Outdoor car show

[ramapo]

The woods of Northern NJ/Southern NY are full of long abandoned vehicles. It is always with a measure of excitement and wonder that we come upon these old wrecks. How, when, and why are always our unanswered questions. Some are almost unidentifiable, others almost familiar. Most are just skeletons.

The new car show always wows but this one is more mysterious. I've amassed quite a collection of shots over the years. Most are not more than quick snapshots but all preserve what might have once been somebody's prized possession.

Any car buffs out there who can guess make/model/year?

Old jeep? at abandoned farm


This old truck was found at a uranium mine (yes in NJ!) last worked in the 1960s


This one must have been a beauty


This one could fit the whole family


Giving a push to get her started


This one needs some work


Once elegant


Out for a test drive

[NV Whino]

1. I'm going to take a guess on the models just for fun

Years are up for grabs.
1. Definitely a jeep.
2. Ford, probably 40s.
3. Ford, 57 from the tail fins.
4. Ford, of the ginormous 56 or 57 variety I think.
5. Chevy maybe, 60s maybe
6. Chevy? 60s?
7. Chrysler? Desoto? 60s?
8. Same car from the other side.

[alfredo]

3. 5. 1961 Dodge. The round lights on the bumper are the giveaway.

[NV Whino]

4. Man, these things were monsters, weren't they

My father sold my 57 Ford coup and gave me his 58 Ford station wagon. The first month's gas bill was $100, and those were the days of 28¢ a gallon gas.

Sold that puppy and bought my friend's VW bug.

[alfredo]

6. The new prairie schooners

[ramapo]

5. It was a beauty

Now there's a project for me. Find a corresponding marketing/sales photo for each old wreck in the woods. There must be some publications available that provide a year-by-year historical look at models as they came and went.

[alfredo]

7. Before and after.

The trim will help determine the exact model. It can become complex because there were so many variations.

[liberal N proud]

2. The Jeep brings back some memories

My dad had a 47 Sedan Delivery, I restored in in High School fully original. It was a cool vehicle. He traded to a guy for a new golf cart.

We had a lot of fun with that old vehicle.

[justiceischeap]

8. Look at you exploring abandonments!

I feel as though I've seen these images before (from other urban explorers in the netosphere) and I'm thinking it looks like shots I've seen in Maryland.

[ramapo]

9. The more abandoned the better.

I guess old wrecks populate the woods everywhere. Many are not even near a woods road so we wonder how they got to their final resting place. Often the forest has grown up around the carcass. Why didn't the owner take the car to a junkyard and maybe gotten a few bucks for it? Some might've had a catastrophic event during a joy ride but then most are absent engines.

We also love finding old mines and other ruins. Two favorites out this way are the grounds of a former paper mill and a rocket engine development site.

[justiceischeap]

10. In my neck of the woods, there's actually a reason why the "graveyard" is there

There was a massive flood that swept the cars into the woods and that's where they stayed. There's a rocket engine dev site I want to visit on the east coast and I would love to go out west and visit some old ghost towns. There aren't too many on the east coast.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

11. Wow..you are clever AND and good photographer ! nt