For any self respecting car enthusiast, a salvage yard holds a special kind of enchantment. More than just a collection of deceased autos, the modern junkyard functions as a living museum, a repository where each decaying metal body tells its own peculiar story. Cooley’s Statewide Scrap and Salvage, a family owned outfit in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, specializes in automotive archaeology, its half-century of operation yielding a virtual junkyard for America’s classic and vintage vehicle population.

Four hours spent wading through the seemingly endless rows at Cooley’s on a sunny afternoon were only enough to reveal a fraction of the vehicles within; still, the arresting image with which we were greeted hints at the bounty to come. Prepare for some seriously cool automotive discoveries, beginning with some icons from the glory days of American motoring and beyond.

1. Cadillac Series 62-1955

Somewhere in a neglected jungle in the backyard, a 1955 Cadillac Series 62 sleeps under decades of decay. Wild growing weeds surround the car, vines have wrapped around its body, but its elegance and poise remain. Somehow it has almost arrogantly outlasted decay, faded, not gone, but still undeniably there. All you need is a clear glance at the three graceful chrome moldins around the license plate, which are enough to indicate a Cadillac, particularly one of the highest quality and production of the year.

What Makes This Discovery Stand Out:

• Three chrome mouldings still visible near the license plate
• Record breaking 140,777 units sold in 1955
• Ranked 10th best selling marque in the entire US
• Remarkably complete despite decades of abandonment
• Signature taillights still intact and recognizable

It’s because of the unspoiled nature of this find, however, that makes it truly so rare, as it seems scavengers largely didn’t bother this iconic American classic, having sat patiently in the junk yard for many years in public. This, in my humble opinion, was a car that started out as pure optimism, in what had to be arguably the best year for Cadillac, as it was the zenith of both sales figures and public perception for this particular model. To witness this in the weeds just gives it even more gravitas and prestige.

2. Chevrolet Sedan Delivery-1953

This 1953 Chevrolet Sedan Delivery is adorned with ghosts of its previous employment all over its body. Now almost impossible to read the ghost signwriting suggests it was “Peterson’s Pies” and for me at least instantly creates an image of a time gone by. You can quite easily picture this thing rushing through the streets of its local town on an early morning full of freshly baked wares delivering them door to door throughout the neighbourhood. No sign of it or the business it worked for anywhere on the web these days which somehow seems to make this discovery more of a personal thing.

Why This Van Still Turns Heads Today:

• Ghost signwriting still faintly reads “Peterson’s Pies”
• Built as a commercial workhorse for local deliveries
• Highly sought after by collectors and customizers
• Unique blend of classic car style and van utility
• Entire front half of the vehicle is now missing

These types of sedan delivery vans are the in thing currently for collectors and customizers due to the utility factor mixed with the character of a classic car. It’s a bit sad that this particular pie wagon looks unlikely to ever get the complete overhaul due to the entire front half missing from the vehicle, however it gives just enough away to want to hear so much more of this vehicle’s history.

3. AMC Pacer

No doubt about it, the AMC Pacer wasn’t a car that faded into the scenery. Between the bulbous, bubbly design and the equally strange mechanical engineering, few cars from its era could be more distinctive. What’s more shocking to learn about its design is the obvious (if people know where to look) the passenger side door is a full four inches longer than the driver’s door. This wasn’t an aesthetic error. It was designed to make getting in the rear more manageable for occupants.

The Quirks That Defined the Pacer:

• Passenger door was four full inches longer than the driver’s
• Designed deliberately for easier rear seat passenger entry
• Futuristic bubble body made it instantly recognizable on roads
• Right-hand-drive markets received the same unmodified door layout
• UK drivers ended up with the larger door on the driver’s side

A neat little design quirk popped up as a humorous side effect when the Pacer was exported into right hand drive markets such as the UK, because the door arrangement never did go the other way round. This meant that UK drivers and not their passengers enjoyed the benefit of the larger door aperture, a funny little design feature. It’s bound to have puzzled a few owners in the UK who never realized the arrangement was designed to work the opposite way around.

4. Buick Riviera-1966

Automotive companies across America had the absolute rage with hiding headlamps back in the 60s for a cleaner appearance. The Buick Riviera of 1966 was no exception to this and looked damn sweet for its efforts, too. The 1966 Buick Riviera’s lights flipped downwards to hang in front of the radiator when switched on and were then neatly retracted into their covered housings above. This was a damn awesome party trick few of its contemporaries could achieve, and Buick knew precisely what they were up to with it.

Why the 1966 Riviera Was a Design Landmark:

• Headlights hidden behind a compartment above the grille
• Lamps flipped down dramatically when switched on
• Striking visual effect unlike anything else on the road
• Stunning design translated directly into massive public demand
• A record 45,308 Rivieras were sold in that single year

But if the headlights were doing their hardest to remain unseen, the car buyers weren’t being at all shy. The combination of massive road presence and stunning styling proved an astonishing success with the public, and the sales numbers confirmed just what a smash the Riviera turned out to be. So that record breaking number wasn’t luck, it was what happened when a design popped up from a US production line like nothing before it and decades later remains one of the most beloved designs of the 1960s.

5. Nash Airflyte Statesman-1950

The Nash Airflyte, when launched in 1949, looked as if it had just rolled off the screen of a sci-fi movie. Nicknamed the “Bathtub” due to its unusual shape, all the rounded and streamlined edges of the Airflyte were put to the test inside a wind tunnel and the results were applied to a car that truly did look like something totally new to American roads, in the best sense of the word.

What Made the Airflyte So Unconventional:

• Designed entirely around wind tunnel aerodynamic testing
• Nicknamed the “Bathtub” for its rounded, enclosed shape
• Large rounded fenders reduced drag significantly
• Enclosed wheel arches and teardrop rear added to efficiency
• Sat remarkably low to the ground for its era

As a matter of fact, all of it had a function and that was to beat the air: Those giant round fender skirts or the completely faired wheel wells; that long streamliner teardrop tail, something Detroit just hadn’t had a taste for up till then, much of the Statesman Super even got close to being low and a couple decades laying about in a salvage lot may add weight to play as you’ll observe.

6. Ford Bronco Eddie Bauer

Anyone that follows outdoor pursuits will associate the name Eddie Bauer with rugged, American outdoorsmanship. The man himself a sportsmen, entrepreneur and innovator lived from 1899-1986 and created a business with ties to more than just the great outdoors. Bauer is the man responsible for the Bomber Jacket worn by our fighter pilots during WWII a fact which alone would ensure him a permanent place in our culture, but even he also managed to bring his design eye and reputation for performance to the automotive world of yesteryear.

What Defined the Eddie Bauer Edition:

• Name licensed to Ford starting with a 1983 Bronco II
• Top-tier trim package built for rugged yet refined driving
• Distinctive two tone exterior finish set it apart visually
• Cabin featured power seats and cruise control as standard
• Perfectly balanced off-road capability with upscale comfort

In 1983, Bauer also licensed his name for a limited run edition of the Ford Bronco II that became an high line, trim level that put all the creature comforts inside an extremely capable, yet rugged, off road machine. This one, seemingly from the 1986 model year, would have come from the dealer equipped with that eye catching two tone paint scheme as well as the power seats and cruise control you would have needed after a day tackling the wilderness in your luxurious sport utility vehicle before heading in to check into the hotel.

7. Packard Clipper-1954

This 1954 Clipper came from one of the grimmest, most sorrowful periods of Packard’s distinguished past. The once-hallowed make was in a fight to the death, and the financial figures did not provide any cheerful perspective. Sales had crashed to just 31,291, off by nearly two thirds from 1953 levels. For a make that had once personified all things American in style, quality and status, that was a gut wrencher.

The Numbers Behind Packard’s Painful Decline:

• Sales fell to just 31,291 units in 1954
• Represented only a third of the prior year’s figures
• Ranking tumbled to 16th place among US automakers
• Led directly to a desperate merger with Studebaker
• A modest 1955 recovery wasn’t enough to reverse the fall

A drop of that significance pushed Packard to 16th in sales in the USA and so dire was the situation, the company would merge with Studebaker, a sister manufacturer in just as much trouble, as a final measure for survival. Sales improved slightly in 1955, a nice turn, but the fate of Packard had already been sealed. In this case the Clipper is one last lament for a great house at the exact instant that it failed, and it is one beautifully constructed car.

8. Plymouth Duster

One creative individual with some welding skills decided to convert this Plymouth Duster into one heck of a one off machine: a custom 4×4 that the owner boldly named the “Trail Duster.” It’s a kickass name, but not the first to rock it. Between 1974-1981, Plymouth used the Trail Duster name on a badge engineered version of the factory off-loading Dodge Ram charger, which had nothing to do with this build outside of the same name. That makes this truck even cooler to me.

What Makes This Backyard Build So Memorable:

• Custom 4×4 conversion built entirely outside the factory
• Creator named it the “Trail Duster” with obvious pride
• Plymouth used the same name on a Ram charger variant 1974-1981
• Engine has long since been removed, leaving its power a mystery
• Represents the best of backyard ingenuity and car culture

There’s something very honest about the whole thing, a backyard invention story that really touches the core of car culture the hope that with a little hard work and imagination you can remake just about anything better than it was in the first place. What kind of monster once fit in there driving those gigantic wheels is anybody’s guess; it’s long gone now. Nobody can even guess at the sort of crazy trails this particular custom Duster once shredded in its day.

9. Jaguar XJ6 Series 1-1968

The introduction of the Jaguar XJ6 in 1968 was more than just the arrival of another model, it marked the point where the British firm was making a serious statement and decided to consolidate the complex Jaguar sedan range into one. It was one of the finest looking cars of its era understated but undeniably rich and driving it made its competitors seem downright agricultural. Europeans had a choice between 2.8-litre and 4.2-litre engines, whereas North America only got the larger, 4.2-litre unit and frankly, with Jaguar buyers on this side of the Atlantic it made more than sense.

Key Facts About the XJ6 Series 1:

• Debuted in 1968 as a full lineup consolidation model
• American market received only the 4.2-liter engine
• Reached 60 mph in under 10 seconds for its era
• Top speed of 126 mph placed it among the class leaders
• One of just 59,077 short wheelbase 4.2-liter cars ever built

It certainly produced real, respectable performance from a luxury car of the era, powering it from 0-60 in less than 10 seconds, and all the way up to a claimed top speed of 126 mph. As this rather weathered example clearly does, having earned a rich patina of rust to accompany its many miles and years of stillness, it looks remarkably all there. Standing still in the grass, it is one of only 59,077 short wheelbase models made with this particular engine for its six years of manufacture proof of a day when elegance from the British isles truly had few peers.

10. Ford Galaxie 500-1964

So much corrosion this Galaxie would almost let you crawl into the trunk through the lower deck, if you neglected to even crack it open. The lower portion of the Galaxie looks to be nothing more than latticework formed out of nothing but a hundred years of ice. That is exactly what happened to most of those unlucky automobiles left to rot outside over decades of the harsh Midwestern seasons. This car makes absolutely no apologies for it.

Why the Galaxie 500 Still Matters Even Here:

• Lower body extensively rusted through from Wisconsin winters
• Chrome trim pieces remain salvageable and highly usable
• Interior components could help restore other surviving examples
• Galaxie 500 accounted for 600,000 of Ford’s 1964 production
• Ford produced 1.6 million total vehicles in that single year

But the car isn’t exactly a throw away even in this state. Digging deeper shows a trove of chrome parts, interior bits and trim all usable items that might just spark the rebirth of another car. A silent symbol of the model’s once massive presence, it is hard to fathom that the Galaxie 500, in 1964 alone, accounted for more than 600,000 of the 1.6 million cars and trucks sold that year by Ford. Even as pieces, it still has a story to tell.