inexhaustible resource, able to to be shared and spread around like a miasma, I’m sharing it with you! Let’s see if you can identify this heap that was once a car!
I’ll tell you now with some degree of vainglory that I did figure out what this was while I was there, and I confirmed it. So see if you can figure it out, and I’ll give you a link to the answer below! Here’s another pic:
This is the angle that gave it away for me. So let’s zoom in closer:
I bet after seeing this, at least some of you will be able to ID this car. This was an important car, from a company you definitely know. It’s not some exotic Borgward or Wartburg or something like that, as exciting as that would be.
If it helps, here’s an interior shot:
I wonder how long this thing has been out here? Had we landed on the moon? Did watergate happen? Was it possible to play Galaga? Was grunge used to refer to music, or just the stuff that grows behind your toilet? Were we on AOL? Who knows?
Okay, want to see the answer? And keep in mind, the year may be off a bit, but it’s close enough. Click here to see!
Did you figure it out? Be honest! Or, barring that, at least make your lie interesting!
If there is even part of an engine attached somewhere, this guy could get it running….
https://youtu.be/E0dzUHm4Bhg?si=teJ7-UPQb9IkFdE9
1974 Yugo?
From the front end I thought it was ca. 49-53 Mopar but the tail light gave it to me immediately.
Going with ’49-’50 Ford.
Long before the preformative trend of leaving stuffed garbage and flowers at the site of a roadside tragedy, it was common in some rural areas to leave the crashed car at the scene as a stark reminder of what careless driving and or drunk driving could lead to. I recall a road in Northern Ontario with a nasty bend it it. There were two decaying carcasses right next to each other. A local explained they were from two separate crashes, one from the sixties and the other early seventies. Apparently both were full of drunk young partiers. There were no survivors.
I’m not sure what this particular vehicle is. The pictures look like images of some Tesla wrecks I have seen in recent years, but there is a distinct lack of visible incineration.
I came close. I knew it was a Ford and I pulled 1953 out of my hat.
51 Ford also has a different dashboard, so 49-50
How many inches thick is that chrome? Seventy-five years later and it still looks fresh.
Chrome before OSHA and the EPA. “We poison our employees but the chrome will look great forever”
Probably wasn’t even plated. I bet is solid all the way through. 🙂
Looks like an car, probably old, definitely smashed.
Was driven by…a guy.
I wasn’t sure from the front, but there’s no mistaking that 1949-1950 Ford taillight (not 1951 because there’s no sign of chrome on the bulge). If the trunklid were present, the handle/trim would allow me to be even more precise. That’s the best I can do right now without consulting any references.
These Fords are fresh on my mind because someone just uploaded an early ’50s film to IMCDb with a few of them seen from the rear.
Yep
1950 Ford Tudor. The crease in the bumper ending in a pointed prow is the first giveaway. Second is the ovoid horizontal taillights.
It’s clearly a Fordor.
Not a Thridor?
You can try using the history feature on Google street view to see if it was there when they started covering that area. I think the oldest coverage they have is 2007 but that’s only in a few areas. You may only be able to go back a decade or so, but it would be something!
Whatever it is, David probably bought it. Guessing he and Mrs. T are expecting and he has 9 months to get it roadworthy for the drive home with his newborn wrenching buddy.
Yep, I knew it was that one.
I’ve been planting these rusty hulks all over the place in DT adjacent areas hoping to score some DNA and clone an army of wrenching maniacs with unquenchable work ethics and an immunity to the health and safety garbage that slows down all the legal workers these days.
Obviously I can’t do this in California as people immediately move in to them or start renting them out as quirky tourist accommodation.
You said to make the lie interesting.
2019 Nissan Altima?