Junkyard Discoveries of Windy Hill Auto Parts in New London, Minnesota

This place has thousands of vehicles, some as old as the early 1900s, and they’re scattered over a vast Minnesota hillside. 

This incredible place, which boasts at being open 365 days a year, offers an astonishing number of spare parts. “We sell quality used auto parts, from engines, transmissions, tires, windshields, and computers to watcha-ma-call-its,” says its website.

If you see anything you want, give them a call on (320) 354-2201 or (800) 398-0566. They ship to the lower 48 states. This is part 1 of our feature on this enormous yard – we’ll feature more in a few weeks time.

How’s this for a taster of what you can expect to find at Windy Hill Auto Parts? During our visit it was parked outside the office, right next to the roadside, and certainly grabbed our attention. It’s a 1951 Studebaker Champion, complete with six-cylinder engine and automatic transmission. 

While the yard specializes in older vehicles, and has an impressive collection of pre-war classics, it does have a selection of newer vehicles too. Amongst those sits this 1987 Cadillac Eldorado. It’s a shame that these downsized luxury cars aren’t more desirable, as this apparently rust-free example certainly isn’t beyond saving. 

The Renault 5 was a hugely popular car, finding 5.5 million buyers between 1972 and 1986. In fact, it was Europe’s most popular car for a spell. However, it was a sales flop in the US, where it was christened Le Car and sold through AMC’s 1300 dealerships between 1976 and 1980.

The bulk of those that did find buyers have long since disappeared, making this quite a rarity. An all-new Renault 5 has just been unveiled, this time as an EV, though don’t count on it being sold in the US anytime soon.

This Chevrolet Impala four-door sedan hails from 1973, which was a big year for the US automobile industry. Overall car sales hit 11.9 million for the first time; Chevrolet took the top spot, with a record 2.58 million cars produced, with Ford close behind it on 2.4 million. 

Jaguar Mk2 sedans are desirable cars, and it’s not often that they appear in junkyards. From this angle it doesn’t look too bad, but this is definitely its good side. What you can’t see from this photograph is that most of the front, including the 3.8-liter six-cylinder engine, is missing.

Produced between 1959 and 1967, more than 83,000 were built. However, only 30,141 were fitted with the desirable 3.8-liter. According to the yard’s Facebook page, it’s been a resident since 2019. 

By the late 1980s Windy Hill Auto Parts was undoubtedly one of the US’s biggest junk yards, and according to a staff member we spoke to, had tens of thousands of vehicles sitting side-by-side over the hillside on both sides of the highway.

However, many thousands have since been lost to the crusher, and what’s left is confined to just one side of the road. As you can see, this 1962 Chevrolet station wagon has a lot of empty space around it. 

Some 23,459 Pontiac Bonneville convertibles were sold in 1963, and in decent condition survivors command healthy sums of money. However, this decapitated example is about as far away from decent condition as you can get. That said, it still has a handful of good spare parts on offer. 

Judging by the license plate tags, this 1957 Ford Custom 300 hasn’t cruised the highways since 1968. We wonder where it’s been for all that time. It clearly hasn’t spent 50-plus years languishing at Windy Hill, as it’s still got far too many parts left on it. 

While the 1957 Chevrolet is one of the world’s best-loved classic cars, back in the day it was outsold by Ford. 

In an overgrown corner of the yard, at the very top of Windy Hill, you’ll find a collection of pre-war classics hiding amongst the trees. They’re not the easiest to identify, however we’re confident that this is a 1939 Chevrolet Master 85 two-door sedan. 

Note the tree growing through the engine bay, and another sprouting out through the passenger door orifice. 

Scarcity does not necessarily create value, as demonstrated by this highly unusual Windy Hill resident. It’s an Austin A40 Mk1 sedan, one of 169,612 built between 1958 and 1961. Designed by Pininfarina in Italy, and built by BMC in Britain, these tiny two-door sedans and three-door hatchbacks were powered by a 34hp, 948cc engine, giving them a top speed of 67mph.

Despite the advertising literature banging on about Italian styling and British precision engineering, the US public weren’t convinced. Not helping was the $1795 price tag, which made the A40 $200 dearer than a Volkswagen Beetle. 

While most of the Windy Hill Auto Parts’ stock dates to the 1950s, 1960s and 1970’s, search hard enough and you’ll find 100-year-old residents. But the older the car, generally the worse condition it’s in. Most have been well and truly picked over during the decades, leaving little more than mangled, rusting body shells, and making our job of identifying them rather difficult. 

We can say with some confidence that this is a late 1930s Dodge, but do you know what year it is? 

This 1972 Ford LTD looks like it’s about to launch itself out of Windy Hill Auto Parts. Despite being in production for more than 20 years (1965 to 1986), in all that time Ford never explained what LTD stood for. While popular theories include Luxury Trim Decor and Lincoln Type Design, in truth it probably didn’t stand for anything. 

Although you wouldn’t know it to look at it now, back in 1936 when it rolled off the line, this Master Deluxe was at the top of the Chevrolet line-up. It’s a two-door Town Sedan, which was the best-selling body style that year. It would have been powered by a 3.4-liter, six-cylinder engine, matched to a three-speed manual transmission.

Look at all the space surrounding this 1978 Pontiac Sunbird – space that was once filled with row upon row of classic cars. It appears to be a 1978 Sport coupe, one of just 20,413 built that year. These first-generation cars, which were the Pontiac equivalent of the Chevrolet Monza, were in direct competition with sporty imports like the Toyota Celica, and homegrown cars such as the Ford Mustang II. 

It might be too rotten to be rescued, but we’re surprised that this 1976 International Harvester Scout II hasn’t been stripped. After all, they’re definitely in demand at the moment. The date on the license plate tells us that it’s been off the road since 1990, but of course that doesn’t mean it’s been here for all that time. 

Volkswagen recently announced that it would be reviving the Scout nameplate as an all-electric rival to the Rivian. VW acquired the model’s name when its commercial vehicle division Traton purchased International’s owner Navistar in 2021.

Seeing as it was last on the road in 1977, it’s no surprise that this acrobatic 1959 Chevrolet’s floorpan has almost completely rotted away.  1959 was a strong year for the US automobile industry, and Chevrolet led the pack with 1.46 million sales. Ford came in a close second place with 1.45 million, and then there was a big drop to third place Plymouth (458,000). 

There’s no mistaking this distinctive fastback aerodynamic shape. It’s a 1951 Nash Statesman four-door, and unlike most of the Windy Hill residents from this era, still has plenty of good parts left on it. It appears to be a Custom, which was the top trim level that year. This model accounted for 21,071 of the 61,583 Ambassadors built in 1951. 

With its vertically stacked twin rectangular headlamps, few would argue that the 1976 Chevrolet Malibu Classic is a pretty car. But that didn’t stop the US public from buying it in droves. In fact, 77,560 of these four-door sedans were driven out of the showrooms. 

Ignoring a gap from 1983 to 1997, the Malibu has featured in Chevrolet’s line-up from 1964 to the present day. 

Judging by its collector license plate, this 1970 Pontiac Catalina is one of Windy Hill Auto Parts’ newer residents. Although the bodywork and interior are largely complete, someone has already rehomed the 6.6-liter 340hp V8, which back in the day would have propelled the car to 60mph in less than 8sec. Total Catalina production in 1970 was 223,380, with 70,350 being hardtop coupes like this. 

During the late 1950s and early 1960s the public were fascinated with the great space race, and the car manufacturers cashed in on the craze with their model names.

Ford Motor Company was particularly prolific with its space age names, with cars like the Ford Starliner and Galaxie, and Mercury Meteor and Comet.

On that subject, this 1963 Ford Galaxie 500 looks like it’s been dropped from space…

The Chevrolet Suburban’s claim to fame is that it’s the longest-running auto nameplate in the world. Production commenced in 1934, and it’s still being built today, some 90 years later. This relatively complete example dates to 1967, making it one of the first of the sixth-generation cars. 

Here’s one that won’t be leaving Windy Hill alive. It’s a first-generation Studebaker Lark four-door sedan, and it definitely wasn’t shaped like a banana when it rolled out of the factory in 1960. 

This one’s a Lark VI, indicating it would have had a 2.8-liter six-cylinder engine under its hood, as opposed to the VIII’s 4.2-liter V8. 

This retired workhorse was clearly put out to pasture years ago, but it doesn’t appear to be enjoying its retirement. It’s a 1965 Chevrolet C10 pickup. The C stands for ‘conventional’, and indicates that it’s two-wheel drive, while the 10 refers to its half-ton payload capacity. Meanwhile, four-wheel-drive trucks had the prefix ‘K’, and three-quarter ton payload capacities had the suffix ‘20’. 

This rare 1966 Dodge Coronet 440 station wagon is in great condition, and still retains its V8 engine. Of the 250,900 Coronets to find buyers that year, only 27,700 were station wagons. This one is in great condition, with barely a dent on its largely rust-free bodywork.

How’s this for a nice little fixer-upper? A little bit of T&C and it’ll be as good as new… According to the pale scribble on the roof, it’s a 1946 Mercury. As you can tell from the photograph, it sits on its own in a far-flung, picturesque corner of the yard. 

This is one of two almost identical first-generation Honda Civics we spotted at Windy Hill Auto Parts. It once sported the manufacturer’s patented Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion engine, or CVCC for short. The 1.5-liter, 53hp engine, which was launched in 1975, was exceptionally clean, and didn’t need a catalytic converter. 

Early Civics suffered from serious corrosion, causing many to prematurely end their days in junkyards. While this one does have some rust issues, it’s done incredibly well to survive for this long. 

This 1960 Ford Thunderbird had its wings clipped when someone removed its V8 engine. This was the final year for the second-generation Thunderbird, which was of course also known as Square Bird. It was the best year in terms of sales, with 81,000 people paying the $3755 needed to drive a hardtop out of the dealer showrooms.

A further 12,000 drivers forked out an additional $500 for a convertible. This one has plenty of parts left, and if you need anything from it, you know who to call.

Here’s another bird that’s been permanently grounded. It’s an AMC Eagle, which is arguably one of the most underrated cars of its time. Taking its maiden flight in 1980, these trailblazers featured permanent four-wheel-drive, which was unique for a US-built passenger car. For this reason, they’re widely considered to be the first crossover vehicles.

However, the Eagle was at least a decade ahead of the curve, and for this reason only achieved 192,000 sales during its eight-year (1980-1987) production run.

This 1980 example has been extensively scavenged, and there doesn’t seem to be a lot of useable parts left. 

Although it may be difficult to imagine today, the 1951 Cadillac was once a real head-turner. Back then its $4000 price tag was roughly the same as an average family income. However, those glory days are long gone, and now the car, a mere echo of its former splendor, languishes at Windy Hill Auto Parts, awaiting its inevitable fate.

This 1963 Chevrolet Corvair Monza convertible’s misshapen front bumper is gleaming in the Minnesota sunshine. The car appears to have undergone a respray at some point in its life, as the original white paint is clearly visible in places. It’s one of 44,165 Corvair convertibles built that year.

This is one of the more unusual residents of Windy Hill Auto Parts. It’s a 1957 Hudson Hornet, one of just 3359 of these sedans built in the model’s final year. In fact, 1957 was also the end of the road for Hudson, with owner American Motors Corporation banishing the historic automotive name to the history books.

Stellantis owns the Hudson name today, and we won’t see it return anytime soon. However, the company also inherited its nameplates – which is why the company’s Dodge unit was able to launch its Hornet in 2022, a compact SUV sibling to the Alfa Romeo Tonale.

While some yards are fastidious about ensuring trunks, hoods and doors are closed, to protect valuable parts from the elements, this doesn’t seem to be a priority at Windy Hill Auto Parts. The point is demonstrated perfectly by this 1965 Plymouth Valiant. We wouldn’t be surprised if the glovebox lid is open too…

This is a high-trim V200 version, which offered a few extra creature comforts inside, and some additional chrome on the outside.

Considering that it’s still so intact and retains all of its rust- and dent-free body panels, we can only assume that this 1951 Chevrolet has only recently taken residence at Windy Hill.

Chevrolet was the clear market leader in 1951, selling 216,000 more cars than second position Ford.

While never as popular as the Mustang, the Plymouth Barracuda was the original pony car, having beaten its Ford rival to market by 16 days.

It was basically just a fastback version of the Valiant, and unfortunately was launched with its six-cylinder engine. With just 101hp, performance didn’t match its looks.

This early example, which brightens up a corner of Windy Hill, retains its rear windshield, which at the time was the biggest piece of glass in the auto industry.

With its four-cylinder, 2.2-liter, 65hp diesel engine, the Mercedes-Benz 220 (W115) was not known for its performance. A 60mph dash would have taken more than 23 seconds, and the top speed was just 83mph. But what this car lacked in get-up-and-go, it more than made up for in fuel economy (27.6mpg), style, and reliability.

After a lifetime in the slow lane, this early 1970s example has permanently ground to a halt.

This veteran looks out of place, having been abandoned with Windy Hill’s younger residents. It’s a first-generation Ford Falcon, and hails from 1961, the model’s best-selling year. Of the 474,191 examples sold, 159,761 were four-door sedans like this. It looks like it was raining when the car made its final voyage.

The Oldsmobile 88 (which become the Eighty Eight from the late 1980s), had a 50-year life span (1949 to 1999). And the model was already in its fourth generation when this 1960 example rolled off the line. It’s a lower-priced Dynamic 88, which means it would have featured a detuned 240hp Rocket V8.

Note the patches of primer along the sides of the car, which indicates that once upon a time someone cared enough about it to attempt to keep its rust at bay.

While this 1965 Chevrolet hasn’t turned a wheel in decades, it’s not completely silent. During our visit its ripped headlining was making quite a commotion, flapping in the breeze. They don’t call it Windy Hill for nothing you know.

Some 271,000 of these Bel Air four-door sedans were sold, the vast majority having eight-cylinder engines.

We found this 1951 Ford parked-up at the entrance, and judging by the fresh writing on its roof, it must have only recently arrived at the yard. The car, which probably hasn’t been on the road since the 1970s, still has its original V8 engine and overdrive transmission. It’s being parted out, so if there’s anything on it you want, get in touch with Windy Hill Auto Parts.

This 1957 Cadillac four-door hardtop has had its heart and soul ripped out. The car’s missing 6.0-liter V8 would once have propelled its occupants to 60mph in 10.6 seconds, and on to a theoretical top speed of 119mph. Of course, you’d want to treat it far more sedately to get even close to its 10.3 MPG claimed average fuel economy…

If you see anything you want, please give the yard a call on (320) 354-2201 or (800) 398-0566. They ship to the lower 48 states. This is part one of our feature on this enormous yard – we’ll feature more in a few weeks time.