Life After Death: Northwestern Edition: Part VI: Where Old Trucks Go To Die

To be honest, the selection of American trucks bored me almost to death. Comprised mostly of '73-'91 GM Trucks, and rows and rows of later '70s Fords, the truck section as a whole was lacking. The Mopar trucks were equally boring. I did take some pictures though, but I didn't take a lot.

First up is this International Travelall; introduced in 1953 as a Suburban fighter, the last-generation Travelalls bowed as 1969 models and came with 220 and 240 cu. in straight sixes, or for the person who thought a six wouldn't do, a 401 V8 was offered. This example was the only one I spotted in the yard, which is sad, because it appeared relatively straight.



Next up on the International front is this generation pickup. Unfortunately, I don't know much about these Internationals but I do know they look good. Unfortunately, like most International products, they are quite rare, even in drier climates such as Idaho.

Jeep J-Series are quirky trucks; well, okay, not really quirky, but I love the styling. They're so much cooler looking than Ford, Chevy, and Dodge pickups. Coming in two and four wheel drive, the Jeep J-Series and Honcho were awesome trucks. Like a lot of earlier Mopar and AMC products though, these earlier Jeep were prone to rust. I don't think I've seen many clean to decent ones lately; not in Minnesota anyway. Out here, though, these guys were out in droves. Not surprisingly, then, this Idaho junkyard had about 10 of them in various states of disrepair.

Okay, so isn't that special, and I don't know why I'm even reporting on this. These 1970s Dodges are good looking trucks that last along time. Even in Minnesota, I still see these in decent shape from time-to-time. However, the ones here are not rust free like these examples were. Big sellers in their day, Dodge D Series proved to be as popular, or even more popular than the new Ram is today. This yard had Club Cabs, Power Wagons, Adventurers and a few D-100s to pick from. The sight of this generation Dodge trucks sitting in a graveyard saddens me. They're approaching classic status, and they're not as common as Fords of the era.

This is the view in the Ford section. Unfortunately, most of the trucks in here were bland, boring, everyday stuff that I see back home. You'd think that out west, you'd see some older trucks, but as was not the case. Most of the sunbaked Fords are off the post 1970s vintage. Shame, really, though its kind of expected since most of these Fords, along with their GM kin are still rolling, due to massive parts supply and plenty of running examples running around.
Maybe this summer when I go back, things will be different. Or maybe not. I'll find out soon though. Keep watching this spot. :)