Mid-MO junkyard finds

"tetsu_no_usagi" (tetsunousagi)
04/13/2014 at 13:14 • Filed to: None

There is a junkyard on the way to my mom's church, and since I have to taxi her there and back upwards of 3 times a week, I've been meaning to swing in and wander around, see what interesting cars I can find. They tend to put their nicer cars out front, the ones I'm assuming aren't missing major parts of their drivetrains and with just a little TLC, be gotten back onto the road. This week I saw some cars out front that made me take 5 minutes, whip out my phone, and take some damn pictures.

First up is this little red beauty:

Yep, that's a '95 Honda CRX del Sol. I love these little cars, being the actual successor to the ever popular CRX line, and unlike the abortion that is the "sport hybrid" (what the hell does that mean?!) CRZ, these were small, sporty, and fun to drive.

And of course, what is that yellow in the background?

A very yellow Geo Tracker, with yellow interior. I didn't see much more than that, sadly, but if you're into these tiny little offroaders, this looked to be in decent condition (except for the back cover and overhead bar, of course).

Back to the hotness, here's the VIN plate on the del Sol.

Per the Wiki page, JHM = Japanese built Honda; EG2 = B16A3, 160hp VTEC engine; the next number, 1, means it's a 5 speed manual; 17 is meaningless to us; the first 'S' mean's it's a '95, and the second 'S' means it was manufactured in Honda's Suzuka facility. If this has the stock engine, this model, the B16 equipped VTEC, not the D series equipped Si, was the one you want. What's the difference between the two? About 40 horses in favor of the VTEC, mostly due to variably valve timing.

And look at that interior!

Okay, it's really hard to see the interior, and there's some ugly guy in the reflection in the window, but that interior was nice: red and black seats in good kit, 5 speed row-your-own stick, the dash looked good... this was, for the most part a car in excellent shape. Very tempted to go back this week during business hours and see if it still drives and how much they want for it.

These three were also noteworthy:

Something American from the '50's in the back (next to a Ranger missing its headlights), a Fiat 124 Sport Spider, and a very dirty Merc-B Sedan.

No, I didn't pay enough attention to either the '50's Detroit steel (the '50's is too early for my tastes, sorry), or the Merc to find out exactly what either of them are, but that Merc is definitely DIRTY.

As Mike Musto would say, "patina".

The Fiat is the most interesting car on the lot, just look at this artwork all over it:

If you didn't bother to zoom in and read all of that, this was a rolling billboard for a bar in Panama City Beach, FL, called the Big Kahuna, "Home of the Best Burgers, and the Worst Bartender". Doing a search for the address on Google Maps, it looks like the Big Kahuna has shut down and been replaced by a scooter/golf cart rental place. Which does make sense, as looking at the license plate, this little beaut was last legal to drive in Alabama, and no, no idea how it ended up in the middle of Missouri at a wrecker's yard. Not sure on the story, but it's so pretty and probably cheap enough to be immediately ready for either 24 Hours of LeMons or ChumpCar, leave the paint like it is on the outside, and slap in a rollcage and a race seat (plus get it some new tires and you know, make it run, just minor things).

And as bad as the roof seals on that soft top looked, I was amazed at how good the interior looked:

Also a manual. Bad tires, a little surface rust around the wheel wells... this could be someone's weekend project, or crapcan racer. If I go back to test drive the del Sol, I'll jump in this one and see if it at least turns over.

DISCUSSION (9)

jkm7680 > tetsu_no_usagi
04/13/2014 at 13:17

Yeah, I'd want to restore the Fiat.

Deffinatly go back and check on the Del Sol though! It looks nice from first glances.

Big Bubba Ray > tetsu_no_usagi
04/13/2014 at 13:32

Where in Missouri is this?

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > tetsu_no_usagi
04/13/2014 at 13:55

Where in Missouri? I grew up in Jeff City - my parents are still there, and my brother's in Eldon.

tetsu_no_usagi > Big Bubba Ray
04/13/2014 at 15:21

Columbia, at A1 Auto Recyclers .

tetsu_no_usagi > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
04/13/2014 at 15:21

Columbia, at A1 Auto Recyclers .

tetsu_no_usagi > jkm7680
04/13/2014 at 15:22

A little scuffed on the front end. I'm almost afraid to pop the hood and see what some wannabe midwest ricer has done on a shoestring budget. Or I could get lucky and it just needs some new plugs and wires, and all of its fluids drained and replaced with new.

jkm7680 > tetsu_no_usagi
04/13/2014 at 15:31

Yeah, I'd be afraid of Fried Rice under the hood.

Drakkon- Most Glorious and Upright Person of Genius > tetsu_no_usagi
04/21/2014 at 18:30

I want that Fiat. Wow, would that piss off the neighbors.

tetsu_no_usagi > Drakkon- Most Glorious and Upright Person of Genius
04/21/2014 at 18:37

I never did manage to get out and see if any of the above ran or how much they were asking for them, but driving back past it not more than 4 or 5 days after posting this, I noticed the Fiat, the Mercs, and the Ranger were all gone. That '50's old school are still there, and so are the del Sol and the Tracker, but the rolling billboard? Gone to live life somewhere else. I lie to myself and say that someone who saw this post dropped everything to rush in and rescue it, but it was too noticeable, I just happened to take pics of it just before someone finally pulled the trigger on their dream project.