Hello, When we were little kids, our dad used to take us to Terminal Island to show us the old areas where they used to live and play. It was a new thing for us. The huge fish canneries with the products we used to eat, Star-Kist Tuna, etc. were the largest of the industries located here. The boat building, the shipping companies and even the federal prison had some history for So Cal. As teens, we had our supplies for hot rod building just down the street in the local junkyards for car parts. But, some places had larger yards that made the small local places shudder in comparison. That was in Terminal Island. The photo shows late 50s, perhaps early 1960 squashed cars. The company yards had the separate areas that had motors and transmissions in one place. They were not recyclable or able to be squashed into tiny cubes to be sent overseas to make into our modern what ever metal products we use. So, this was well known to the young hot rod groups. It made midnight visits a common place. Ha! But, these places became well known in the later, “Terminator” movies as one of the most horrific battles took place at a large plant in the same area as those early junkyards. The building was just off of the terminal island side of the tall lift bridge exit. The robot melts and then comes back to do more battle was terrifying and unfair. But, that is a Hollywood movie plot in action… ha! Jnaki Our friend with his 34 Ford coupe had an Oldsmobile motor and LaSalle transmission was a primary user of the midnight raids. The rear ends, transmissions, and empty motor parts were all set aside, different from the squashed metal frame cars. The big piles were located on the main street leading to the canneries and then later on, the tall green, Vincent Thomas Suspension Bridge. It was time for quiet, speed wrenches silently grinding in the middle of the night. Directly in the moon light. YRMV Hello, Well, first off, you did not live in the Westside of Long Beach. Two, you weren't there at the time period, three, it was fun late at night and four, it was a right of passage for us. During this time period, the security was not as relevant as it would be today. We are not bragging, we are not hoodlums, but it was something "kids" did late at night. Plus, it was not an everyday thing or even weekly. Random visits between darkened streets was the scenario. The local yards had barbed wire on top and were locked. The isolated Terminal Island complex was very dark, overgrown with weeds near the empty roads and as I said before, lax in security. Probably, because no one thought of doing such a thing way out in the dark, empty spaces. Jnaki I am sure the same thing got played all over the USA in random fields or junkyards back then. Going down a lonely country road with little to no street lights obviously leads to further investigation. I am not advocating such activity, but it was one of those things we did as kids. As we got older, it was crazy and we knew it was not right. So, it stopped. Plus, the yards increased security and put on more lights over the whole complex. We had jobs and now could afford the various parts and gears, so it was history. YRMV
The Jalopy Journal
