So I tried to post in the message board but would not let me? anyway, I'm off today and wanna take pops to a cl***ic car junk yard. Anyone know of any within an hr or so from chicago?
An hour from Chicago and you're still in the suburbs! There are no such yards anywhere near Chicago that I know of. The best you can hope for is one with an old car or 2 buried in the back. If you find such a yard, let us know! If you do a search on here you'll find this topic has come up before and you'll find some suggestions.
Old parts cars? SURE! First, follow the yellow brick road. When you get to the gate ask for the prince. He'll let you ride a chariot pulled by a Unicorn, which will deliver you to the "Field of Dreams" car lot. Take what you want, but use what you take.
Vintage junk yards are being legislated out of existence. I don't even know of any in southern Illinois anymore. There may be a few left another 100 miles south, into Mo.
I think it's less of an issue of legislation as it is about diminishing returns. I mean, how many parts form rusted 4 doors do you have to sell to pay the taxes on a huge yard? Property taxes within an hour of Chicago are still pretty high. The last yard I went to was 4-5 hours away in central WI. Lots of great stuff, but it was all 4 doors and not a single piece of sheet metal was slavageable. They crushed out a few years ago. Jack's Auto Ranch in WI may still be in business.
Sad to say but true. The vintage junk yard I grew up in was just plain shut down. The old guy who had it didn't need much to live on and didn't mind the cars rusting away but even with lady bird Johnson's privacy fence he was har***ed into "cleaning" the place up.
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