For years I drove up to Bakersfield and looked at stuff Don't ask me where these were or have gone to it's been years. Trust me...... not much moves there Please feel free to add to this list of stuff and even post your own favorite town Lets give the kids something to chase after There is a 193? Diamond T model 80 truck out in a field northwest of town A 50's Caddy custom pickup in a body shop west of town There are two 37 Hudson Pickups and a couple 20's Chevy trucks in a nice widows backyard in town 1949 Olds 88 fastback coupe at an oil tools company Several Chevy AD long vans Ex Tel co The back half of an Teens-20's REA Van made into a trailer east of town north of the tracks 1939 Chevy pick up in a junk yard off old 99 The town is small but wonderfully rich in content Are the old guys still meeting at the Bowling Alley to talk cars? Good hunting Aaron,hoppy,and the rest of you kids Get there before Bobby pisses em off with $25 offers Things you think about sittin in Poland
I grew up there and my friends and I were mainly into muscle cars during highschool, but we all kinds of stuff, and knew people that had lots of stuff to buy and sell , it was a good town to like old cars, and this was only in the early 90's not too long ago.
You called it Jim, I usta live there and one day a young paster that lived next to me, came home towing a cherry 3 winder. No motor or trans, but full fendered and looking good. I ask him what he was going to do with it and he told me it was going to be a project for the youth in his church. I could tell by his eyes it was something he wanted. This was in Taft Cal. back in the late 60's. I have often wondered what happened to that coupe. It was a CHERRY.--TV
My wife's whole family is in BK. I grew up in Orange County but they were all from there. Now that we moved to WA my wife wants to move back to cali, she wants BK so she can be close to all her sisters. I have considered it, even drove down to look at houses a few month back. If you have not been to The Bake in a few years, you would not even recognize it. I go every year and it is crazy how it has grown. I used to find good rust out there. (mostly gas pumps) there isn't much left out there. The corp owned farms are there but most mom and pop farms and older homes on large lots (big enough to store old crap) have been sold and developed. I know where there are a lot of things down there. My brother-in-law is a highway patrol officer and works that area. All those old roads are state hwys and he patrols them. He sends me pictures of stuff, then I tell him what to offer. It is working pretty well, but stuff is harder and harder to come by. If you want to hunt, try Taft or Shafter, the areas outside BK. There has been little development out that way. (he has scouted that area, there are some cool finds) I have a super score waiting down there... I have only seen a small amount, never seen the garages. If we can ever get the old man and his son on the same page I will drive down to get it. (I'll need multiple trips in a 24 ft trailer!) Old guy did not want to sell, the son (who is like 60) wanted to sell.... now the old guy told us to "get it all outof here, you can HAVE all of it" but when I showed up last Nov the son was hemming and hawing, the old man was out hunting for several weeks. Ah, the thrill of the hunt! I know there are old Fords there but the real score is in the signs... 100's of porcelain signs from all industries (mostly gas) dating back to the 1920's. (anyone know how close BK was to the Gilmore company in LA????) Yep, old man has Gilmore stuff that has not seen the light of day since he stuffed it in the barn back in the 40's! The funny part is how we found this guy... but I can't tell the story until after I get the stuff. (rust hunters know what I am talking about... can't give too much info!) But... if you are in So Cal and want to hunt for old stuff, try the smaller towns between BK and Fresno. I know there is still stuff there. Bring binoculars though, you need to scan the areas that can't be easily seen from the roads. Also, go to small bars and ask around. Those are my tips... at least the ones I will share.
Bako is HUGE now. I have a friend that lives over there and yes, there is still alot of cars out in fields or in back yards. Great town to live in if you can stand the heat.
Last time I was there I couldnt believe how it had filled it, I had friends in Rosedale and it was jam packed with houses all the way to the college.
Hey Bluto, How's poland? I'll give ya $25 bucks for it. haha A few years ago, I found my 59 Red Fish boat in Bako. Still lot's of good stuff there.
Actually there is considerably less in Bake-O these days... the scrap metal went through the roof about four years ago to ship to China and the boneyards went right down the line and crushed all kinds of stuff. I saw at least three yards FULL of cool stuff get cleared away and bulldozed clean. Tri-fives and solid muscle cars were worth more in a lump than parted out.... it was sad.
you forget with Squeak up there Kiwi's have been shipping some real nice tin home for a bunch of years now...
The junk yard in pumpkin center...gone to new housing. There is a house in rosedale that has old car stuff and old truck stuff that is surrounded by new housing now. It is only a matter of time before he loses his stuff. there are still quite a few old cars/trucks in the town though just sitting waiting for someone to get them back on the road. In Taft there is quite a bit of older metal still. When I bought my 52 I ran an ad in the local paper just to see what kind of response I would get...wanted 49-54 chevy car. call with details. I expected one or two calls. I was getting calls for weeks. I knew there were a few of them in town but did not think a town so small would have so many. on a side note there is a 52ish vw bus that I bought as a kid that I wanted to restore. The guy that bought it off me has done nothing to it. It sits in his driveway now. I would not mind having it to fix up with my kid for him to have as a ride to haul his drums in.
The Jalopy Journal
