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The Green Mile:
More GM A-Bodies
This page is the long awaited second edition of The Death Penalty:
GM A-Bodies. The previous section might have been a real introduction
about derelict GM A-Bodies, and the prequel should be the ultimate follow
up to the original. Have a look at the intro on the other page,
since it details the Houston area self-service salvage yards. Anything
described on either page is based on personal experience and what is seen
behind the fence of a salvage yard.
Here are some pics, and they speak for themselves.
Look carefully at the "before" shots of this death row inmate, a 1968 Pontiac
LeMans. This was the condition of the car when it arrived before
the dawn of the Y2K bug. Solid, but look below at the pics below,
which were taken a few weeks later:
Cruel Intentions 101: Here's the same car a couple of weeks later.
The pics of the LeMans are graphic, since the rear package tray was surgically
removed, by a Dr. Frankenstein masochist, and notice the sail panels.
The sheetmetal was chiseled with a air chisel, just to access the spot
welds. Like the other pics, these graphic images show that cruel
scavengers pick these classics for their valuables, and after the Y2K bug
hit, this LeMans met its fate with the crusher, and in Texas, oldies aren't
given a stay of execution, like the Walls Unit of TDCJ-ID in Huntsville,
Texas.
This 1971 Pontiac Grand Prix spend its life barked under a tree, and when
I spotted the car, the rear window area was rusted, and body cancer present
in the trunk. After looking in the interior, a console was present,
but the bucket seats were swiped. The original tires were still on
the car, but they were dry-rotted and unusable after 29 years. Like
the Monte Carlo seen on the original Death Penalty page, the disc brakes
were swiped. (7.20.02 update: the disc brakes that were snatched from this Grand Prix were sold on eBay, and it will be swapped into a 1967 Chevelle.)
The previous owner of this plain-jane 1969 El Camino had a little too much
of Jack Daniels or Southern Comfort. After this pic was snapped,
the taillight housings, emblems, side marker lenses, LH door, RH outside
door handle, and master cylinder pushrod have been pirated. Judging
from the condition of the El Camino, it's beyond restoration, but when
I spotted the carcass, the windshield wasn't splintered. A 250 and
a Powerglide was the basic powerplant, and one thing unusual was seeing
an original PS pump and steering gear.
Another 1972 Chevelle hardtop, with a rusted deck lid. A friend of
mine stated that an SS hood was on the car, before its initial display.
A disc brake master cylinder, prop valve, and front drums are unusual on
a classic A-body, but the only components that I swiped were the frame
mounts. The frame towers are now residing in another 1972
Chevelle in Southampton, PA.
1970-72 Cutlass Supreme Holiday Coupes are in the same caste with 1970-72
Monte Carlos and 1969-72 Grand Prixes, and this 1972 Cutlass Supreme was
abused by the previous owner. These cars often show up with front
discs, and everyone knows the side repercussions when the greedy spot an
pre-1973 A-body with front discs. This car still had the master cylinder
and booster, which would be pirated along with the front discs for a total
upgrade, along with the hard lines.
Another 1971 LeMans hardtop, which had seen better days. Teens that
desire a GTO in the garage are deprived of the real thing, and the LeMans
or Tempest hardtop has always been the alternative. If this car was
advertised for $200 in the Auto Trader, I would have bought this car either
for parts or as a project, instead of being treated like a death row inmate.
Not far from the LeMans was this derelict beater, a 1965 Oldsmobile Cutlass
hardtop. The Cutlass had OEM bucket seats, but the console was long
gone. This car wasn't hacked in half like the F85 seen in Part I.
This 1972 Chevelle hardtop has seen better days, and some gorilla hacked
the ass. Sick? A 10-bolt (8.125") rearend was missing two axleshafts,
and after scavenging the entire car, everything was vandalized when this
pic was snapped. I didn't bother to salvage the frame mounts; they
were the least desirable 707 and 708 frame towers (for enquiring minds,
this hardtop came with a 307).
At the same time when I needed a 12-bolt 4 x 4 axleshaft for my pickup,
I spotted this derelict 1971 Chevelle 4-door in Pasadena. The only
thing that I took home was the grille trim. I almost salvaged the
rear splash pan, but one of the bolts was corroded. A couple of weeks
later, someone came up lucky with the splash pan. The moral:
if U don't have the tool needed to complete the job, get one ASAP.
It's a matter of difference between profit and loss.
The previous owner of this 1966 Cutlass 4-door should have known better
to sell the entire car to a salvage facility. Some 442 people might
need a few parts, but once these classics end up as death row inmates,
grab anything, and enjoy the striptease.
In the same yard with the 1966 Cutlass was a 1972 Monte Carlo. Instead
of being either a lowrider or restored classic, being sent to the Mile
is a total nightmare. By the time I spotted the Monte Carlo, the
rearend housing (presumably a 12-bolt) and front discs were long gone.
The 12-bolt IS the sought-after holy grail since the big-block Chevrolet
underneath Chevrolet/GMC C2500/3500 pickups et.al., and who gets there
first ends up with a gem. The only components that I grabbed were
the frame towers (similar to the Chevelle, except that the towers in a
Monte Carlo are flipped 180 degrees.
Sighting from Galveston, TX: Another 1972 Cutlass 4-door, with front
drums. The front doghouse sans hood were long gone, as well as the
rearend housing (a type "B" or "O" housing with an indented 10-bolt cover).
This was the last thing that I would see before hitting the beach after
a yard mission on the Island.
Another death row Cutlass: a 1969 4-door sedan. The Cutlass
was a Louisiana car, which lived a rough life, and sent to the Mile by
its original owner. When I came across the rearend housing, it was
a 12/10 (12 bolt - 10 bolt gear), known to Oldsmobile enthusiasts as the
8.3 or 12/10. If I were the savior, this Cutlass would have been
saved or parted out, instead of sitting on stilts and put to death 3 months
later. In the LH pic, a 1978 Cutlass Calais (totally solid) arrived
solid, only to die a few months later.
10/27/00: A couple of days before the October Delmar Swap Meet, the
first four-door 1971 Chevelle was on display, and after this pic was snapped,
the rearend was gone a week later. The following week, another 1971
Chevelle 4-door showed up at the North Drennan Pick-A-Part:
I spotted another 1971 Chevelle 4-door (11/3/00), and the rearend disappeared
when I returned the next day. I managed to strip the entire doghouse,
exc. the inner fenders and hood, but the stash vehicle, a 1979 Chevrolet
cube van, is now located in the fenced section of the North Drennan Pick-A-Part.
One of the fenders, and the entire core support, is still there, along
with a RH fender from an 86 Suburban. To date, the stash is fenced
in the 'off limits' section of the yard.
The rows where the Chevelles were on display is no longer a Chevrolet-exclusive
section, since all 3 of the Pick-A-Part yards has discontinued Chevrolet-exclusive
sections. Incoming Bowties are now integrated with BOP vehicles.
Pasadena, TX: another 1971 Cutlass hardtop, which should have been
used as a project car. At the Pasadena Pick-N-Pull, they always punch
the fuel tank with a screwdriver, and stash it in the trunk. There
was nothing that I needed, but ended up with the spy pics. There
will be more during the following year of an odyssey, which will be online
soon...
Here's the third installment of the A-Body Death Row Capital in the
Houston area:
Wallisville:
Death Penalty Capital for GM A-Bodies
Copyright 1999, 2000, 2001
LSC
Publications. Anyone is welcome to "borrow" any of the images,
and this page should serve as a testament to the ongoing awareness of salvage
yards and/or arbitrary and capricious acts that are insurmountable.
Contact COVA/CVAG for more information,
since they are here to educate the public about unfair vehicular laws in
all 50 states.
The use of the title
on this URL isn't related to the feature film of the same name, which stars
Tom Hanks.
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