You think you know scrap yards. You probably don’t.
Most places are chaotic heaps of rusted steel. L&L Classic Auto in Wendell, Idaho, is different. It’s a curated disaster. Founded in 1968, this 120-acre spread sits in high desert country. The air is dry. The ground is dusty. The cars last here.
There are over 8,000 donor vehicles on site. They date from the 1920s straight through to the 1990s Another 400 project cars sit waiting for buyers. Warehouses nearby are stuffed with spare parts.
How the Dry Climate Saves Classic Cars
Why go to Idaho for car parts? It’s about the weather.
Wendell gets about 10 inches of rain a year. The national average is 38 inches. Moisture kills metal. Idling in a desert doesn’t.
The lack of humidity means the bodywork here stays solid. You aren’t just buying a part. You are buying time.
We spent hours walking the grounds. It felt like minutes. An aerial photo shows just how big it is. You’d need days to see it all. There is no grid system. No rows. Just dirt tracks. You never know what is behind the next shrub.
Rare Finds in the Dust
You want a specific car? You might find it. You might also find something weird.
Take this 1954 S&S Cadillac Hearse. L&L wants $5,500 for it. It has no driveline. That price still stings. But rarity commands respect. Only 1,611 commercial Cadillac chassis were sold to body builders that year. This one went to a funeral home in San Francisco. Now it sleeps in Idaho.
Then there is the 1953 Ford Anglia 100E.
Someone took a can-opener to the doors. The shape is wrong. It looks like a bad copy of a Nash Metropolitan. Why? Who knows. Over 100,00 Anglias were built between 1953 and ’59. This one is a mistake. Beautiful mistake.
When Luxury Cars Fail
Not everything survives the decades.
Look at the 1977 Cadillac Coupe de Vil. The windshield wipers are up. It was raining the day it died. Sad. But logical. The ’77 model was “the next generation.” Smaller. Lighter. Less Cadillac. The wipers stayed up perhaps to keep rain out of a cracked seal. Or maybe the driver just forgot to put them down.
Then comes the diesel era.
Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser, 1981.
Oldsmobile pushed diesel V6 and V8 engines hard between ’78 and ’85. In 1981 alone, they sold 310,00 diesel engines. They were popular. Then they broke.
Reliability was poor. The reputation for diesel in the US was tainted for thirty years. It wasn’t until the VW scandal later that diesel got another chance. The Olds diesels were the first big hit. This Custom Cruiser is proof of that pain.
The Glass Egg
Finally, there is the ugly duckling.
The 1979 AMC Pacer.
People called it the “Glass Egg.” Or the “Pregnant Guppy.” “Fishbowl on Wheels” was another favorite. The side windows stretched from front to back. It looked strange.
But 280,00 people bought one. Between 1975 and 10. Beauty is subjective. Utility is real. The Pacer was wide. It held four adults comfortably. That mattered more to buyers than the name-calls.
Should You Visit Wendell?
You should.
If you are restoring a classic car, L&L is a goldmine. If you just like looking at old cars, it is a museum without a ticket price.
The order is absent. That is the point. You have to hunt. You have to walk. You will find a hearse. You will find a Ford with bad doors. You will find rain-swept Cadillacs.
You will find the past. Rusted. Dry. Waiting.
