Junkyard Discoveries of Johnson’s Salvage in Tea, South Dakota

It’s one of the friendliest, prettiest and cleanest salvage yards we’ve ever visited. Unlike some yards, where the ground consists of pools of oily mud and broken glass, here all the cars are parked on grass. 

We'd estimate that there were about 500 vehicles on this 10-acre site, and although the bulk of them dated back to the 1980s and 1990s, as you can see from these photos, there were a few older ones scattered around too. Let's take a look around:

Owner Chuck Johnson must be an incredibly trusting fellow, as this is the only yard we’ve ever visited that doesn’t have any sort of perimeter wall. Either that or the population of Tea, South Dakota, are all honest, law-abiding folk. 

This beautiful 1960 Pontiac Catalina four-door sedan is parked in one end of the yard, which backs onto a corn field.

Something we noticed about Johnson's Salvage, which we don’t usually see, is how neat and well cared for the vehicles are. Trunks, hoods, door and windows are generally kept closed to protect cars from the element, and spare parts are stored on or in the cars, rather than scattered around on the grass for people to trip over. 

This is a late third generation Chevrolet Caprice (1977-1990), most likely a 1989 model.

This 1960 Cadillac Sedan DeVille’s final resting place is just 10 miles away from the  Sioux Falls car dealership Jay-Shon, which supplied it new. We say “final”, but maybe that should be “current”, because it’s still in pretty good shape, and is definitely restorable. 

In total, 53,389 DeVilles (of all body styles) found buyers in 1960, which was just one unit fewer than in the previous year. 1960 was the year Caddy’s famous fins finally starting toning down, having reached their space-rocket-inspired extreme for the 1959 models – as we’ll see in a moment…

International Harvester Metro vans from this era are currently hugely popular as rat rods. So if this one, with its perfect patina hasn’t already been saved, we’re sure it soon will be. It’s an S120, which dates it to between 1956 and 1958. 

International made the Metro step-van from 1938 through to 1975.

We spent at least 10 minutes trampling down the grass in order to reveal this ultra-rare 1960 DeSoto Adventurer. Built between 1956 and 1960, the Adventurer was DeSoto’s top-of-the-range model. For the first three years it was only offered as a coupe, but in its final year of production four-door hardtops and sedans were added. 

Just 11,597 Adventurers were sold in 1960, of which only 3092 were two-door hardtops like this. 

A slightly up-market brand of Chrysler, the 1961 model year would be the last for DeSoto.

We were told that this 1950s Ford F350 was the yard wrecker up until the late 1990s. 

The truck is fitted with the Ford-O-Matic automatic transmission, which first saw the light of day in 1951. It was also made available to Mercury and Lincoln buyers, where it was rebranded as Merc-O-Matic and Turbo-Drive respectively.

Resembling the car that Johnny Cash sang about in One Piece at a Time, this late 1990s Buick Park Avenue has what appears to be a 1958 Chevrolet trunk lid covering its engine. And what a good fit it is too. This is another example of how protective the yard is of its stock.

While the ninth generation of Ford Thunderbird (1983 to 1988) won’t go down in history as one of the all-time greats, it was undoubtedly a massive improvement over its predecessor. The eighth generation cars had not been well received, and by 1982 sales had slumped to 45,154. But the public hadn’t given up on the model, and when the new aerodynamic cars appeared in 1983 they sold like hot cakes. In 1983 almost 122,000 found buyers, and by the time this 1986 example was built, sales had risen to 165,965.

First generation Honda Civics had a diabolical record for rusting, which resulted in tens of thousands being recalled for new fenders, or replacement suspension components. But this one doesn’t seem to have any corrosion at all, and this is despite South Dakota being part of the US’s Salt Belt.

A 1978 Honda Civic had a starring role in the 1984 hit film Police Academy, when Hightower learned to drive in one, having first ripped out the driver’s seat and sat himself in the back.

For proof that South Dakota cars do get consumed by tin worm, look no further than this sorry pair. Both have particularly ragged wheel arches, and we have no idea how the 1966 Ford Country Sedan’s tailgate has got into this state. We can’t imagine either vehicle yielding too many useful parts.

No single automotive design better characterizes the flamboyance of the late 1950's than the 1959 Cadillac. The incredible tailfins, with their twin bullet lamps, help to make this one of the most instantly recognizable cars of all time. Although it looks rough from this angle, in actual fact this is its best side. The engine, hood and offside fender have all been removed. 

Other than a bit of corrosion on the rear fender, this 1973 Subaru Leone is in good condition, and would definitely make an unusual car to restore. Although the marque is renowned for its four-wheel-drive set-up, this mid-trim GL coupe is a front-wheel-drive example. These early cars were all powered by a 1.4-litre flat-four engine.

The Chevrolet Corvan and Corvair pickup, complete with their air-cooled rear engines, were General Motors' answer to the ever-popular VW Transporter. They were significantly quicker than their German rival, had heaters that actually worked, and with 110bhp on tap were both a lot more fun to drive. 

That said, the fun would very quickly turn to fear, if the somewhat dubious handling caught you out. This is an early 1960s Rampside pickup, which featured a unique ramp on the vehicle’s nearside to aid loading heavy items.

And here's another vehicle that wasn't exactly renowned for being safe. Whereas the Corvair’s handling could catch people unaware, the Ford Pinto developed a reputation for exploding when it was rear-ended – a consequence of the gas tank design. In actual fact, despite all the media hype at the time, it was later proved that the Pinto was no more dangerous than any other car in its class.

Lunched in 1970, the Monte Carlo two-door coupe was marketed as Chevrolet’s first personal luxury car. It was an instant success, and ignoring a gap in production between 1989 and 1994, was built through to 2007, spanning six generations. 

Second generation (1973 to 1977) versions, were hugely popular, and annual sales frequently exceeded 250,000 units. 

This 1975 example has rotted out, and has no useful body panels. That said, there’s still plenty of useful trim items, and the interior is good too.

Judging by the one-piece windscreen, this Pontiac must hail from 1953. It was one of the older cars in the yard, and not surprisingly considering its condition, was being offered as a project car. 

Pontiac’s hood ornaments were some of the most beautiful and flamboyant of the era, and it’s unusual to find one that’s survived in a salvage yard.

The first generation Cordoba, of which this is one, was a strong seller. More than 150,000 people liked the idea of owning an intermediate personal luxury coupe in 1976. But its popularity wouldn't last for long, and by the early 1980s sales had plummeted to less than 20,000 units per annum. The model was discontinued in 1983.

Manufactured between 1969 and 1977, the Ford Maverick was designed to do battle with the ever increasing number of Japanese imports. It was a big seller, with more than two million finding buyers. However, less desirable examples, likes this 1976 four-door sedan, didn’t have a great survival rate. Salvage yards were full of them in the 1980s and 1990s, and there aren’t many about today.

Here’s an unusual sight, a pair of Jeep woodies. On the left we have an early 1980s Jeep Grand Wagoneer. It’s a highly desirable car, but probably not as rare as the Wagoneer sitting next to it. These upmarket XJs, normally fitted with woodgrain jackets, were in production from 1984 to 1990. This appears to be an early one, so would have had been fitted with two vertical stacked headlights.

How’s this for a picturesque setting? It’s hard to believe that this 1950 Chrysler is photographed in a salvage yard, and not a local beauty spot.  Chrysler started the decade on a high, selling 179,299 cars in 1950. But it would be another 15 years until it exceeded this figure.

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.