Detroit-area Junkyard Rangers - extremely pic-heavy

[kishy]

I started going to self-serve junkyards in 2012. Since then, I've gone to a bunch of yards literally hundreds of times, mostly in pursuit of parts for my box Panthers (e.g. 79-91 Crown Vic & corporate siblings), but since 2015 also for my 85 Ranger.

Most yards I go to are in or near Detroit, MI. Most vehicles I bother to take a pic of are relevant to my own vehicles in some way, with the occasional exception of something I otherwise like. I'm not aiming for any photography awards, just a quick snap and move on, so some of these may be a little sub-par.

Catching up from the past...all of these are long gone now. What's the point? I dunno, I like looking at photos of rust, maybe you do too. Or maybe your old truck is hiding in here. Enjoy.

2014:

2015:

2016:

More to follow...

 

[kishy]

2017:

 

[kishy]

2018:

(this 93 is where a lot of my engine swap stuff came from)

 

[kishy]

2019:

(those doors are where my vent windows came from)

 

[kishy]

2020:

2021:

 

[kishy]

2022 pt1/2:

 

[kishy]

2022 pt2/2:

(this is where my current cap and bedliner came from)


This is the only pictured truck which likely still remains available, at Fox Auto U-Pull in Belleville:

4x4 and the weird sway bar.

 

[rubydist]

A couple of observations from those photos:

I'm really glad I don't live in the rust belt any longer, knowing that other vehicles with rusty frames are driving on the highways is scary.

The world's supply of Bronco II must have been in MI, because you found more in the jy than have ever been seen in this area.

I'm glad we are out of the 80s where for some reason the manufacturers thought the interior color needed to be the same as the exterior color on vehicles.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Why are they all in better shape then my road going michigan ranger?

A couple of observations from those photos:

I'm really glad I don't live in the rust belt any longer, knowing that other vehicles with rusty frames are driving on the highways is scary.

The world's supply of Bronco II must have been in MI, because you found more in the jy than have ever been seen in this area.

I'm glad we are out of the 80s where for some reason the manufacturers thought the interior color needed to be the same as the exterior color on vehicles.

Rusty frames dont pose the risk people think. I know that wasnt this guys point but watch this

 

[RobbieD]

Thanks for the post. I could look at junkyard pics all day.

You just don't see many red " FROG " trucks these days.

 

[kishy]

A couple of observations from those photos:

I'm really glad I don't live in the rust belt any longer, knowing that other vehicles with rusty frames are driving on the highways is scary.

The world's supply of Bronco II must have been in MI, because you found more in the jy than have ever been seen in this area.

I'm glad we are out of the 80s where for some reason the manufacturers thought the interior color needed to be the same as the exterior color on vehicles.

I definitely believe that we (anyone) has some degree of social responsibility to not subject other people to hazards they shouldn't reasonably be expecting around them. For example, a truck frame cracking in half, and the truck skidding across 3 lanes of traffic creating a pileup. But I also think the number of vehicles on the road with damage specifically due to rust that post that risk is very low. It's far more likely that something surprisingly unrusty-looking could pop a ball joint out and do the same thing, or a tire worn down to the belts will suddenly let go.

Where the risk of rust damage is most significant is to the occupants of the rusty vehicle, and less so about the frame, moreso about the body. If all the crashworthiness of the body has been eaten away to nothing, there's a much higher chance of weird injuries that you don't normally think of, like the floor separating and crushing together, amputating a leg. But if we choose to drive something dangerous, and we have an understanding of these risks, I think that's something people should be allowed to do. I'll endanger myself, but I won't endanger you.

Yeah, lots of BIIs. I never see them on the road, though. Just in the yards.

As a driver of exclusively 80s cars, I appreciate the interior colours you could get back then, especially vibrant reds.

Why are they all in better shape then my road going michigan ranger?


Rusty frames dont pose the risk people think. I know that wasnt this guys point but watch this

Some of them have been, in one way or another, much better than mine. I wanted to buy the one cab (floor pic showing like-new sheetmetal) but the yard wanted to charge me for a whole car and make me title it and everything...way too much headache as I'm Canadian, and have no idea what I'd need to do to title a vehicle in my own name there, then bring it across the border.

That F-150 was very far gone, but put up with a lot considering how bad it was. I'll be retiring my Ranger before it gets that bad, but maybe not a whole lot less.

Thanks for the post. I could look at junkyard pics all day.

You just don't see many red " FROG " trucks these days.

Indeed, not many FROGs.
I'll drop more photos as I continue finding them. If that last red one is still there in a week or so I'll probably have gone and looked at it some more. It's rusty but if the bed is nice, I might just swap mine out. Easier than wheel arch repair panels.

 

[kishy]

Didn't take long to get my first yard trip out of the way for 2023.

Went back to Fox Auto U-Pull in Belleville to look a little more closely at that red '86 Ranger pictured above. Specifically, looking at the bed, recognizing that it is a rusty truck but didn't seem to have a rusty bed.

No good. Although the cosmetic outer rust could be cleaned up pretty easily, the underside isn't pretty, and wouldn't be an upgrade over mine. Mine is quite solid everywhere except the outer wheel arches. Repair panels are available but if I find a clean bed I'll just swap the whole thing.

Did grab the front sway bar and hardware. This is now redundant and I'm unintentionally starting a front sway bar collection, but I've misplaced the hardware I got previously so what's another 13 bucks.

 

[Josh B]

Too pixel heavy for me

 

[Ranger850]

So many red interiors back then. Those red buckets looked better than than half the seats I see

 

[Angie]

Thanks for sharing. really like seeing them. post #5 has that very old blue first ford pick up. i would have taken that whole thing home with me and rebuilt the cab and front onto a new frame... if nothing more than restoring a part of history. first one of those i have ever seen. cheers thanks