A classic car auction is usually the best place to buy a vintage muscle car. Such events are loaded with nicely restored examples from the golden era. But this also means that you need a fat wallet. If you’re not looking to spend $50,000 to $100,000 at once, buying a project car from a salvage yard might be a better option.
And fortunately enough, the US is littered with thousands of junkyards that are home to millions of derelict classics waiting for a second chance. Sure, some of them are packed with mundane cars that aren’t particularly desirable nowadays, but some scrapyards hide rare and sought-after gems. The Mopar yard you see here might be one of those places.
“Hidden” between a farm field and a forest somewhere in Selma, North Carolina, this junkyard is home to a few hundred vehicles. It’s not much compared to other derelict car yards, but it houses many Dodges and Plymouths from the late 1960s and early 1970s. The kind many enthusiasts want to restore or buy for parts.
If you’re into the third-gen Plymouth ‘Cuda and the first-gen Dodge Challenger (they shared platforms and underpinnings), you’ll see quite a few of them here. Granted, you probably won’t stumble upon super rare HEMI versions, but many of these E-body classics are definitely worth a look. For instance, I spotted a two-tone Challenger with a big hood scoop at the 5:29-minute mark. I’m pretty sure it didn’t come like that from the factory, but it might be an ex-drag race, which translates to interesting high-performance gear.
There’s also a dark green 1970 Challenger parked under a carport at the 7:08-minute mark. It’s also in poor condition, but it looks much better than the Mopars that have been kept fully exposed to the elements. More importantly, it’s an R/T version, meaning it might just be a desirable 440 example. And speaking of sought-after models, there’s also at least one 1968 Charger R/T and a 1969 Coronet R/T in this yard.
If B-body classics are your thing, the owner hoarded several Plymouth Road Runners and GTXs over the years. Both cars were sold with big-block engines, so there’s a good chance some still hide RB units under their hoods. I wouldn’t get my hopes up for a 426 HEMI, but you never know. It wouldn’t be the first time a super rare muscle car resurfaces after decades of hiding.
So what’s the story behind this so-called “secret” junkyard? Well, our host says that the owner, who has since passed away, was good friends with the Petty family and worked for a few years with Richard, arguably the most iconic NASCAR driver. He was also known in the Mopar community as a guy who hoarded Chrysler-made cars for decades.
And it’s not just a big pile of rusty cars that he left behind. There’s also a ton of Richard Petty memorabilia, including a few parts he sourced from vehicles driven by “The King” himself. He actually put one of Petty’s big-block engines in the red Road Runner that pops up at the 7:28-minute mark. Check it all out in the video below.