Junkyards in Central Florida (Scouts, EBs, FJ40s, Jeeps...)

[soilantgreen]

For folks looking for those yards where stuff isn't recycled every sixty days and therefore rarely more than ten years old, there are two junkyards in Umatilla, FL. I make no claim as to pricing or whether you'll even get in. There's nothing in either of them that I absolutely have to have, so I don't mind telling others about them or where they are. They are right next to each other and one fence seperates the two.

Bronco Dale's
The owner is "cantankerous" to say the least and basically you're going to need to have a specific car or part that you're looking for just to get in. He usually ends up getting distracted by other matters while you're there and just turns you loose. Then you'll have the run of the place.

It used to be Bronco Dan's and there are signs that remain with Dan's name on them but they have had the circle and slash treatment through his name with "Dale's" added next to it. Do not ask about Dan; Dale seems to get irritated at the mention of the predecessor's name.

Dale has school buses filled with transmissions and transfer cases and there are other goodies hidden around the yard. If you find the good stuff, he figures you must be desperate for it and therefore, it is worth millions. Don't fall for it; you're talking with a man who paints cars in the middle of a dusty junkyard without a respirator.

Just three weeks ago, I pointed to a Dana 300 on a pile of transfer cases and asked him if he would still sell it to me for a c-note like he'd told me eight months ago. He denied ever agreeing to that price and insisted that not only was it worth 300 bucks (without shifters!) but that his "buddy needs it to 'restore' a CJ-7 he is working on". I asked how fast this restoration was progressing since the case had been there over a year and Dale said "he'll get to it when he needs it."

That's a good friend, right there. Holding something for a guy who hasn't bothered to pay for it, but willing to ditch it for the right amount of money is true loyalty. Since that case was clearly out, I said "how many friends do you have restoring jeeps?" He said "just one, why?" I said "Well, then can I get the other D300 behind it?" Yeah, for three hundred bucks.

I pointed to the row of Harvesters and told him that they ALL probably had the same case (yeah, like he'd know) but he wasn't willing to budge. Whatever, I don't want to pay a hundred bucks for a core anyway. I considered asking him if I could pick up the Dana 20 for twenty bucks since the D300 was "worth" $300. That seems to be the way his logic runs. I'm glad I didn't ask the price of the SM465 that I tripped over.


Dale has a few Scouts that seem complete to a non-IH expert. At last count, there were three YJs, two CJ-5s (one a Golden Eagle), a CJ-7, several XJs, and a nice smattering of FSJ Wagoneers and Cherokees. As a matter of fact, on this last trip, the one Cherokee looked like it could be driven right out of there with no problem. One of the FSJ Cherokees is actually a Golden Eagle. Until this find, I had not been aware that there was a "flaming chicken" decal treatment for the full size.

There have been several WJ and ZJs in his yard as well. One of the ZJs was the one and a half year only optional ZJ Wagoneer. I mention this because I know how many guys are trying to correctly restore their ZJ to factory trim. Most of these vehicles are still sitting on their axles so your first upgrade from stock axles is only six thousand dollars (or whatever Dale thinks it's worth) away.





Besides three early Broncos and lots of later model Broncos, there is also a Toyota Cruiser.




You'll know Dale's yard when you pull up in front of it. There is a relatively complete CJ-6 sitting in front of the house that is the yard's office. It also is seemingly not for sale. Either that, or he's starting off the negotiations with the "it's unobtainable to you" tactic.



Tom's
Next door is a yard filled with really old (to most of us) stuff. The owner's name is Tommy Lee and he is often closed. If you can catch him at his yard, you'll get to hear how the place is not open to do it yourself salvagers, since they have often opened the hoods of the ancient derelicts and failed to close them properly resulting in water entering the carbs and ruining the perfectly good running engines or when a good hood-closing was attempted, the closer, upon finding that the rusty hood hinges and springs offered too much resistance, apparently bore down trying to overcome said resistance and ended up bending the hood in half and ruining a perfectly good piece of sheetmetal.

Mr. Lee has a CJ-7 near the entrance of his yard that, just like every other CJ that has suffered its life in Florida's humidity, is as cancerous as the remains of the Titanic. The usual claim that it "ran when brought in here" was heard and we gave it a courtesy once over, hoping that paying respects to the old junker would get us through the "attitude test" that all small junkyard owners seem to want to put people through before allowing them in to see their precious collection. The only thing even mildly interesting about the old -7 was the dashpad that was lying loose in the back of it. Still proudly displaying its AMC badge, it was clearly from a Levi's Edition CJ.

We stood talking to the man in the Florida sun for a good half hour about the types of things we were trying to locate and eventually he relented as we apparently had all day to tell crazy stories about putting one ton axles under CJs and he, of course, did not. Giving us the general location of one or two elderly International Harvester trucks and some Chevy one tons, he waved his arm "that-away" and turned us loose with a warning not to open doors or hoods. We promised that we would be conscientious and headed "that-away" on a circuitous tour of a collection of cars that didn't seem to have been molested for over twenty five years. Some cars were blocked in by trees and others had sat so long that their return to the elements from which they'd been forged was imminent.

Several FSJ Wagoneers sat amongst the lines of useless garbage. Proudly sporting their round headlights, they seemed to be begging for someone to notice that they were not Grand Wagoneers and therefore worthy of rescue unlike their square headlighted descendents. My partner looked at several Chevy pickups, none of which retained an engine, undoubtedly taken within minutes of arrival at the yard by local circle track racers who prize small block Chevy mills. Each new discovery covered in brambles and dingweeds elicited a shocked "WTF is that?" as we cleared away the overgrowth to get a view of the emblems since most of the unrecognizable stuff was built pre-1960 and my co-conspirator was also born in the sixties.

The find of two small English cars was the most surprising part until I turned around and gaped at the engine-less but seemingly otherwise complete SS 327 Chevy Impala Coupe. Best guess is that it is pre-68 by friends who I've showed the crappy cell phone pics to who know more about the big Chevs than I do. The damned thing is even sitting there still wearing one of its Super Sport five spoke wheels.

A restorable SS Chevy in a yard in Florida was such a surprise that realizing that the surrounding area was the final resting place of a few IH pickups and wood paneled wagons (remember my comment about some of the vehicles being only moments away from returning to their base elements?) was a bit of a let-down. It was like looking for one of the last nests of endangered spotted owls only to find them sitting next to a live T-rex.

For rural delivery carriers still clinging to the venerable DJ series of Dispatcher (mail) Jeeps, Mr. Lee has several, most built by AM General. Checking them for usable parts will convince you of the futility of not switching to a postal Long Life Vehicle and will leave you wondering how the H3 descended from your work vehicle.

There is also an early Bronco or two. One which exhibits all the usual traits of a hard life in Cracker Country is available whole for the bargain price of "$200--you know they don't make them anymore, right?"

Empty handed, we thanked Tom and left, stopping to examine the sixties vintage Ford Econoline van and the 65 Mustang GT with the export brace and thick sway bar that sit up front next to one of the postal DJs.

Later when I've transfered those pictures from the phone to the computer, I may curse...er, bless you with a few of those images as well.

Please keep in mind, that again, I have no vested interest in either yard and offer this account for entertainment purposes and the hope that some PBB member may find something he needs to finish his Scout, Bronco, Jeep, or FJ40. Some people actually do partially restore these rigs and they may as well get the parts before they rot away to nothing. There's no frickin' rocks here so they may as well fix them up. :blackflipoffdude:



Bronco Dale's Auto & Truck Salvage is located at 19646 Saltsdale Rd., Umatilla, FL 32784. As mentioned earlier, Tom's is right next door. Knock yerself out fawkers.

[soilantgreen]

Here's pics of some of the stuff described in the section on Tom's junkyard.

the Super Sport...




and the Corn Binders...