More Junkyard discoveries from French Lake Auto Parts, Annandale, Minnesota

Nestled in Minnesota, about 60 miles north-west of Minneapolis, this expansive salvage yard boasts a vast collection of vehicles ranging from the 1920s to today. Visitors are encouraged to explore the meticulously organized yard, where each car rests on solid ground and is clearly labelled with its year of manufacture, making it easy to find those elusive parts.

While French Lake Auto Parts does offer shipping, nothing beats the experience of visiting in person. Plan to spend several hours, as we did, wandering through the rows of automotive history and uncovering hidden gems firsthand. It’s a destination that every car lover should experience at least once.

By 1960, when this Hawk first took flight, Studebaker sales were already in steep decline. The model lineup had been trimmed, leaving just the Hawk where once there had been Gold and Silver variants. Despite the streamlining, sales continued to plummet, with only 4280 Hawks sold that year.

Sadly, this particular Hawk has had its wings clipped by rust, forcing it to make a final landing at French Lake Auto Parts.

Ravaged by time and scavengers, this Chevrolet Monte Carlo now languishes in a remote corner of the yard, looking particularly sorry for itself. Built in 1970—the debut year for Chevrolet’s popular two-door coupe—it saw 159,341 units sold in its first year.

However, sales fell short of the projected 185,000, largely due to a labour strike at the Flint, Michigan, assembly plant.

Launched in 1952, the Cadillac Eldorado enjoyed a remarkable 50-year run, spanning 12 generations. The most successful in terms of sales were the 10th generation models, produced from 1979 to 1985, which shared platforms with the Buick Riviera and Oldsmobile Toronado.

This series proved to be incredibly popular. The example here was built in 1980 and is one of 52,685 of the luxury coupes sold that year.

The Chevrolet Corvair was in its fifth year of production when this 1964 example rolled off the line. Despite significant mechanical enhancements, including improvements to its controversial rear suspension and the addition of a larger, more powerful engine, sales dropped by over 70,000 units that year.

This decline in popularity likely had much to do with the launch of the Ford Mustang in April 1964, which burst onto the compact scene and shattered all sales records.

Imagine the seemingly hopeless task of picking up the phone and calling salvage yards, haplessly searching for parts for your 1920s Buick Series 20. You’d be astonished to find that French Lake Auto Parts not only has one but two options available—a 1927 and a 1928 model.

While cars from this era were a common sight in junkyards during the 1940s and 1950s, locating wooden-spoked vehicles today is incredibly rare.

This seems to be a rare 1955 DeSoto Fireflite Sportsman two-door hardtop. Launched in 1955, the Fireflite was DeSoto's premium trim level, surpassing the Firedome in length, width and price. It featured a 4.8-litre V8 engine, delivering 200 hp. The Fireflite proved popular, helping DeSoto achieve its highest sales in 10 years.

Finding a Graham-Paige in a salvage yard today is already a rare occurrence, but stumbling upon a pair is almost unheard of. The car nearest to the camera is a 1938 model, which, like the slightly newer version beside it, would have featured the distinctive ‘sharknose’ front end. Although this design received critical acclaim, it did not translate into strong sales.

Production of Graham-Paige vehicles ceased in 1940, and the company’s assets were subsequently acquired by Kaiser-Frazer.

Named after the Vought F7U Cutlass, a US Navy carrier-based jet fighter, the Oldsmobile Cutlass was a staple of the manufacturer’s lineup from 1961 to 1999. This 1967 Holiday Coupe marks the end of the second-generation models. Although it shows some structural corrosion, it still boasts a number of solid body panels.

How’s this for a pride of big cats? Taking center stage is a 1984 Jaguar XJ Series 3, flanked by a 1988 XJ40. In front of them, you'll find a 1983 XJS and a 2002 X-Type. Though these are all parts cars, French Lake Auto Parts currently has a couple of restorable XJSs listed on its website. Both are V12s, priced at $5500 each.

"More than a car! More than a truck!" declared the 1957 ad campaign for the all-new Ford Ranchero. This coupe utility vehicle stayed in production for an impressive 23 years, with a total of 508,355 units built. This weathered Custom Ranchero is one of just 14,196 that sold in 1959.

With the gas pedal pushed firmly to the metal, the 1948 Lincoln Sedan’s 125hp 4.8-litre engine could take the car to 60mph in just under 18sec, and on to a top speed of 85mph. That’s not bad for a car that weighed 4190lbs (1904kg). Of course, this one is considerably lighter, having lost its doors, axles, engine and most of the interior. 

Take a look at the massive trunk lid on this 1958 Mercury Park Lane, a fitting feature for the brand's flagship model. The trunk was 7 inches longer than those on standard models. 

Introduced in 1958, the Park Lane was produced over two generations: 1958-60 and 1964-68. This particular example is in relatively good condition, likely because it was still on the road as recently as 2016.

After seeing Ford's success in transforming the Falcon into the Mustang, Toyota decided to apply the same strategy. They took the Carina and reimagined it with a sporty two-door body, creating the Celica—an instant hit in the market. This is a 1973 example, which like most of the Celicas from this era, fell victim to rapid rusting.

Check out the front tire on this 1955 Mercury Monterey wagon—it's so worn that there's not a trace of tread left. With only 11,968 buyers shelling out the $2,845 to take one of these beauties home, it’s a rare find. What's even more surprising is the wealth of hard-to-find spare parts still intact on this car. Hopefully, someone salvages the upper tailgate section before it drops off.

Something massive must have come crashing down on this Nash Super's roof—something far bigger and heavier than the bumper that's now resting on it. The impact was so severe that the doors no longer close properly, leaving the interior increasingly exposed to the elements.

This particular Nash is one of the 110,000 cars the company produced in 1948, a year that saw Nash rank as the 11th most popular brand in the US.

The Edsel may be one of the most infamous automotive flops in history, with just 44,891 sold in the US in 1959, but as you can see, quite a few found their way to French Lake Auto Parts. Closest to the camera is a 1959 Corsair two-door hardtop. With fewer than 2500 ever produced, it's rare to spot one of these in a salvage yard.

This 1978 Pontiac Grand Prix may not be the rarest or most sought-after car at French Lake Auto Parts, but aside from the missing engine, it’s largely intact. It’s one of the early fifth-generation models (1978-1987), which introduced a significant downsizing for the Grand Prix. While sales started strong with 228,444 units sold in its debut year, by 1987, they had plummeted to a mere 16,542.

Though the Saab 99 (1968–1984) performed reasonably well globally, amassing over half a million sales, the Swede never reached high volumes in the US market. There, it was regarded as a niche vehicle, attracting a specific segment of buyers who valued safety, durability, and performance.

This 1977 example, despite the roof damage, is remarkably clean and nearly rust-free. However, as you can see, it's not for sale.

Judging by the date on the window, this 1965 Plymouth Fury III station wagon rolled into French Lake Auto Parts in August 2023, just a month before our visit. It didn’t take long for parts hunters to strip it of its hood, fender, and a pair of headlights. With only 18,477 of these wagons sold—a mix of six- and nine-passenger models—it's no wonder its parts are in high demand.

By 1957, when this car was built, the Buick Roadmaster was nearing the end of its original production run. First introduced in 1935, the Roadmaster would be discontinued in 1958, only to be revived in the early 1990s. The 1957 model featured a newly lowered body style and reverse-slanted A-pillars, which created a distinctive panoramic windshield.

Here’s what the Buick Roadmaster looked like when it made its comeback in the 1990s. This particular example is one of 28,829 sedans built in 1993, and as you can see, it’s in fantastic condition. It makes you wonder what issue led someone to bring it to a salvage yard.

Although sales began robustly, with 70,731 sedans and wagons sold in 1992, production had plummeted to 21,543 units in 1996, its final year. 

Introduced in May 1975 for the 1976 model year, the Seville was Cadillac’s new mid-size contender, aimed squarely at competing with luxury imports from Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz.

Though 1000lbs (480kg) lighter than its full-size counterparts, the Seville was still loaded with luxury features and came with a hefty price tag—second only to the Series 75 Fleetwood factory limousines. This particular Seville is one of three 1976 examples lined up in a row.

The Firedome originally debuted as DeSoto’s flagship model, but by 1956—when this particular example was built—it had been overshadowed by the Fireflite, becoming the entry-level offering. However, "entry-level" doesn’t mean stripped-down; the Firedome still boasted a V8 engine and even gained an extra 45hp compared with the previous year.

This 1965 Buick Skylark convertible appears to have been on the road until fairly recently, and wears Minnesota Collector license plates. Not only does it retain air in all four tires, but amazingly it has managed to keep hold of its intact ragtop. These were relatively good sellers, with more than 10,000 hitting the roads that year. 

French Lake Auto Parts is home to hundreds of classic trucks, but this colorful workhorse immediately caught our eye. It's a 1969 Chevrolet C20 4x4, which only recently retired from a life of portable welding and snowplowing, entering the yard in the summer of 2023. The sills are as rotten as pears—a testament to the harsh winter work it endured.

The Chrysler 300 received a restyling for 1967, highlighted by a distinctive inward curve along its body sides, as demonstrated here. Also new were fenders that extended ahead of the headlights. Among the three body styles offered that year, the hardtop coupe, like this one, was the most popular, accounting for nearly half of the 21,894 units sold.

At some point during its later years, someone clearly intended to keep this 1978 Fiat 124 Spider on the road, as evidenced by the primer on the fenders. They also invested in a new ragtop roof. However, it seems they decided the project was more than they could handle and chose to cut their losses, ultimately selling the Italian sports car to French Lake Auto Parts.

Produced from 1966 to 1981, the Fiat 124 Spider was available exclusively for the US market during its final six years.

In 1948, over 100,000 of these stylish Club Coupes left Dodge's factory. With a total of 243,340 sales that year, Dodge ranked as the fourth best-selling marque, behind Chevrolet, Ford, and Plymouth. Although Dodge saw a sales increase of 13,000 units the following year, it slipped to eighth place in the rankings.

Despite setting a sales record in 1941 with over 66,000 cars produced, Cadillac still lagged behind its rival Packard by about 7000 units. This Series 62 four-door sedan was equipped with a 150hp 5.7-litre V8 engine. Although it’s hard to imagine today, it originally boasted a top speed of 100mph and a claimed 0-60mph time of 14sec.

In 1972, Ford introduced the third generation of the Torino lineup, which consisted of the Torino, Gran Torino, and Gran Torino Sport. This new generation saw an increase in size, with the Gran Torino wagon growing a full 6in longer than its predecessor.

Notably, a 1972 Gran Torino took center stage in the 2008 Clint Eastwood film Gran Torino, though the movie featured a more desirable Sport SportsRoof model.

Frazer, an upper-medium-priced luxury car brand from the Kaiser-Frazer Corporation, enjoyed a short-lived presence in the automotive market, spanning only from 1946 to 1951. Initially, sales were robust, and the brand quickly captured 1.5% of the market. The marque's peak year was 1947, the very year this example was produced, alongside 68,774 others.

The 1958-1960 Lincoln Premieres were some of the largest cars ever produced, outshining even the Cadillacs and Imperials of their time. In fact, these were the longest Lincolns ever made without 5mph safety bumpers. However, this 1960 model has been significantly shortened, having lost its front end. Perhaps it found its way onto another car—or maybe it’s now a centerpiece in someone’s man cave.

This Packard is one of four that has been separated from the vintage cars and stored among newer vehicles in a fenced-off private section of the yard, possibly indicating they’ve been purchased as whole cars. It was built in 1949, while the one beside it dates back another eight years. 

We’re intrigued by the presence of a worn tire inside this 1973 Plymouth Fury. Despite Plymouth's drop to the fifth spot in sales rankings that year, 1973 marked a peak in the brand's history with 882,196 vehicles produced - a record it wouldn't reach again.

One of the most iconic 1973 Furies was heavily modified for its role in the 1974 film Thunderbolt and Lightfoot.

Oldsmobile’s flagship model underwent three subtle name changes over its long history. Introduced in 1940 as the 98, denoting Series 90 with an eight-cylinder engine, it was renamed Ninety-Eight from 1952 to 1991. The name then lost its hyphen, becoming Ninety Eight from 1992 to 1996. Despite a few blemishes, this 1965 four-door hardtop remains in great shape.

It's a pity this 1952 Kaiser Manhattan’s hood has been so badly deformed, as it appears to be in good shape otherwise. Presumably the damage was inflicted when some relieved the car of its 3.7-litre six-cylinder engine.

1952 was the debut year for the Manhattan, which at its launch was Kaiser’s flagship model. The last one rolled off the line in 1955 when the brand ceased manufacturing passenger cars in the US. 

It’s widely believed that the Mercury Montclair was named after an affluent New Jersey town of the same name, situated near the company’s Mahwah factory. This 1957 example represents the second generation of the model, which was Mercury’s mid-price offering at the time.

These cars featured a longer 122 inch (3099mm) wheelbase, placing them a step above the all-new Edsel. Among the four body styles offered that year, the four-door hardtop was the most popular, with 21,156 units sold.

French Lake Auto Parts has well over a dozen Packards in stock. That’s a remarkable feat when you consider that the marque was confined to the history books in the late 1990s. Taking center stage in this picture is a 1955 Patrician, one of only 9127 of these luxury cars built in the model’s penultimate year.

The iconic screaming chicken on this Pontiac Firebird Trans Am’s hood is fading fast. This particular car is a late example of the second generation, produced in 1981. Only 33,493 units were sold that year, marking the model’s lowest sales since the mid-1970s. Much of this decline can be attributed to the anticipation of an all-new model set to debut for the 1982 model year.

The imposing tailfins unmistakably mark this Cadillac Series 62 sedan as a 1958 model. While these fins were impressive, they would soon be overshadowed by even more dramatic designs in the following year. The 1958 model also showcased a fresh grille and introduced twin headlamps.