In the mid 1980's I went to a salvage yard in Mascoutah, IL with my friend Rob and his older brother Bill. With a freshly issued Illinois driver's license, Bill had started driving a 1964 Chevrolet 4 door sedan with a 283 cubic inch V-8 that his parents had received as a wedding present about 15 years prior. The car, white with a blue interior, had seen better days, but had been parked in the garage for the last few years. We used to play in the car for fun and actually used it as the Batmobile in a Batman movie we made around 1989. Bill had started to "fix up" the car with no real prior knowledge about cars. Somehow, he found out about this salvage yard and thought he could find some parts. The salvage yard was overgrown with trees, but had many cars from the 1950's, 1960's, and 1970's. I remember that the guys working there were all rough and tumble with attitudes to match. There were hubcaps hanging all over the office. We asked about parts for a 1964 Chevrolet and they directed us to where they were. We bought a replacement rear door and maybe some other parts and headed home.
A while back, after some research, I finally tracked down this salvage yard again and decided to stop in for a look. I came across the owner, Dan. He told me that he had been here since the early 1950's. He said that they had a fire a few years ago and lost a building and some of the cars. He had parts stored to restore some older cars and lost much of those parts in the fire. Finally, he asked if he could help me and I asked if he had any late 1960's Mercury Cougars around the yard. He said that he did have one left, but that most everyone had gone for the day and I would have to come back another time if I wanted to see the car.
Today, I went back to the salvage yard in search of that Cougar. I walked in and found one of Dan's sons behind the desk. I told him that I had been here before and asked if I could see the Cougar. He talked to his dad and they started asking what I wanted. I told them nothing specific, but just wanted to see if there was anything on or around the car that I could use. Finally, they relented and had one of the old guys that worked there take me back to the car. This guy was dressed in a dark blue automotive type work outfit with a scraggly beard and hair and horned rimmed glasses. He unlocked the gate to the back part of the yard and he got in the car and we drove back down a slightly rocked road. On either side of the road still buried in the trees were cars from the past. I saw a 1967 Thunderbird, some old Chevy and Ford trucks, a 1964 Chevrolet wagon, a late 1950's Ford, a whole row of Corvairs, and many more classics. I always find these trips fun and sad at the same time. All of these cars have stories and reasons why they are there. These hulks just rotting out there could either be put back on the road or save other cars that need to be saved. They just need the right person to come along.
All the way in the back of the yard next to a mid 1950's Cadillac sat a 1968 Mercury Cougar (VIN# 8F91F507828). This car is red in color and is basically a shell. There is no engine or transmission, no interior, no dash, no driver side front fender, no front end in front of the radiator support, and no trunk lid. I could not get the data off the door tag since that was long gone. The windshield was still intact, but the back glass had been broken out. There were many miscellaneous parts lying around inside the car. I found blue parts, yellow parts but the car I was looking at was red. There was a white passenger side front fender on the car as well as a blue hood sitting over the empty engine compartment. Later, Dan told me that at one time had several early Cougars, but most were sent to the crusher or bought. He said that they have always piled miscellaneous pieces of the cars inside the same make and model car.
I did find some salvageable parts to buy lying around inside the car and the trunk. I found a bumper guard, headlight trim ring, driver side quarter glass assembly, headlight panel (2), and passenger side dash panel. I asked the old guy if they would sell me these parts and he said yes. We loaded up what I had found and headed back to the front of the yard. I asked the old guy how long he had been working there and he replied, "Since 1971." He's been working there longer than I've been alive!
We got back to the front and I talked to Dan. I showed him the parts that I found and asked him how much he would charge. He told me that I could have everything for $50 + tax. I could have had a rear bumper for $35 too, but figured that I didn't really need it at this point. I asked if they would sell the entire shell as well. He said that it depended on if I needed a title. He said that they had lost many titles in the fire and it was a hassle to apply for a burned title. They would sell it if I didn't need a title. He also mentioned that another guy would come by periodically to look at the car and scavenge some parts. He had asked them not to crush it just in case. I noted this and I paid, we said our goodbyes and I went on my way.
Maybe you can find some hard to find parts for your classic vehicle at:
Dan's Auto Body & Towing
10201 State Route 177
Mascoutah, IL 62258
618-566-2161
