Quirky Junkyard Gems of Hartford, South Dakota

He promptly set about crushing everything rusty he could lay his hands on, including farm machinery, bicycles and cars. The best vehicles were saved, and he built up a fine collection of classic cars. 

Donnas died in 1995, and in 2008 his sons decided that they couldn't let the cars rot away, so decided to open the collection to the public – creating one of the most amazing salvage yards in the process. Although most of the residents date from the early 1940s to the late 1960s, look hard enough and you’ll find a few teenagers lurking in the undergrowth too. Here’s a tiny selection of vehicles from our visit a few years ago.

A rare 1948 Chevrolet sedan delivery would make a great, if not challenging, restoration project for someone. Only 20,000 examples were built, making it the 10th most popular of the 12 body styles offered by Chevrolet that year. Commercial vehicles are workhorses, and tend not to be treated with the same respect as their passenger-carrying siblings, so have a worse survival rate. You’d be searching for a long time before you found another in a salvage yard. 

Oakleaf still has a car crushing business which operates in the adjacent property. Although it feeds on mainly modern cars these days, when classics have no more parts to offer, they too are squashed. This once-fabulous Hudson Hornet has donated plenty of spare parts to the classic car scene since the yard opened to the public in 2008, but we reckon it still has enough usable bits to ensure its survival for the time being.

We raced around this amazing 15 acre yard as quickly as possible in order to beat a storm that was forecast. Although we managed to avoid getting drenched, the same cannot be said for this 1964 Dodge Dart's interior. In good condition these desirable ragtops fetch decent money, but it's a different story when they're in this sorry state of repair. 

If the nose cone is genuine, then this Crosley station wagon is probably a 1948-and-a-half model. Crosley cars were manufactured intermittently between 1939 and 1952, and with close to 25,000 sales, 1948 was its best year. These cars have a reasonably high survival rate, mainly due to their novelty value. They are most commonly found perched high on poles outside salvage yards, where they act as advertisements to passers-by. 

Here’s another automotive oddity with a proportionately high survival rate. Between 1953 and 1961, some 83,000 Nash Metropolitans were sold in the USA. The baby Nash was built in Britain, where it was known as an Austin Metropolitan. This one probably dates to 1959, first year the opening trunk lid was offered. Although its interior has been badly damaged by the elements, the bodywork is still sound.

This photograph gives you a good idea of the sheer size of the yard, and of the quality of the vehicles it contains. At the center of the picture is a 1958 Colony Park, Mercury's top-of-the-line full-size station wagon between 1957 and 1991. Back in the day, the V8-powered Colony Park would have powered its occupants to 60mph in well under 10 seconds.

If this were a 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor it would no doubt have been rescued and turned into yet another Ghostbusters replica ambulance. But it's not. This is a far less desirable 1962 Cadillac Superior. In total, 2,280 Cadillac Fleetwood 75 commercial chassis were supplied to coachbuilders in 1962, mainly for conversion into ambulances, hearses and flower cars. 

The 1959 Villager, the lowest trim level of the Edsel station wagons, was fitted with round taillights (albeit absent from this example). They replaced the boomerang-shaped lights on the 1958 cars, which proved problematic because the left indicator appeared as an arrow pointing right, and vice versa. The car was offered in both six- and nine-passenger styles, but between 1958 and 1960 fewer than 8000 Villagers were sold.

While we wouldn’t bet our lives on it, we reckon this “bathtub” Packard hails from 1949. The shape is widely considered to be the ugliest ever conceived by Packard, developing the nickname “pregnant pig”. Packard was formed in 1899 and soon developed an enviable reputation for building luxury automobiles, but by the 1950s it was struggling to compete with the Big Three, resulting in a merger with Studebaker in 1953. The brand was axed by the end of the decade.

Incredibly this 1964 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 convertible has managed to retain all of its glass – not that it’s done it any good. Without the roof to protect it, the interior has been completely destroyed. The car was supplied new by Town's Edge Oldsmobile of Hopkins, Minnesota, some 250 miles away from Hartford. 

It’s difficult to identify the exact age of this ultra-rare, early postwar DeSoto Deluxe coupe, but it would have rolled off the line between 1946 and 1948. Fewer than 2000 were built during this three-year period, and only a tiny fraction have survived. While it would certainly take a lot of time and money to coax it back to life, what a rewarding project it would be.

Here's another rare DeSoto – a 1958 four-door Firesweep. Although the bodywork (including signature tailfins) is in excellent condition, unfortunately the car has long since parted company with its Chrysler V8 and TorqueFlite automatic transmission. In 1958 the USA was in recession, and DeSoto sales suffered as a result. Just 50,000 cars were sold, of which just 7646 were Firesweep sedans. 

We've no idea why somebody has sprayed a white 'M' on the front of this 1951 Lincoln Cosmopolitan convertible. Most common letters used by salvage yards are ‘S’ for ‘save’, or an ‘X’ to signify that it’s off to the crusher. By 1951, Lincoln’s 'bathtub' styling was looking a little long-in-the-tooth, which was reflected in sales volumes. Just 857 buyers were prepared to hand over $3,891 to drive a ragtop out of the showroom.

This battle-scarred 1968 Mercury Monterey four-door sedan doesn't have a straight panel on it, but its interior is still in great shape. Despite weighing-in at more than 1800kg, the car’s 6.3-litre V8 ensured that it was rather lively, managing the quarter-mile sprint in under 17 seconds, and continuing to a top speed of 121mph. 

Did you know that the 1957 Nash Ambassador was the first American car to be fitted with quad headlights? Other styling features of the 1957s included new front fenders, a lower roofline, fender-top parking lights and a large oval grille. 

Ford built the Country Squire full-size station wagon between 1951 and 1991. Although it started out as a true 'woodie', by 1961 (when this car was built) Ford was using simulated wood instead. Although this one is in great condition,  it's a huge shame that someone chose to smash all of its windows, presumably prior to it arriving at Oakleaf. 

“You can pay more, but you can’t buy better” read the 1951 Ford sales literature. The cars were incredibly well received, and in total Ford sold over a million units that year. But it wasn’t enough to take the top spot from rival Chevrolet (1.23 million).   

The 1940 Lincoln Zephyr was nicknamed the “Style Leader” by its maker on account of the “new size, power and beauty it brings to its field”. The Lincoln-Zephyr marque, which existed between 1936 and 1940, was a budget-priced car in the luxury Lincoln line-up. It served a similar purpose to Cadillac's smaller La Salle range.

This white 1957 Cadillac certainly stands out amidst a sea of rust in Oakleaf. It’s a Sedan DeVille four-door hardtop, one of 23,808 sold. That year Cadillac was America’s ninth best-selling domestic car brand, with arch rivals Lincoln and Imperial in 14th and 15th places respectively. 

Although it may have lost its sight, this 1948 Buick still has an impressive set of dentures. The 1947 and 1948 Buicks are visually very similar to each other, and you need to study the hood ornaments to tell them apart. The torpedo appeared to float in space on the 1947 cars, whereas a crossbar was added in 1948.

And now for something completely different  - a pair of East German-built Lloyd LT500s. That’s a station wagon on the left and a van on the right. Although Lloyd cars and commercials sold relatively well in the USA, where they battled it out with Crosley and the Nash Metropolitan, they’re rarer than rocking horse droppings today. 

Judging by the lack of chrome, we reckon this 1959 Chevrolet must be an entry-level Biscayne. The 1959 Chevrolet was penned by legendary designer Harley Earl, and is undoubtedly one of the most distinctive and instantly recognized cars of all time. Its unique ‘cats eye’ tail lights and ‘bat wing’ rear fenders certainly drew a mixed reaction when launched. Overall the car was well received though, allowing Chevrolet to shift almost 1.5 million of them, thus retaining the top sales spot for the second year running. 

1949 Lincoln Cosmopolitans are few and far between these days, especially in salvage yards. We wonder if this solid example still has its original 5.5-litre V8 engine and Hydra-Matic four-speed automatic transmission.

This was one of three similarly aged Kaisers we spotted in Oakleaf Old Cars, all immediately identified by their distinctive heart-shaped windshields. Judging by the small chrome tail fins on the rear fenders and the chrome band along the lower body, this is a 1953 Manhattan. The car had a number of features that were either optional or unavailable on the cheaper Deluxe (like full carpeting, unique steering wheel and tinted glass). The only model in the range to eclipse it that year was the luxurious Dragon.

With the canvas roof long one, this 1963 Oldsmobile F85 convertible’s interior is open to the elements. From this angle the seats still look good, but it’s a very different story up close. Note the distinctive roofline next to it, which of course belongs to an Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser.

This 1957 Buick Special appears to have been destroyed by fire. With a 250hp 364 cu in V8 under the bonnet, it would once have managed 60mph in just 11.6 seconds, and returned 17.4mpg (although obviously not at the same time!).  At $2596 the two-door Special was the lowest priced car in Buick's 1957 range, and some 23,000 found buyers. 

This rare 1963 Cadillac hearse is a three-way model, meaning it could be loaded and unloaded via the wide side reversed-doors, as well as through the tailgate. It looks to us like the coachbuilder was Superior, but we can't be sure. Fewer than 2500 Cadillac hearses and ambulances were built in 1963. 

This looks to us to be a 1948 Buick Roadmaster. The big news for the Roadmaster that year was the introduction of the legendary Dynaflow transmission, the first passenger car torque-converter gearbox. The majority of customers specified it, but early examples did have teething problems. Considerable slippage during acceleration caused some people to rename the transmission ‘Dynaslush’.

The Willys Aero was built between 1952 and 1955, and the split windscreen on this example identifies it as an early one. Five years after production ended, the tooling was shipped to Brazil, where incredibly the car would soldier on for a further 11 years. 

The Lincoln Capri, introduced in 1952, was a conscious decision by the car maker to downsize. It was a sensible idea too, albeit some 25 years early. Needless to say the public didn't really get the concept. Although sales were disappointing, the car survived for seven years.

Mercury used the Montclair name from 1950 to 1960, and then again from 1964 to 1968. When first introduced the Montclair was Mercury’s premium model, but by the time this second-generation 1957 two-door hardtop was built, it had been relegated to mid-range.  

The 1961 Dart Pioneer wasn't the prettiest Dodge to ever roll off the line, and that's not just our opinion. The reverse fins, rear fender scalloping and ‘ingrown toenail’ headlamps were hugely unpopular at the time, and it was reflected in the sales figures. In 1960 some 306,000 Darts found buyers, compared with just over 167,000 the following year.

Judging by the shattered glass on the trunk of this 1966 Mercury Monterey, the rear window has been smashed since the car has been parked in Oakleaf Old Cars. However, thankfully the Breezeway roof is offering the back seat some protection from the weather.

Here’s one that needs little by way of an introduction. Considering that 1957 Chevrolets are one of the most popular collectors cars of all time, it never ceases to amaze us how many are still languishing in America’s salvage yards. This is a 210 four-door sedan, which with 273,696 sales, was the most popular of the 20 models offered that year. While it still has plenty of decent body panels to offer, the interior has been stripped bare. 

The Mach 1 was a performance package for the Ford Mustang that first appeared in 1969. It was only offered on SportsRoof body styles, and within a year of launching had replaced the GT. This sorry-looking example, which has long since parted company with its V8, is a facelifted first-generation car. They were made from 1971 to 1973, but we can’t tell which year this example hails from. 

One of the most distinctive features of fourth-generation Lincoln Continentals, like this 1964 example, are of course its reversed-doors. Rear-hinged doors had serious potential safety concerns. These include passengers falling out of a moving car and being dragged along by the door, and getting crushed by the door if hit by a passing car while exiting the vehicle. Ignoring a few short gaps, the Continental name was around from the late 1930s through to 2002. After a 14-year absence it reappeared in 2017 as a successor to the MKS, but production stopped in 2020.

Have you got any idea what's going on with that strange metal arrangement covering this 1948 two-door Hudson's rear side window? It looks like something that's been knocked together by the A-Team! Maybe it's some sort of armor-plating – after all, it already has a bullet hole in the windscreen!

How’s this for an unusual trio? The Subaru 360 was launched in the USA in 1968 in an attempt to appeal to people wanting to save money at the gas pumps. While 66mpg and a price tag of $1300 did make them enticing to some money-conscious buyers, their questionable looks and lethargic performance (0-50mph in 38 seconds) ensured that they were never huge sellers.

Of the 9,299 Edsel Citations built in 1958, more than half of them (5,588) were four-door hardtops like this. The Citation was the highest trim level available within the Edsel brand, and it was also the second worst seller. Rarest of the lot in 1958 was the Bermuda station wagon, which found just 779 buyers.

The 1947 Studebaker Commander Starlight two-door coupe was the work of legendary automotive designer Virgil Exner, and looked like nothing else on the road. Distinctive styling features included panoramic wrap-around rear windows, and an oversized trunk, leading critics to ask which way it was driving! 

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.