The Ford Barn - View Single Post

tiger.1000 · 09-08-2019, 01:49 PM

As a teenager in the 60's my Saturday morning would be spent at W.C.Jones scrap yard in Waltham Cross, Herts (UK).....I would crawl over piles of pre -war cars. Numerous Buicks,occasional Packard....left by return Yanks from WW2.... a good running 1940's Buick would cost £15.00 and a minter ten pounds more. When we had finished with them they would invariably end up at Harringay stock car circuit.

Other treasures included a number of pre war Aston Martins, a Delage, various obscure makes from the 1920's.

Our MOT testing system introduced in 1963 (?) cleared all the old "bangers" from the roads and a banger was a car that wouldn't pass the test and the more exotic they were ,the more expensive they cost to repair so their fate was sealed.

The expression "classic car" just didn't exist in the sixties so any piece of exotica was considered a liability. 32 Fords were two a penny and cheaper to replace it than repair it.Pre war V8 Fords did well at the stock car circuits.

We bought our first house in 1973 for a little over £7000. That same week advertised in Motor Sport magazine was a Ferrari GTO.....sold not long ago for £20,000,000

I don't think the wife would have appreciated a tent

A visit to You Tube will find a video of Jones's scrapyard in Waltham Cross;exhibiting their new car crusher.....first victim is a cream coloured American car......big Buick or similar

I don't know how to get the video on to The Barn but if anyone can it makes interesting watching !

09-08-2019, 01:49 PM	#10
tiger.1000 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Hertford (UK) Posts: 905	Re: Junk yards of the '40s '50s As a teenager in the 60's my Saturday morning would be spent at W.C.Jones scrap yard in Waltham Cross, Herts (UK).....I would crawl over piles of pre -war cars. Numerous Buicks,occasional Packard....left by return Yanks from WW2.... a good running 1940's Buick would cost £15.00 and a minter ten pounds more. When we had finished with them they would invariably end up at Harringay stock car circuit. Other treasures included a number of pre war Aston Martins, a Delage, various obscure makes from the 1920's. Our MOT testing system introduced in 1963 (?) cleared all the old "bangers" from the roads and a banger was a car that wouldn't pass the test and the more exotic they were ,the more expensive they cost to repair so their fate was sealed. The expression "classic car" just didn't exist in the sixties so any piece of exotica was considered a liability. 32 Fords were two a penny and cheaper to replace it than repair it.Pre war V8 Fords did well at the stock car circuits. We bought our first house in 1973 for a little over £7000. That same week advertised in Motor Sport magazine was a Ferrari GTO.....sold not long ago for £20,000,000 I don't think the wife would have appreciated a tent A visit to You Tube will find a video of Jones's scrapyard in Waltham Cross;exhibiting their new car crusher.....first victim is a cream coloured American car......big Buick or similar I don't know how to get the video on to The Barn but if anyone can it makes interesting watching !