The Junkyard Discoveries of Martin Supply in Windsor, Colorado

It had been at its present location for over half a century, and this was reflected in the yard's incredible stock. Unlike most of the other vintage salvage yards we've been to, this place also had a thriving scrap metal recycling business.

So while the front of the premises was a hive of activity, with giant machines crushing aluminum cans and old washing machines, the rear of the yard was a sea of tranquillity, with only the sound of wild rabbits running around the 1000-plus classic cars. Since our visit, the yard has apparently been sold to Andersen’s Sales & Salvage. In 2021 it was “closed for renovation and clean-up”, but has apparently since reopened. The words “clean-up” sound ominous. We just hope they weren’t too thorough… Here's what we found:

Cast your eyes over this fantastic vista. It took us four hours to explore this place thoroughly, and looking closely at this picture we can see plenty of classics we missed. Although there were a handful of project cars on site, the bulk of the stock were parts vehicles, with many having been thoroughly picked over. Look at what’s left of the orange car at the front right, whose carcass has been stripped bare. If you can identify what it is, then you’re definitely better than us..

You can just make out the snow-capped Rockies behind this 1954 Pontiac hardtop. The Rocky Mountains, which of course feature on Colorado’s license plates, stretch 3000 miles from British Columbia in the north to New Mexico in the south, and pass within 30 miles or so of this yard.

The European section of most vintage American salvage yards normally consists of a handful of VW Bugs, Buses and Karmann Ghias, and maybe the odd MG or Triumph Spitfire. But Martin Supply had slightly more of a selection, including this desirable but tatty Volvo P1800. Built between 1961 and 1972, Volvo’s stylish coupe was a big success, acting as eye-candy in the showrooms, and helping to raise the profile of its boxy sedans. The USA was its largest export market.

In 1950 Plymouth was the USA’s third most popular brand (behind Chevy (#1) and  Ford (#2)), a position it had held for the last 18 years. Of the 611,000 cars it built that year, 234,000 were top-of-the-range Special Deluxe four-door sedans like this.

The Willys Jeep Station Wagon, which first hit the roads in 1946, is arguably the world's first popular SUV. It sold well, and remained in production for an impressive 19 years. Those distinctive tail lights identify the car on the right as a 1949 example, while we’re going to guess that the home-hacked pickup on the left was built in 1953.

We love it when salvage yards scribble the year on their cars, as it makes our lives so much easier. Like it says on the rear fender, this Jaguar XJS HE is a 1983 model, one of 2705 sold in the US that year. The Colorado climate has clearly been kind to it, and it’s almost completely rust-free. But somebody’s made off with the ‘XJ-S’ badge on the left, remnants of which you can just about make out.

During its 20-year production run, 84,104 of these coupes were sold worldwide. 

1940 Chevrolets had a fresh new look, but the front-opening 'alligator' hood that characterised the cars is missing from this unloved example. We had the fright of our lives when something moved suddenly under the car. Fearing a snake we made a hasty retreat, only to see a rabbit hop out from under the front fender. The place was teeming with them.

You would think that this solid two-tone 1949 Hudson would have been sold as a restoration project, but instead the decision was made to part it out. It has already lost its rear bumper, taillights and trim, and unless someone closes those windows, the interior will soon be of little use. But this car still retains a certain echo of its former glory…

It's rare to find one classic Thunderbird in a salvage yard these days, yet we counted no less than seven of them in Martin's. Nearest the camera we have a 1969 model, followed by a 1970, and a 1961 behind that. We’re not sure what year the furthest from the camera is though.

There’s a welcome splash of color in the European section of the yard. In this instance it’s a 1975 Fiat 124 Sport Spider, although the Fiat X/19 behind it is equally as bright. Between 1966 and 1981, some 200,000 of the Pininfarina-designed 124s were built, 75% of which were sold in the USA. Although the car is beyond an economical restoration, it certainly has plenty of great parts left.

Here’s something a bit different, a 1984 Dodge Rampage Prospector. The truck, which was designed to take on the Volkswagen Rabbit Sportruck, was based on the popular Dodge Omni/Plymouth Horizon. The truck's handling was pretty good for the times, although the front-wheel drive layout wasn't to everyone's taste.  

Rambler Americans don’t have a massive following today, and certainly don’t crop up in salvage yards too often. They were sold between 1958 and 1969 over three different generation model styles. The bodywork on this example is in incredibly good condition. Note the distinctive Kaiser parked next to it.

According to the scribbling on the side of this 1950 Ford, it had been sold to someone called Denis Carpenter. The burning questions are, did he ever collect it, and if so, did he use it as a parts car, or did he undertake a restoration? If it’s the latter, then we take our hats off to him, as he’s clearly a very brave man.

The 1960 Mercury Montclair had a top speed of 119mph, and a 0-60mph time of 9.3 seconds. But while performance was good, fuel economy was not, and most owners found they were lucky to get 10mpg. The car was named after Montclair, New Jersey, not far from where the model was built in Mahwah. That facility closed in 1980, and part of the location today is the headquarters of Jaguar Land Rover in North America.

Classic cars can sit in salvage yards for decades without yielding a single part, but this 1952 Ford Ranch Wagon has been well and truly plucked. There’s not a whole lot left on it now, and we’d be surprised if it still exists today.

In contrast to the 1952 Ford station wagon, this 1951 Ford Mainline four-door sedan has got an abundance of good spares to offer, including its driveline, interior and most of its glass. Hopefully this will have secured a safe passage away from its new owner’s crusher.

Look at that big pile of scrap metal, which is dangerously close to this 1954 Mercury Monterey two-door hardtop. At the time of our visit the yard owner informed us that very few of the classics ever get crushed, as they’re worth considerably more as parts donors. But we wonder whether the new owners share this philosophy.

The bullet holes in this 1952 Ford Customline's window were presumably put there by short-sighted or frustrated hunters in its previous location, and weren't the result of an assassination of the passenger! Note the tumbleweed sitting behind the rear door, lots of which blow through the yard. Unfortunately this car is never going to cruise the highways again, but some of its rust-free parts might well survive.

During our visit we were told that this 1951 Chevrolet Sedan Delivery had just found a new home, and was awaiting shipment to New York state.  Although the Chevy is definitely the main event in this picture, take a moment to absorb that backdrop. Behind it are row upon row of classic cars, and in the top left hand corner you can see the metal recycling side of the business. On the horizon the snow-capped Rocky Mountains can be made out.

And here's another interesting small commercial vehicle, a 1966 Ford Ranchero. This truck, which used Falcon front sheet metal, was originally offered with a choice of three engines, the most desirable of which being a 289 cu in V8.

Check out those massive oversized rear view mirrors, which presumably aided towing particularly wide trailers.

Jaguars from this era aren’t the easiest to identify at the best of times, and even more difficult when they’re in this sorry state. We believe it’s a Mk VII M, which was built from 1954 to 1956, but with the front half of the car missing it’s hard to be sure. If it is, then it’s one of just 10,061 built.

These high performance luxury sedans, which were launched with the marketing slogan “Grace, Space and Pace” were powered by the same 3.4-litre, six-cylinder engine as the Jaguar XK120. They would prove to be a big hit in the USA.

We wonder why someone cut off the bottom of this 1958 Ford Fairlane's passenger door – you'd think it would have been a lot easier to remove the whole thing. 1958 was a bad year for the American auto industry, which was battling with a recession that saw car sales plunge 31% versus the previous year. Ford produced 987,945 vehicles, which was down by half a million on the 12 months. This was the year it pulled the plug on its short-lived Edsel brand.

The snow-capped Rocky Mountains in the background are a reminder that the winters are particularly harsh in this part of the world. But the adverse weather conditions don't seem to attract tin worm, thanks mainly to Colorado not being part of the “salt-belt”. Consequently cars like this 1949 Dodge often have little more than surface rust on them. Are those bullet holes in the windshield? 

Obviously Ford never made a Falcon Continental, but if it had, it may well have looked something like this, complete with the addition of a homemade continental-style spare tire cover moulding on the trunk.

We’re puzzled as to how this gorgeous 1956 Studebaker President ended up here. It’s in really solid condition, and even wears a “collectors series” license plate. The President first appeared in 1926, and was Studebaker's most prestigious model. Although the name disappeared when civilian car production ceased for WW2, it was back again for a three-year stint from 1955. This example is one of 17,234 to roll off the line that year.

This 1958 Studebaker Commander is in equally great shape. Despite widely considered to be an attractive car, just 6771 people were prepared to hand over $2378 to buy one in 1958.

The Hornet was AMC’s response to the growing number of fuel-efficient foreign imports. It sold reasonably well during its seven-year production run (1970-1977), and was offered as a two- and four-door sedan, Sportabout station wagon, and a hatchback (as seen here).

Although some 71,000 AMC Hornets were built in 1976, they didn’t have a particularly high survival rate, and there can't be many left today.

Having dragged thousands of cars to their deaths, this 1964 Ford wrecker is going to get a bit of its own medicine, as it potentially faces a similarly uncertain and unhappy fate.

The 1957 Chevrolet was always going to be a difficult act to follow, but GM managed it successfully with this longer, lower and wider offering. Other distinguishing features included twin headlamps and of course a distinct lack of tailfins. Although sales were down on the previous year, this was due to a recession, and not a reflection on the popularity of the car.

In fact, in 1958 Chevrolet managed to wrestle back the top sales spot from Ford.  This one has been well picked over, but still has a few useful parts left.

The Oldsmobile 88 had a 50-year lifespan, the nameplate appearing on cars from 1949 to 1999. Back in the day it was a good performer, thanks to it being relatively lightweight, and high powered. In fact, when fitted with a high performance V8, it was considered by some to be the first muscle car.

The 88 was redesigned in 1954, when this four-door sedan rolled off the line. The slab-sided design proved popular, and looked particularly good in one of 18 two-tone color combinations.

The short-lived Chevrolet Fleetmaster was only in production from 1946 to 1948, this one being one of the last off the line. It’s a Sport Sedan, although neither its 0-60mph time of 22.4 seconds nor its top speed of 74mph, sound particularly sporty these days. Its distinctly pre-war looks didn’t help either – it was essentially an updated Chevy Fleetline, a model series that had begun in 1941.

The Datsun 240Z burst onto the market in 1969, and was an instant success in the US, with customers appreciating its sporty looks and the performance from its 2.4-litre, 151 hp, six-cylinder engine. In 1974 the engine’s displacement increased by 200cc, and the car’s name was changed to 260Z to reflect this.

But power dropped to 139 hp, thanks to new US emissions regulations. This was tackled a year later with the launch of the 2.8-litre 170hp 280Z, which was purely for the North American market. This 280Z 2+2, which definitely looks salvageable, was probably built in 1977 or 1978.

This 1979 Ford Courier looks almost good enough to be driven away. It’s a second generation truck, which like the one that proceeded it, was basically a rebadged Mazda B-Series. It did however have a redesigned front end, and the option of a Ford 2.3-litre engine instead of the standard 2.0-litre Mazda unit.

A lack of side marker lights identify this Mercury Cougar as a 1967 model, the year the stylish V8-powered, two-door hardtop first pounced onto the scene. Despite being based on the Ford Mustang, it had a completely different body. It was more luxurious too, and commanded an additional $284. Side marker lights became mandatory on all new cars sold in the US after 1 January 1968 – and still are today.

This pony car was put out to pasture in 2013, and since then it’s been pretty much stripped of all its useful parts. In fact, we reckon it’s about ready for the glue factory now…

It’s a 1972 Ford Mustang, which was visually almost identical to the 1971 version. In fact, one of the few changes was the addition of a “Fasten seat belt” warning light. Needless to say the car-buying public weren’t too excited, and sales dropped to 126,000, compared with 150,000 the previous year.

It doesn’t look like it would cost a fortune to coax this glorious 1978 Lincoln Continental back to life, assuming of course that it has managed to retain its 6.6-litre V8. It can’t have been here too long, as it still holds air in all four tires.

Some 67,000 of these four-door sedans found buyers, proving more than three times as popular as the hardtop coupe.

Judging by the large rubber block overriders, which were fitted to comply with NHTSA regulations, this MGB dates back to 1974. By the end of the year they would be replaced by full rubber bumpers. Although they were only required in the USA, rubber would replace chrome in all markets to reduce production costs.

This ancient Chevrolet Stylemaster oozes character, and we bet it’s got a few tales to tell. For instance, how did it acquire all those bullet holes in its rear end? It wears a 1960 Oklahoma license plate.

It would appear that this Studebaker Lark was heavily vandalised before it arrived at the yard. Judging by the wraparound windshield, it appears to be a 1962 model.

The compact Lark, which could seat six people, was built between 1959 and 1966. It initially sold well, and was a lifeline for America’s oldest vehicle manufacturer, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to save it.   

There’s some serious rubber fitted to all four corners of this 1948 Pontiac. It appears to be a Deluxe Torpedo four-door sedan, one of 84,622 Torpedoes built that year.

Like the rest of the cars featured here, we have no idea if it has survived now that the yard is in new ownership.

British automotive journalist Will Shiers has been photographing abandoned American cars for 35 years. He has visited all 50 states on his tin-hunting trips, exploring barns, fields, deserts, ghost towns and salvage yards, while searching for hidden treasures. Will has been contributing to car magazines for three decades, and is the author of Roadside Relics - America’s Abandoned Automobiles.