Exploring Arizona- abandoned, wrecked cars & trucks, old hiways, etc

what was the spt coupe worth ?

 

I might be able to do the 16th. How many miles do youthink we'll cover, Applekrate?

East valley Phx area guys: who can patch a hole in a fender? I did a crap job and my neighbor who was going to do it passed away.

 

walking/hiking miles? probably less than 5 but, it just depends how it goes, what we find, etc.
driving miles? 200-300 round trip depending on where you start. I am in Maricopa, others are all on the west side of Phoenix and Surprise.

 

Went for another hike down a different wash this weekend. Found a few more carcasses. Ford, Merc?? One that I have no idea, a Chevy and an Olds.

 

I see the remains of a 38 or 39 Ford coupe and what looks to be the same year Willys sedan.

 

Not exactly Arizona but Texas is pretty close. These images are from the winter of 1961, somewhere around Terlingua Texas and Big Bend National Park if I recall correctly. The stuff was scattered all over the place. Just your basic black and white film.

 

37-38 Willys sedan

 

thought so!

 

Steve - Got your PM but your mailbox is full. I'll be around on Friday; I get out of work about 1:30. Give me a call, phone number is still the same as in the PM.

 

Regarding the Willys Sedan.
Exact year is a '37...no drip rail. and no center hood hinge.
g-willys

 

Regarding the Willys Sedan.
Exact year is a '37...no drip rail. and no center hood hinge.
g-willys

 

What a grat thread boys!
Jay

 

I found this plaque awhile back after a nice person at the Gila county museum told me about it. It was known as the million dollar hiway 1919-1922. It is still on the side of the road on hwy 60 91 years later!




We will be driving by there again in a few hours on my way to our 12th exploratory hike/adventure

 

Im taking off with about 10 buddys going Jeepin/camping for 3 days up north around verde and prescott, maybe I will be able to post some cool stuff monday...crossing my fingers...

 

Wow, yesterday we had a stellar day exploring in the Salt River Canyon area. We explored another abondoned mining operation hike along steep cliffs and explored more mines. Then, a few of us found potentially the largest mine yet! It just kept going into the mountain. We decided to break off and explore further next time. I did not get any pics but, several others did. Hoping to get some pics posted.
Another outstanding adventure. We were all pretty pooped and rightly so! But, well worth it. Sadly, we did not discover any vehicles on this trip.
On the way home, my GTO ate an axle bearing so, i did not get home until after 3am.
More info coming.

Here is a link to a dozen or so pics from yesterday- http://www.meetup.com/ac-christians-176/photos/13209592/

We are now planning our next adventure on March 2

 

Here are some more pics of our last exploratory hike/adventure. This first pic shows 5 of the 8 of us who attended. This crane type structure is on the side of a cliff and must have been used to lift ore from the cliff openings below. There is also a few buildings in the immediate area so, this was some sort of main area.



This pics is of me and one of my dogs deep inside a mine. This part of the adventure was later in the day and most of the group were too pooped to keep going. Todd and myself decided to continue to explore this mine that I found last time. Todd had found the foundations and other clues higher up the side of the mountain and I was expecting something big. We were not disapointed. We were not able to find out how deep this mine was. It just kept going and going into the mountain! It seems to be in excellent condition structurally compared to some of the other mines but, still creepy going in that deep. On our next trip, we plan to investigate this mine completely.



This mine was on the side of a steep cliff face. It appears a ledge was cut out to access this area where there are 2 mines. This are is pretty remote and I guess no one has been here in many decades. The views are incredible but, you need to be very careful as it drops right off. Some of our group opted not to go here but, most of us did and we are glad we did. Since we were there, we tooka break and had a soda and some food. If would be a neat place to camp out or to see storm but, is a bit scary to get to.



Todd and I found this late in the day at this large mine we were exploring for the first time. At first we thought of it as graffitti. Then, we realized a few things. 1st. we doubted anyone had been here in many decades. 2nd, it is written in scrip. That has not been common for many decades either. We cannot be sure, but, guessing this was the location of an on the job death and was put up as a warning and/or tribute to other miners. There is a skull and crossbones at the lower left and the mans name and is dated 1936. We will return to this mine soon and investigate further.
All in all, this was a very fullfilling adventure hike/exploration. We covered a few area we had failed to get to in the past and it answered some of our questions. We are really getting to know the area.

 

these are in colorado from what i was told back in the day guys would by a car for $50 go to the top of the mountain and put a brink on the gas pedal and see how far down the mountain it would go


1955 chevy pretty sure it was a convertible to

 

I did a little (free) searching through familysearch.org for George Beckstead; there were no listings for anyone by that name dying in 1936, but there were records for a George E. Beckstead in Gila, Arizona, born in 1910 and died in 1979. He would have been 26 then; maybe your guy?

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=47850952

 

heres a few pics of a 37 willys sedan we just rescued a few months back from bullhead Arizona, still had donkeys running down the street!! was rolled on its roof and full of bullet holes but very solid.(thanks BenD for bringing it home) last pic is here on the new chassis.

 

Well, I think I spent about 4 hours on this thread. Awesome!! I"m headed your way in a week for a bunch of shows..but I'll tell ya, I sure wish I was young enough to do a hike with you guys. I'll just have to do it the easy way thru your pics. Thanks for posting.
My wife's uncle runs a 300 square mile ranch on blm land west of Phoenix..been in the family since his grandpa back in the 1800's. I'll ask him about anything that may be of interest to you guys out there. Just a side note..they also have problems with thieves with cutting torches.
We usually need to make the trip from Amarillo out and back as quick as posible so we can spend our time in Phoenix,but I was thinking about route 60 all the way this time..any thoughts. same mileage, but probably 4 or 5 hours longer than I 40.

 

I guess the answer is whether you like adventure or not. as for me, I always prefer to take secondary roads/hwys and go through little towns for that taste of yesteryear.
While you travel on I-40 westbound.. when you get into the state about 25 miles, there will be a weigh station and then you will see a red road sign for St Johns that is defaced with graffitti. I am working on getting that sign restored by the way. Right after that sign is the Sanders exit - hwy 191 south.
Take that exit south into St Johns. Once you get there and the hiway turns to the right to head east, you you will see my friends salvage yard, his name is Ferris and he is into Model As and Ts big time. He also have a large collection of early iron. If you have time, say hello. Then, I would head south further on 191. You will drive right past my acreage near Lyman lake on your way to Springerville. Once in Springerville/Eagar. You will turn right at the light where the McDonalds is. A few miles more heading south and then , make the right at the light where the Arbys is. That hiway will take you across beautiful high country, snow, pines and more...into Lakeside, then, Show Low. When you get into Show Low follow the signs fr hwy 60 towards Globe. The next 90 or so miles is simply beautiful rugged country. This section of the hiway was built in the 1930s and will take you through the Salt River Canyon. This is the area where most of our hikes have been so far. Once in Globe, there is the Gila county museum to see if interested. Then, through Miami towards Superior through one of the few hiway tunnles in the state. From there, you will end up in the east valley of the greater Phoenix area. I have made this drive 100s of times and I cannot wait to do it again. Enjoy and do not be concerned about your schedule. You will want to stop many time to take pics at least.

There is also a great wrecking yard in the Springerville area to visit if interested. I bought their last GTO in that yard in 1994. If you have any other questions concerning this part of Az, let me know. Many others reading this are familiar with most of Az too.
Our group has scheduled our next adventure hike/exploration for Saturday, March 2

 

Thanks for the info and your efforts. Very interesting. The mystery continues......

 

Applekrate I wish it wasn't such a long drive from Tucson to Phoenix ( and then wherever you guys go to ) because I would love to get out there with you guys and go into some of those mine camps!


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Applekrate and the band of adventure seekers, I just want to say thank you again for sharing your trips into the wild. We just got back from a couple days at Death Valley and I can even more so appreciate your enthusiasm for what you do. We could only venture as far as the car would let us but the landscape was just unbelievable.

If not for very poor health I would join you but in the meantime I will have to live vicariously through your words and the lens of the camera. I really look forward to more of your mine adventure, that script work is really interesting and in typical HAMB fashion some folks are already hunting for answers. Great stuff.

Stay safe but keep enjoying what you do.

 

Applekrate..thanks for the driving suggestion....sounds like an incredible drive, and an excellent compomise from taking 60 all the way thru NM. I'm gonna try and talk my wife into it..I love long roadtrips, she doesn't.
I wish I was young enough to do the March 2 hike with ya'll. Looking forward to my plans for that day anyway...3 local small shows and the pavilion cruise!!

 

I thought Mustangs were forbidden on HAMB haha!

 

thank you so much...

 

Steve, great reading this thread. What are tyhe plans for "PONTIAC HEAVEN" races and car show this year?

 

Thanks for the nice words.

The 15th annual Pontiac Heaven and 12th annual Nostalgic Show & GO! weekend is in planning. More to be announced soon.
My site, Az Pontiac Power group and facebook page will get the news first.

www.pontiacheaven.org thanks too for your interest.

 

very cool thread! Thanks