A Car Graveyard in the Heart of Eugene

I have known about this stash of 1970s/80s era cars and parts, mostly BMWs and random parts thereof, located in the Whiteaker area of Eugene, Oregon, for many years, and have always wanted to get close to them, take pictures, and maybe even rescue a car or two. Well, I got the first two out of the way, and building a Revell plastic model kit of an E21 BMW 320i, similar to one of the cars here, will have to do for now as far as rescuing a car from here goes. 

The cars here include a W107 Mercedes-Benz SL roadster with a hardtop and some front-end damage, an early-model Datsun 240Z that was so badly wrecked that it would be impossible to rebuild but undoubtedly has at least a few usable parts left on it, a chrome-bumper BMW 2002 that looks to be a viable project car if it's not too rusty, an E21 BMW 3-series coupe, an E30 3-series coupe that would make great parts cars (or 24 Hours of LeMons/ChumpCar race cars, if one could be bought for under $500), and an extremely rusty "boattail" 1970s Buick Riviera. The parts include many doors, boot lids and bonnets from BMW E3 (Bavaria) and E12 5-series sedans, numerous tires, wheels, suspension struts, hubcaps and other bits that (for the most part) look to have come from BMWs and Datsun Z-cars, and many nuts, bolts and other fasteners. Due to all the interesting stuff out front, I would think that the garage/warehouse directly behind these cars would have similar if not better contents.

2002, E21 3-series and Buick Riviera in background, E30 parked in front

SL, Z-car and E30, E21 and Riviera in background

SL and BMW body parts

SL with 1970s slot-mag wheel, janitor's plastic mop bucket and unidentified steel disc wheel in foreground

More Street Shots: General Motors Edition

1965 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu four-door sedan. A nicely restored example of a body style often shunned by enthusiasts.

Buick Regal T-Type, circa 1986. Very nicely executed, and I love the Grand National wheels on it. The chrome lower-body trim is a little over the top, though.

1960 Pontiac Ventura. This sad-looking classic looks to have sat in the same place for years, and is overripe for restoration. It might make a good parts car, though.

1960 Pontiac Ventura (view from other side). You can see that it is missing a wheel, and that brake drum is probably too rusted to do anything with.

1976 Oldsmobile Omega. Very nicely preserved example of a car that plays second fiddle to the very similar Chevrolet Nova all too often.

Same car, viewed from side.

Another view of this '76 Olds Omega.

1954 Chevrolet two-door sedan. Very nicely restored from what I could see.

Another view of the same '54 Chevy.

Countryside Find: 1925 Buick Roadster

This 1925 Buick roadster was photographed on a two-lane country road near Junction City, Oregon on a hundred-degree day in August 2009. It is definitely a project, but all the hard work such as structural-wood replacement, metal work and primer application seems to have already been completed.  

Hard-to-find single taillight and spare-wheel holder are still present, but rear bumpers are conspicuous in their absence. 

Once again, no bumpers, but the fenders appear straight and retain their decorative scallops, rare original headlamp lenses are intact, and grille appears to be very nice. Due to the absence of the Buick logo on the grille, I originally thought this was a Packard when I first caught a glimpse of it while going by it en route to the golf course, but it likely wouldn't have been parked by the side of the road exposed to the elements if it was.

The dash looks pretty good but needs further restoration, and what might be the original color is visible along the top, near the windshield.

Original hub cover with Buick script looks great after 84 years, and may have been restored. Turquoise paint on wooden wheels looks good, may have been original color.

The running boards and door handles are missing, but this looks like a great project nonetheless. I don't know if this car is still available for sale, since I haven't been out that direction since these pictures were taken.