International truck with trailer must be worth a fortune in scrap metal. click below to continue reading 
The reason for the shortage of old tin is the increasing price of scrap metal. A decade ago scrap vehicles were worth just $7.50 a tonne - whereas today they are fetching a staggering $300 a tonne. To put this into perspective, a truck loaded with crushed American cars and pickup trucks from the 60s and 70s is worth about $7,500 today, whereas it would have fetched just $175 in the mid 1990s. 
For some junkyard bosses, who also have the added hassle of increased environmental pressures, this is all the impetus they need to get out of the business.
Mobile crushers are being called in, cars and trucks are being flattened, and money is at last being made. Other junkyard owners are choosing to dispose of part of their stock, and inevitably it's the older, heavier vehicles that are the first to go. While this may sound like killing the goose that lays the golden egg, many will argue that this isn't the case. Elderly vehicles tend to sit around for years, earning very little income for their owners. The later models, with their quick turnaround of parts, are the serious income generators. 
The demand for steel is not going to go away, and the price of recycled metal is not about to drop. Within a few years the traditional junkyard is likely to have disappeared and I'm going to need to find a new hobby. 
I'm not sure if I'm ever going to find enough pictures to make a successor to my current book.
Comments (7)
I'll have the big Inter, maybe a KB8 or suchlike ? That trailer looks interesting too.
Posted by Peter Lynch | June 16, 2008 10:53 PM
Posted on June 16, 2008 22:53
Their was a documentary on Audi TV last month about their memory preservation team finding and salvaging an historical Horch (from 1953) vehicle who landed in a US salvage yard in Texas for some reason.
">http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2prLmC1lWuc>
I guess she was lucky not to be turn into electric cords...
Posted by Coligny | June 17, 2008 1:12 AM
Posted on June 17, 2008 01:12
oups, remove > and > at the start and end of the URL...
Posted by Anonymous | June 17, 2008 1:17 AM
Posted on June 17, 2008 01:17
The same has happened out here but in some cases it has worked out well for old truck enthusiasts. It gives a bottom end figure (say $200 per tonne)on what a vehicle in very poor condition is worth. Usually the farmer or junkyard owner would prefer to see the vehicle restored but may have held an unrealistic view of its value. I dont want to spoil your hobby Will, but if a vehicle is beyond restoring and has been stipped of useful parts, why not recycle what remains.
Posted by Peter Lynch | June 17, 2008 9:20 PM
Posted on June 17, 2008 21:20
Hello there,
great to see somebody with the same passion. Everytime I travelled to the States in the past six years, I did exactly the same thing. Drive on back roads and the rural country side to try and find the relics of a glorious automotive past.
I collected quite a number of photos, but never got around to publish a book. Very nice! I I have to remember to get a copy.
You can find a good number of pictures on my website.
=> www.toronado.de (Yes, I love Oldsmobiles...)
It is an ongoing project. I haven't gotten around to translate it into english and scan all my photos in, but it will continue to grow.
If I had the chance to spend more time abroad I would do exactly the same. Keep it up!!
Posted by Sebastian Klapdor | July 1, 2008 1:03 PM
Posted on July 1, 2008 13:03
Hello there,
great to see somebody with the same passion. Everytime I travelled to the States in the past six years, I did exactly the same thing. Drive on back roads and the rural country side to try and find the relics of a glorious automotive past.
I collected quite a number of photos, but never got around to publish a book. Very nice! I I have to remember to get a copy.
You can find a good number of pictures on my website.
=> www.toronado.de (Yes, I love Oldsmobiles...)
It is an ongoing project. I haven't gotten around to translate it into english and scan all my photos in, but it will continue to grow.
If I had the chance to spend more time abroad I would do exactly the same. Keep it up!!
Posted by Sebastian Klapdor | July 1, 2008 1:06 PM
Posted on July 1, 2008 13:06
hello,
We are goin to open an american diner and i am looking for old scrap very cheap american 60's cars thank you.
Your's truly,
Elena
Posted by Elena | July 8, 2008 8:08 AM
Posted on July 8, 2008 08:08