[FWDLK] Minnesota Salvage yards

[David Homstad <dhomstad@FIELD-WORKS.COM>]

Guys,

For those that are interested, the addresses are:

French Lake Auto Parts  (50 miles west of Minneapolis)
3531 County Road 3 NW
Annandale, MN 55302
320-286-2560
320-274-8497

Windy Hill Auto Parts (100 miles west of Minneapolis)
9200 - 240th Ave NE
PO Box 179
New London, MN 56 273
320-354-2201

Dave Homstad
56 Dodge D500

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jim Pristelski [SMTP:ajp002@owc.net]
> Sent: Friday, March 31, 2000 7:31 AM
> To:   David Homstad
> Subject:      Re:      Re: [FWDLK] Minnesota Was Great! (loooooong)
>
> Dave, Where are Windy Hills and French Lake located?  I have never heard
> of
> them before.  Thanks, Jim
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Homstad <dhomstad@FIELD-WORKS.COM>
> To: L-FORWARDLOOK@LISTS.PSU.EDU <L-FORWARDLOOK@LISTS.PSU.EDU>
> Date: Thursday, March 30, 2000 10:23 AM
> Subject: Re: [FWDLK] Minnesota Was Great! (loooooong)
>
> >Mike,
> >
> >You should have seen them before they crushed most of their stuff around
> >1990! Windy Hill had 14,000 cars, most of them 50's. More than an entire
> >square mile carpeted with cars parked in rows like a parking lot. No
> trees,
> >just rolling prairie, thus "Windy Hill". In the early 1980s, I had a 57
> >Buick Roadmaster. I went to Windy Hill looking for the small stuff that
> >always disappears over the life of a car. I noticed a large population of
> >57s, so I started to count them. I gave up at 50 and I was not even
> through
> >half the yard. I figured at least a hundred 57 Buicks. Every 50's make
> was
> >just as well represented. They saved 6 to 10 of the least picked over of
> >each year and make. About 90% became crusher food.
> >
> >French Lake did the same about 1995. They had 12,000 cars, mostly 50's.
> They crushed about 70% of the old stuff.
> >
> >Both have reasonable prices. I make a pilgrimage to one or the other
> every
> >year.
> >
> >Dave Homstad
> >56 Dodge D500
> >
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: Mike Sealey [SMTP:mopar2ya@YAHOO.COM]
> >> Sent: Wednesday, March 29, 2000 11:32 PM
> >> To:   L-FORWARDLOOK@LISTS.PSU.EDU
> >> Subject:      [FWDLK] Minnesota Was Great! (loooooong)
> >>
> >> Wish you all could have seen all the cool places I saw
> >> while visiting Minnesota.  Special thanks to "MoPar
> >> Mel" Bohnenkamp of the FL list for his hospitality.
> >>
> >> French Lake Auto Parts is one of the biggest auto part
> >> recyclers I have ever seen. Imperials include a couple
> >> of '69 4dr HTs which looked like nice cars before
> >> their 440s were removed (grrr), a '66 Crown Coupe with
> >> a solid body but still in need of a full resto, and
> >> numerous others from '51 to '82 (FL is well
> >> represented here). I was also surprised to see a '50
> >> DeSoto Sportsman, a '50 Dodge Coronet Diplomat and a
> >> '51 Plymouth Belvedere, all of which represent the
> >> earliest example of 2dr hardtop for their given makes
> >> and all of which looked very restorable indeed. Plenty
> >> of cool Forward Look stuff as well, including a rough
> >> '57 Belvedere convert (Mel, it's no worse than some
> >> you already have waiting for resto), and many others
> >> including numerous 2dr hardtops that look like they
> >> could be brought back.
> >>
> >> Windy Hills Auto Wrecking was very cool. They've tried
> >> their best to put like next to like, so there was this
> >> row of '60 and '61 Chryslers, a row of '57-'58
> >> Plymouths (anybody needing the rare station wagon
> >> taillight lenses for these, they have 'em), and so on.
> >> Lotsa MoPars, '41 and newer (and possibly older as
> >> well, we didn't check everything out). One downer
> >> about Windy Hills is that because they are so
> >> organized, many of their cars have been picked clean,
> >> but if you're in the Midwest and in need of sheetmetal
> >> you'll probably find what you need here.
> >>
> >> For total Forward Look immersion, it's hard to beat
> >> "MoPar Mel" Bohnenkamp's yard. Numerous Imperials and
> >> other things being parted out, including a '61 DeSoto
> >> 4drHT and a '58 Regal Lancer. (All who were flaming
> >> Mel about his parting out the '60 Phoenix with 25K,
> >> blame the previous owner for not washing off the salt
> >> before it ate the car alive instead...) Many cool cars
> >> for sale as complete projects. I had some big
> >> fantasies about the '56 Coronet D-500 2dr sedan with
> >> the stick (only a single carb, but hey...) It was also
> >> cool to see the gorgeous '58 Belvedere convert Mel is
> >> in the midst of restoring (he's actually doing it as a
> >> red Fury replica, kind of a Christine convert clone,
> >> per the new owner's instructions).
> >>
> >> Going back home with no small sense of satisfaction,
> >> and a newfound respect for the Midwestern practice of
> >> stashing nice cars when winter comes, leaving the snow
> >> to the disposable beater cars...
> >>
>