The Junkyard Discoveries of CTC Auto Ranch, Texas

The business opened in 1990, and has built up a collection of 3000 vehicles, a mix of parts cars and complete restoration projects. Although some of the stock dates back to the 1930s and 1940s, its real strength lies in the post-War era. Let’s take a look at some highlights from our visit – and many of the cars we discuss are still available:

CTC Auto Ranch has about 3000 vehicles, and this tantalising line-up gives you a great flavor of what to expect. Unfortunately, because of a spate of parts thefts, customers are no longer permitted to wander around the site unaccompanied, but the staff are only too happy to assist.

This 1953 Plymouth four-door sedan certainly stands out amongst the other rusty residents. The solid rolling shell, which could make a fantastic rat rod, is yours for just $2000.

The Plymouth brand was launched in 1928, and by the early 1970s was selling close to one million cars per year. But by the late 1990s sales had plummeted, and the marque was killed off at the turn of the century.

Since the picture was taken, this 1969 Buick Electra 225 has lost a few parts, including all four of its side windows. However, those straight, and rust-free panels, are still up for grabs. And, if you can’t find what you’re looking for on this particular example, CTC Auto Ranch has another three identical parts cars in stock. 

While it’s not the most desirable limousine in the world, this 1986 six-door Cadillac is still a bargain at $2495, and definitely deserves to be saved. It was built by Armbruster Stageway of Fort Smith, Arkansas, a coachbuilder with a rich history dating back to the 19th century.

Here’s a car that needs no introduction at all – the AMC Pacer. It’s one of two mid-1970s ‘glass egg’ parts cars in stock at the time of writing. The Pacer’s passenger door was 4in longer than the driver’s side, which aided access for rear passengers on the curbside. While this worked well in its home market, it wasn’t so great in the United Kingdom, where the car was briefly exported. Although the cars were converted to right-hand-drive, the extended door couldn’t be switched. This made it difficult for the driver to open it in typically small UK parking spaces. 

At first glance it looks like this 1966 Plymouth Fury VIP (very important Plymouth) is covered in tennis balls, but in actual fact it’s parked under a horse-apple tree. Every autumn it gets bombarded with the dense fruits, and we wonder if they’re responsible for the crack in the windshield. The horse-apple (otherwise known as the Osage orange) has the ability to repel spiders and other insects, and were once commonly found under Texan beds.

Are you looking for spares for your 1950s Chevrolet? Then you definitely need to get in touch with CTC Auto Ranch. At the time of writing it has no less than 68 of them in stock, plus a further eight project cars.

It’s not often we stumble upon a 1969 Dodge Coronet Super Bee parts car in a salvage yard. Although this one no longer appears on the yard’s website, there are other muscle cars on offer.

The Super Bee, which was based on the Coronet coupe, was built from 1968 to 1971. It was Dodge’s low-priced muscle car, and was conceived following the success of the Plymouth Road Runner.

The AMC Gremlin won't go down in history as one of the most economical, fast, pretty or indeed competent of cars, but it's certainly one of the most distinctive. Its unusual styling stems from the fact that it’s a cut-down Javelin, leading people at the time of the launch to ask what happened to the half they cut off… This example, which probably rolled off the line in 1973, has since found a new home. However CTC does have a pair of Gremlin parts cars in stock.

The same hot Texan sun that helps to keep rust at bay, can also pay havoc with paintwork, as demonstrated by this 1975 Chevy Impala. Although it appears to be solid, and has some restoration potential, during our visit we were informed that it is in fact a parts car. 

When we visited the yard this 1959 Dodge Coronet Lancer two-door had an asking price of just $2495, which explains why it has since found a new home. In total the Coronet was used over seven generations, this being the fourth (1957 to 1959).

This 1949 Nash 600 four-door sedan is riddled with bullet holes, having presumably been shot at by either short-sighted or frustrated hunters. This was America’s first mass-produced unibody car, which made it lighter in weight than a conventional body-on-frame vehicle. This boosted performance (0-60mph in 20.6 seconds) and fuel economy. The ‘600’ was a nod to the fact that it could do 600 miles on a single tank of gas, albeit with a tailwind!

CTC Auto Ranch sits alongside I35, and with tens of thousands of vehicles passing each day, you’d think enough people would have spotted this 1950 Hudson Super Six four-door sedan parts car for it to have been stripped bare. But according to recent pictures on CTC’s website, it doesn’t look any different to this.

Futuristic fastback styling ensured that these ‘Step-Down’ cars looked like nothing else on the road when they were launched, and they still look fantastic today.

The AMC Eagle was actually quite an important and influential car, and was definitely years ahead of its time. These were the first four-wheel-drive passenger cars produced in the USA, paving the way for the crossovers that would follow.

CTC Auto Ranch reckons this Eagle SX/4 hails from 1984, but we were under the impression that only the sedan and wagon were still in production by then.

Between 1971 and 1973 a total of 34,080 Buick ‘Boattail’ Rivieras were produced, and CTC Auto Ranch has 20 of them. These consist of five from 1971, eight from 1972 (including this one) and seven from 1973. The car’s distinctive rear end and boattail window are reminiscent of the 1963 Corvette Stingray.

CTC Auto Ranch has some highly desirable cars…and this 1973 AMC Hornet Sportabout. 1973 was AMC’s second best year ever in terms of sales, with 392,105 cars finding buyers. Of those, 44,719 were Hornet station wagons. Perhaps the most famous Hornet of all time was the hatchback that did that memorable barrel-roll jump in the 1974 James Bond film The Man With The Golden Gun.

CTC Auto Ranch won't send anything to the crusher if it has any useable parts left, and we mean any useable parts. Does anyone need a roof for a 1967 something-or-other? Go on, put it out of its misery…

Although this 1980 Lincoln Towncar's bodywork is in excellent condition, the roof resembles Swiss cheese. Presumably rainwater penetrated the vinyl roof, and gradually destroyed the metalwork over the years. With tin worm like this, it’s safe to assume that this car isn’t native to Texas.

Vinyl roofs were a hugely popular option in the 1960s and 1970s, but by the 1980s their popularity was starting to wane. Lincoln stopped offering them in the early 1990s, and by the start of the new century they’d pretty much disappeared from all the car makers’ options lists.

CTC Auto Ranch always has a good supply of 1957 Chevrolet parts cars, but during our visit we were rather taken with this Handyman. The rolling shell was being offered for $2995. In 1957 Chevrolet sold more than 1.5 million cars, but just 33,000 were two-door station wagons.

That is of course a 1956 Chevy on the right, but the real rarity in this picture is the green pickup. According to CTC Auto Ranch, which has since sold the truck, it’s a 1978 Dodge D100 Warlock. The Warlock was originally a concept vehicle and part of Dodge's late 1970s "adult toys" line, but went into production between 1977 and 1979. It featured custom wheels, wide tires, bucket seats, and a step-side bed.

It might look like a parts car, but during our visit the yard was offering this tatty 1955 Studebaker Commander two-door hardtop as a restoration project. Although a highly desirable and attractive car, this one is in a terrible state of repair, and harbors some serious rust issues. We would love to know if it was purchased, and if so, what it looks like now.

This 1957 Buick Super Series 50 convertible is another one that we were surprised to see being offered as a restoration project. We appreciate that it's incredibly rare (just over 2000 were built), but surely it’s beyond help. When they were new these cars had a $4000 price tag, but CTC was offering this for $2500.

An Ohio license plate in the trunk of this 1966 Mercury Parklane four-door hardtop might explain why it’s so rusty. While some of the body panels are too far gone to be of any use to anyone, at the time of taking the picture the interior was still in great shape. 

Equipped with the Marauder 428 V8, this 4244lb Park Lane was certainly no slouch, managing 60mph in 7.2 seconds, and continuing to a top speed of 128mph.

While Kaiser flourished in the early post war period – a result of the car-starved public buying just about anything with four wheels – like other independent auto manufacturers it just didn't have the resources to compete with Dettroit’s Big Three in the long term. By 1955, when this Special rolled off the line, the writing was on the wall. US production of Kaiser passenger cars would cease the following year.

There’s no mistaking this distinctive rear end, which belongs to a 1966 AMC Marlin. The Marlin, which was sold between 1965 and 1967, was billed as a roomy fastback. It was certainly more spacious than the Mustang and Barracuda anyway, and for a while had the market to itself. But then along came the Dodge Charger. The 2004 Chrysler Crossfire shared many of the Marlin’s styling cues.

CTC Auto Ranch has a handful of British cars on site, both projects and parts vehicles. In addition to the ubiquitous MGs, Jaguars and Triumph TRs, we spotted this rare Austin America. It’s for sale, and with an asking price of just $995, seems like a bargain.

Back in Great Britain this ‘ADO16’ range of cars were heavily badge engineered, and while the Austin and Morris versions were the most popular, it was also sold as an MG, Riley, Vanden Plas and Wolseley. They were best-sellers in their home market for most of their 12-year production run (1962-1974). 

Look at the state of the front of this 1958 Plymouth Plaza. Maybe Osage oranges are heavier than we thought! Ignoring the unusually disfigured front end, the car is in remarkably good condition. 1958 was the final year for the Plaza, Plymouth’s entry-level offering.

This is a 1949 Packard, but we aren’t sure which model it is. Whatever it is, it’s unusual, and definitely needs saving.  In 1949 the average household income in the USA was $2950, and the average car cost roughly half this figure. Meanwhile the cheapest Packard cost $2360, and a fully loaded Super Eight would have set you back $4123. That said, 117,000 still found buyers.

With their sloping rear-end styling, it was very clear that the 1982-1987 Lincoln Continentals were designed to compete head-to-head with Cadillac’s Seville. This shape was known as the ‘bustleback’, and was actually modelled on pre-War British luxury cars.  The new Continentals were also smaller than the previous generation, which was a conscious decision to put some space between them and the Town Car. This one, which still has plenty of useful parts, was built in 1984.

Launched in 1979, the AMC Spirit was the Gremlin’s replacement. Its four-year production run would end when it was succeeded by the imported Renault Alliance sedan and Renault Encore hatchback. This 1979 GT two-door hardtop is for sale as a complete car, and has a $2495 price tag.

Weighing in at 5148 lb, the 1972 Lincoln Continental Town Car was large even by 1970s standards. Due to its proportions a fair few of these have ended their days in Demolition Derbies, which has contributed to their poor survival rate.

The Ford Maverick, which was built in the US (and also in Canada, Mexico, Venezuela and Brazil) between 1969 and 1977, was a direct replacement for the Falcon. It was Ford's answer to compact imports like the Volkswagen Beetle, at least until the Pinto arrived on the scene in 1971. This is one of 15 Maverick parts cars the yard currently has in stock, including a rare 1972 Maverick Grabber.

During our visit we were impressed with this 1970 Dodge Coronet 500. We had no idea whether the 383cu in V8 still ran, but even if it didn’t it still seemed like a bargain at $2995. Somebody else clearly thought so too, as it’s no longer in the yard.

How the mighty have fallen… A 1982 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham d'Elegance, once the height of sophistication and desirability, has been deemed a parts car by CTC Auto Ranch.  The Fleetwood Brougham was built between 1977 and 1986, with the d'Elegance badge designating an upgraded trim option. We’re talking plush leather button tufted seating and adjustable rear occupant reading lamps.

We wonder how many times the question ‘are we nearly there yet?’ was asked by bored kids on family vacations in this 1971 Dodge Coronet Crestwood wagon. Hopefully they wouldn’t have drowned out the sound of that lovely 6.3-litre V8…

A total of 6865 of these wagons found buyers, the majority being nine-passenger cars, with a rear-facing third row of seats.

Ford’s Fairlane 500 Skyliner, with its retractable Hide-Away Hardtop, was never a huge seller. In fact, between 1957 and 1959 less than 50,000 found buyers. This is a 1959 model, one of 12,915 built.  The Skyliner was only the second car in the world to feature a retractable hardtop, the first being a 1930s Peugeot.

Here’s one that definitely needs rescuing, it’s a 1964 Buick Wildcat complete with 425cu in Nailhead V8. While it has some rust in the bodywork, it’s certainly not terminal. CTC has priced it at $3495, which seems very reasonable for a rare car like this.

Chevrolet’s Sedan Delivery enjoyed a 30-year production run. They were finally discontinued in 1960 when the full-sized two-door station wagons on which they were based were dropped from the line-up. In 1972 Chevrolet had another go, launching a van version of its two-door Vega wagon, but sales were pitiful. This one hails from 1953.

This 1964 Ford Fairlane 500 appears to be in fabulous condition, and has even got air in all four tires. Presumably it had recently arrived in the yard when this picture was taken. Sadly it’s a very different story today, having been truly scavenged for parts. Little more than the skeleton remains, and even the roof has been liberated.

Today the Land Cruiser name is synonymous with Toyota’s legendary 4x4, but between 1933 and 1954 it was used by Studebaker. This is a 1951 example, which was an incredibly good seller, having a lot to do with the introduction of a new V8.

If you see anything here you like, check out the yard’s excellent website  www.ctcautoranch.com to ensure that the vehicle is still available. Parts and complete cars can be shipped throughout the world.

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.