There's only one thing sadder than a car graveyard: finding one of your old cars in one! I once stumbled across a field full of late 80's and early 90's cars on the edge of the Brecon Beacons and while wandering through I saw the rusty rear end of a Nova. It caught my eye as it was the same really light metallic green (silver/green code 41L) that my old one had been 10 years previously. It was just a bare shell but with the engine still in place so hard to tell what age it was until I lifted the bonnet and saw the air filter housing with my handwriting on it saying the service mileages! A bit more digging revealed the driver's door was originally red, same as the one I had replaced on mine, and the boot floor had the exact same holes in it that I had put in mine to fix my subwoofer enclosure down. Still didn't believe it was my old car but I found the VIN plate and took a photo of it, knowing I had a picture of my car's one at home. Compared the two when I got back and it was indeed my old car. This was all back in 2011 and the site was mostly cleared a few years later. A few cars still can be seen from afar and it's the bit of the field the Nova was in but some development work that cut through the field mean it's no longer easily accessible. No idea if it was undisturbed or not but I do remember the scrap lorry taking away quite a few cars in 2013, didn't see any Novas on it but plenty of Rovers and Fords. I did have photos of it all but I sadly lost them in a house move, wish I had them now!
I can relate. My first car - 1972 Formula Firebird. I was 18, emotionally attached to the car. This was 1989. Sold car two years later. Believe it or not, I seen what looked similar to my car in a youtube video years ago! I reached out to channel, got a response. The Oregon license plate (my plate, it was my car!) was still in the guys garage! Car made its way somehow to Minnesota. He said car was severely wrecked in early 2000s, and rusted out so bad it was sent to the recycler. Broke my heart .....
Crossed paths with an old unconsummated flame coming out of Aldi just this very evening, and instantly greeted with a kiss on the cheek and those smiling eyes. Fifteen years on she’s even more smoking hot, and married with two gorgeous kids. OUCH.
These videos really fascinate me. Decades ago someone walked into the showroom and drove out, as chuffed as a dog that's just had a poo. They drove around their relatives houses to show them. They talked to all their work mates about how great their new car was. Now, here they are. It's sad really but thought provoking at the same time. These owners of these cars have experienced some good times in them. It's completely understandable when someone puts their heart and soul into restoring a vintage vehicle. It's not just the car they are restoring. It's the memories that they had in them.
There’s something of a sadness to crawling around a garden like this when you think what could have been if the cars were just a bit more valuable when left there.
Absolutely. This is why I save everything - no telling what a car will be worth in 10 or even 5 years. This graveyard of stuff is really depressing. I hope somebody clears it out and salvages what few parts are still good.
Always think when watching these of the excitement of the new owner picking up their new car from the showroom. Driving home & all the family waiting to see and have a ride in Dad's new car. Now many years later we are looking at the rusty rotted remains of all those emotions & feelings.
The green Japanese car looked like what was sold in Australia as a Datsun 180B (I'm sure it had different names in different markets). The shape of the rear doors and tail-lights are a pretty good match.
Its not a 180 B engine. its OHV so its much earlier than 180 B. Datsun 1600 [510 elsewhere] on had OHC engines canted to get lower bonnet height. The last OZ Datsuns with those series engines were the first bluebirds of the late 60s and they did not have Macpherson strut front ends or power brakes. The smaller Datsun Sunny would have had all that stuff but the vid I am watching does not show the rest of the car and the engine looks bigger than a Sunny engine that was 1300cc I think.
That episode was so full of charm and emotion!! Being a child of the 80s all those cars bring back some sort of memory. I spent my childhood with my mechanic/ welder / recovery driver grandad , and worked and owned most of those and it started my whole obsession with cars ?! Amazing episode keep up the great work
Breaks my heart every time I watch one of these videos. It's part of our childhood, just left to rot. You can't help but shed a tear, knowing they'll never see the open road ever again.
Not sad at all. It’s life. Found myself imagining them all on the day their first owners drove them away from the dealership. The endless roads and stories that brought them here to return to earth. Like we all do.
The blue Onion, I had one exactly the same colour as that reg C826 NEG. It was a 1.3 CVH engine. Nice car but cost me a fortune. Everything went wrong, oil pump went, I blew an exhaust valve, alternator seized up and I dented the drivers side wing in a multi storey car park. Thank you Jonny, you evoke so many memories.
Ghosts of time forgotten in the wild. Consumed by time and nature. All dead and cold, not a breath in those souls. I think it was a recovery yard of some sorts. Accident vehicles cut open, and abandoned ones picked up by the recker. Awesome video.
Very sad to see so many vehicles just left for nature to take over, they must of been taken there after failing the MOT. Great video Jonny your enthusiasm know no boundaries.
Binged watched The late brake show whilst recovering from a hernia operation a week and a half back, Love the barn finds the story behind them, wether the cars are dead or alive, interesting cars that designers and journalists have were its more power to weight ratio, rather than watching someone trying to handle a 700 BPH Honda civic EP3, Keep up the good work 👍
I agree with you that when an object is beyond saving it becomes fascinating in that state, and is no longer a poor version of it's former glory, but something different entirely, evolving naturally.
This is sad but fascinating. Johnny knows how to do the perfect TV for Christmas present wrapping and reminds me of getting stuck on the rose bushes putting the lights out.
The green Nissan is a PA10 Violet. Also called Auster/Stanza in some markets (updated /face-lifted). Usually came with a OHC 1600 L-series (L16) engine but an OHV 1400 A-series (A14) engine were offered in some markets.
Once again awesome episode. Amazing that places like this still exist in 2022...... Sad to see cars like this but still amazing to see how well some like the landrover have survied.
The Land Rover is a late series IIA 109 so about 1968...71. Looks like it might have been a 2.6 litre 6 cylinder originally but I think thats a BMC 2.2/2.5 diesel in it now - maybe one of the taxis was its engine donor? The body line looks remarkably straight given the chassis is probably rotten but they are easy to replace so its probably the only vehicle in the yard that's not too far gone.
Going to say the same, metal dash split windscreen but with outer headlights makes it late IIA but not a III. I have a "68 CKD and by that year should be outer headlights from memory but a few of em still had inner lights like mine. 2.6 cars had a deeper firewall and the engine is further set back but hard to tell from the video. (Got both a IIA 2.25 and a IIA 2.6 but a Holden 179 swap but using the original 2.6 engine mounting locations)
@@darcybowyer5743 No fuel filler behind the drivers door so it must have either the bigger rear mounted tank (only standard on 6 cylinder and station wagons back then) or under the seat fill (twin tank MOD spec). Doesn’t look ex-MOD so I’d go with the six pot theory. The heater also looks to be mounted sloping rather than near vertical so another six pot tell. Servo brakes were pritty rare in that period too and I think they were standard fit on six cyl models before it became the norm for everything (though some early ones used remote servos) - stuffing a later servo pedal tower in is quite an easy retrofit though so it could just be off a later car as it’s clearly seen some modifications in its life. A lot of six cylinder models seem to have had engine conversions, probubly because the original engines didn’t offer a lot more power especially top end but did use significantly more fuel. In the UK they often fetched lower prices as no one wanted to fuel and maintain them. They also didn’t tollorate neglect and abuse as well as the 2.25 did so some suffered mechanical failures after being rev’d too hard for too long. In export markets people weren’t so scared of large engines and didn’t consider 2.6 to be all that impressive so swapped in a more grunty localally sourced engine like your Holden when the original needed work. I always thought it odd they made quite a few 3 litre prototypes and enough found their way into fire engines it was almost a secret factory option but never made a ‘production’ model dispite making the engine for cars. Maybe that stretched the gearbox too far on the heavier land-rover work? Think the UK was the last market to get lights in wings, initially they only did it where it was legally required though some also get registered late.
You're an Amazing Man Jonny. I love Your Passion And Enthusiasm for any type of car..... wrecked, new or in the stage of restoration. Amazing 👏 Videos Sir.
My Dad bought 3 new Avenger’s - in ‘73, ‘76 and ‘79. Learned to drive in one. Remember begging day off school to tag along with him when he collected each new car from the dealer. Also remember rust bubbles even showing on one of them as it sat brand new on the dealer forecourt. It had probably been stood outside 6 months since it had been built. Unbelievable that that was vaguely acceptable even then. Still would love to have one now! Keep up the great work Jonny.
10:09- I’d say that’s an SD1 dashboard because of the two air vents… a clever design created for ease of importing to the US market… putting an air vent on both sides of the dashboard meant that there was an allocated space to put the steering wheel/column in left hand drive country cars
Great video! My dad had a Mk5 Cortina company car in red.......within 3 years the bootlid was frilly with rust, so I'm amazed there's ANYTHING left of that poor Mk4!! :)
There was a small Ford dealership in my neighbourhood. He stored the breaker cars in a field next to his father’s farmhouse. The old man didn’t mind me snooping around. There was even a JPS Capri, sad to see it rotted away. By the way, this was in Belgium.
I think the dash board was from an SD1. The give away is the vent in front of the passenger so the dash could be used in a left or right hand drive car.
I had a google and I think that the mystery Nissan is a Nissan Violet A10. The chrome around the windscreen and the A pillar, as well as the little plastic clips for the aerial, all seem to match.
Green Nissan is a Stanza I think, a work mate had one that colour in the early 90s. Yard looks like a banger racers storage compound, got all the right cars from back in the day.
When I was about 14, I'm 55, now, I discovered an old car on a drive in the adjoining village. It was forlorn in front of a 1960's 3 bed semi and I knew it was something special, a Lagonda from around 1954. Finding info on something so obscure back then in the early 80's wasn't like it is today. I never summoned the courage to knock on the door, I was a skint kid and it was a sinister looking unkempt house. From what I can remember it was 2.6 or 3.0 litre model with an aluminium Tickford body, 2 door I think. It was quite a stylish, elegant sporting saloon and as far as I can ascertain a pretty rare beast today. I do know that Prince Phillip owned an open topped version. I must say that The late brake show is my favourite automotive TH-cam channel. I think it's your enthusiasm Jonny that makes the show, and in depth super nerd knowledge with great subjects. I love a Miura but I love to see the mundane stuff that people never deemed worthy of saving that has all but disappeared from our streets, the stuff I saw every day as a kid. A lot of it was flimsy stuff and just terrible but I'd love to see a Talbot Tagora, they were very poor sellers in the day and rather a dogs dinner and very few UK spec cars can have survived if any.
What a fascinating exploration. So many cars/vans from my youth. The closest I've come to this was 25+ years ago, going 'scavenging' on a long derelict VW Beetle and late 50's early 60's (you could peel the body from what was left of the floorpan). That had been 'left' in a wood, although possibly part of a former MOD Site that had been disected by the building of the M40. Keep up the great content, I hope you and your family have a great festive period and are able to get some downtime 🙂🙂
Absolutely fascinating and brilliant. Better than anything on TV. This should be on TV! I remember when all these cars were on the road and cheap as chips. I turned down a perfectly good MK2 escort for £600!
For a time Opel Asconas were sold alongside Cavaliers here in England; an uncle had a metallic blue 1.6SR for his company car. I think that was on a "P" plate - it replaced a red Avenger estate.
You do some of the best car videos on TH-cam, could watch all day. Easy going, know your stuff and find some very interesting cars and places. Love it 😎
I recall me Dad driving us down to the south of France in an Avenger. It was gold with a black vinyl roof ( I think) the tri-spoke steering wheel brought back memories of singed thighs on the black vinyl seats :) wonderful days
John Shuttleworth cares about the Ambassador. It’s the car that he reveres 😉. Thanks for the videos this year Jonny. Have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year.
I always enjoy Cardening episodes, something extremely interesting about seeing old cars being reclaimed by nature. Such a shame to see them like that, especially the SD1. They're such a special car from my childhood. Whenever I see one I always smile. Your journalism in motoring is amazingly well presented Jonny! Thank you 🙏 and Happy Holidays to you and the team at TLBS
I can always remember my late grandfather having an Opel Ascona 2.0 auto back in the mid 80's very quick car! Like most cars that he had he killed them lol. He had 2 Renault 12 auto's within the space of year, Daf 66 estate which he thrashed to an inch of its life. Great trip down memory lane Johnny ;) Merry Christmas and all the best for 2023 to you and your family. Greetings from Teesside ;)
I can't explain the nostalgic feeling, of seeing old cars that would have been part of the environment as I walked to primary school, ON Blarney st. in Cork Ireland. My dad worked at the Ford Plant in Cork, till it closed in '84. He was a Ford man until then, then he turned to Japan, for a Mazda 323. Jonny is like our friend taking us along with him, reminiscing with us. Is that half a rear end of a fastback a Datsun Sunny? The tail light opening and flat rear panel give me that vibe. Not sure the year. Thank you for the great content.
What’s sad is they were probably laid up for minor but expensive issues and were worth nothing at the time. Now that they would be worth something they’re all too late to be saved. So so sad yet utterly fascinating. Cheers Jonny!
Why I subscribed to Johnny's channel? VW bugs - ive had 62;s, and 65s. My girls learned to drive in the robins egg blue 65. Lowrider? Yep, I built a Lincoln on hydros, still got that one. Speaking of - hey Johnny, when you getting that lowrider done? They are an absolute giggle to drive around town in!
That green car looks like a 1979/81 Datsun Sunny saloon which was not exactly known for rust tolerance…they were suffering badly when only 3/4 years old but the engines and drivetrain were beautifully made and would far outlive the car! The poor wrecks worry me as I knew them all brand new and some I bought new. That Opel Ascona is similar to the 1.9 SR that our family Doctor owned and was a fine car when new (VYC 575M in gold). I have not seen one in maybe 20 years! All very sad to see now….my Dad was close to buying a new Rover 3500 SDI when they we first announced but a stroke got in the way! Keep searching Jonny! 😀😀😀😀😀Richard
More cardening please! I used to visit old breakers yards in the mid eighties, tons of dead old cars piled high many of them would be considered repairable today. PS- green Nissan/Datsun is a Stanza, aka Violet/160J/510.
Cracking 3500 manual SD1 in dark red, 29000 miles, auction coming up, looking mint. BAD BOY Jonny for putting ideas into my head!! If only I had somewhere to store one (and the spare cash, etc...) Always loved the SD1.
I had 3 Asconas, 1.6, 1.9 auto & 2.0s...the difference between it & the Cavalier was the Vauxhall had a modified Manta snout...were sold alongside the Cavalier in the UK...now like hen's teeth & very valuable. They were great cars to drive & the 2.0s was decently fast for the era and nicely tail-happy. Cheers!
I have a distinct love/hate relationship with episodes like these as i hate to see old bangers just left to rot….either save them or crush them is my motto. They all started life as some ones new dream and ended their lives through neglect.
After a slow down and a lot of pausing around the 19min mark, I have to conclude that the Landie is a late model 2A, either J or K plate. Fantastic video Jonny .
Brave to wear a new puffer jacket while clambering around rusted and twisted steel! Happy Holidays to Johnny and Chops. Have a great holiday break and looking forward to more in 2023.
Excellent Jonny.. and strangely therapeutic.. sad to see but there must be many of these graveyards, you’ve captured a moment in time here, eventually they will have totally dissolved with just a strange collection of glass and plastic left. One day it’d be great to find something restorable and save it.
The Dunlop SP Sport rear tyre on that first Jag XJ is in good shape, unlike the rest of the car! The Avenger must have been one of the first cars to have door pockets like that. I used to find them great for carrying aerosol cans and drinks!
“Tina” was a mk 4. Could tell with the rear light cluster. Learned to drive in a base model mk 5 in 89 & destroyed 4 pintos in 12 months. Good times Great vid loved it
Wow a real veiw of how nature take charge, if we don't keep it manicured! Sad, fascinating and just awesome thanks for taking us through this "dig" My second car was an Opel Ascona A 1973
My dad was like this. When his current car had to come off the road to be worked on he'd park it up saying he was going to fix it, but in the meantime he'd buy another cheap "temporary" run about. And when he needed a garage or shed for a planned project he'd build a new one, rather than emptying an existing one, which of course contained another ongoing project. And of course that project would then get put on hold for some other project and so on and so on. People would knock on his dour wanting to buy stuff but he'd chase them away saying it was, "his stuff" and "one day" he was going to fix it. When he eventually passed away sadly most of it was just scrap
@@TheLateBrakeShow It' wasn't specifically cars but also old machines, tools, piles of wood and metal, in fact anything that might be useful for doing anything. (I laughed when you found that pile of mattresses still in their wrappers). When he was younger he would actually fix and make things, but as he got older he just became a hoarder. Right up to within months of his death he was still insisting that he was going to put a new roof on his big barn and rebuild his old Land Rover. I think that part of this behaviour was due to having grown up during WW2 when everyone had to make do and mend,. but he also clearly had some psychological issues. As human beings we are all pre programmed to bond but he was what we now call "on the spectrum". and wasn't very good at bonding with other people. So like a lot of other types of hoarders he emotionally bonded with other things, and for him it was his "stuff", to the point of having his "stuff" became part of his sense of who he was.
Greetings from Northern Ireland Asconas were everywhere in NI alongside the Kadette C. We had a 1976 kadette C Coupe in bright yellow that had it's front badge stolen! The culprits were caught and the local paper said that the badges could be reclaimed ,dozens of them that had been taken off cars over a weekend . We had bought a new one from the main dealer keeping the original back as a spare.I still have it I wish I still had the car but it was replaced by an Astra celebrity in the early 80s
I *think* the green Nissan may well be a Violet, which was a late 70s / early 80s antecendent of the Bluebird and probably better known as a Stanza in other markets. My dad had one when I was about 5 years old and the light cluster looked familiar. Mechanically superb, but the body rotted through in no time.
I had a 1975 Avenger which was originally magenta (aka "nipple pink") with a black vinyl roof, but had been resprayed orangey-red and de-vinylled. It made a decent road rally car.
That rusted mini wing with the front light would make a great piece of art in your kitchen. A real car graveyard,if you went round and took off all the bits that didn’t rot,I bet you could get some good money on Ebay for a full set of windows,or name badges and other stuff.
I think the fascination with cars that have been left to decay.. aka. Car Grave yards or abandoned cars, has a lot to do with our human experience. The journey of all our lives. So many people were involved in bringing these objects of transportation into the world. The people who drove them, worked and used their dreams and hard earned money to buy them, travel with their families, be washed and waxed and be a sense of pride for a moment in their life.
I believe the green Japanese car is a Datsun Violet. I had one in the 90’s and it was very reliable but rust was eating it alive 😬. I called it the Violent 😂
I thoughts so too - 140J or 160J Violet, late '70s. Rear light cluster and the the "chrome" around the windscreen pillars made me think it was a Violet rather than a Sunny.
@@pjw140 I too thought it a Sunny as I had one in that colour - but the dash wasn't quite the same (although the switchgear was!) and yes, the chrome windscreen pillars. My brother had a 160J SSS coupé in white.
Hi jonny greetings from Thailand great to see all these old cars looks a bit cold there only 28 here today bit cool for here keep it up have a good Xmas and new year
Rule of junkyard cruising: never wear clothes you are attached too. Holy Moses, the UK must be a very unforgiving place looking at how badly rusted those cars are. Wow that next level stuff.
Between our generally damp climate and judicious use of salt on the roads in the winter almost guarantees our cars rot quickly, it's not unusual for a vehicle to rot to pieces in less than 20 years!
The green Nissan is a Datsun Violet from the 1970s. Great video, you'd like a visit to the yard of Myalls Coaches in Cambridgeshire. He has vehicles of all kinds dissolving into the hedgerows, some have been there 40+ years.
Those XJs remind me of a recent find. I've been driving past a terrace of Victorian houses which have been empty for at least 25 years and have deteriorated badly. Passing a few weeks ago I noticed for the first time a garage tucked to the side of one, its very overgrown which is why I have missed it. The wooden doors are now rotten and inside is a classic 70s brown XJ, unfortunately kids have been in a smashed it to bits.
I had a Bedford CF Luton van back in 1993 Sold it to two Gypsy lads but never filled out the V5 - my phone rang about 6 months after the sale police on looking for the owner, the driver had drove into a carwash in Edinburgh and smashed it all, Police were really friendly on the phone and I guess you learn from those situations, I was driving through Edinburgh months after that and seen the van in a car park, all 6 tyres were flat and it looked abandoned.
As soon as you showed the interior of the green car I know it was a Nissan/Datsun. My wife was given an 81 510 Wagon “estate” by her parents in 1990 and the dash looked just like that car.
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I do enjoy it when you name an episode after me. 'Carden-ing' indeed. Nice work Jonny. :)
There's only one thing sadder than a car graveyard: finding one of your old cars in one! I once stumbled across a field full of late 80's and early 90's cars on the edge of the Brecon Beacons and while wandering through I saw the rusty rear end of a Nova. It caught my eye as it was the same really light metallic green (silver/green code 41L) that my old one had been 10 years previously. It was just a bare shell but with the engine still in place so hard to tell what age it was until I lifted the bonnet and saw the air filter housing with my handwriting on it saying the service mileages! A bit more digging revealed the driver's door was originally red, same as the one I had replaced on mine, and the boot floor had the exact same holes in it that I had put in mine to fix my subwoofer enclosure down. Still didn't believe it was my old car but I found the VIN plate and took a photo of it, knowing I had a picture of my car's one at home. Compared the two when I got back and it was indeed my old car. This was all back in 2011 and the site was mostly cleared a few years later. A few cars still can be seen from afar and it's the bit of the field the Nova was in but some development work that cut through the field mean it's no longer easily accessible. No idea if it was undisturbed or not but I do remember the scrap lorry taking away quite a few cars in 2013, didn't see any Novas on it but plenty of Rovers and Fords. I did have photos of it all but I sadly lost them in a house move, wish I had them now!
Wow, what are the chances of you stumbling across your old relic? Kind of exciting and sad in one breath.
Wow fascinating that must’ve sent cold shivers through your body
@@TheLateBrakeShow it did stun me for a few seconds while I took it all in!
I can relate. My first car - 1972 Formula Firebird. I was 18, emotionally attached to the car. This was 1989. Sold car two years later. Believe it or not, I seen what looked similar to my car in a youtube video years ago! I reached out to channel, got a response. The Oregon license plate (my plate, it was my car!) was still in the guys garage! Car made its way somehow to Minnesota. He said car was severely wrecked in early 2000s, and rusted out so bad it was sent to the recycler. Broke my heart .....
Crossed paths with an old unconsummated flame coming out of Aldi just this very evening, and instantly greeted with a kiss on the cheek and those smiling eyes. Fifteen years on she’s even more smoking hot, and married with two gorgeous kids. OUCH.
These videos really fascinate me.
Decades ago someone walked into the showroom and drove out, as chuffed as a dog that's just had a poo.
They drove around their relatives houses to show them. They talked to all their work mates about how great their new car was. Now, here they are.
It's sad really but thought provoking at the same time. These owners of these cars have experienced some good times in them.
It's completely understandable when someone puts their heart and soul into restoring a vintage vehicle. It's not just the car they are restoring. It's the memories that they had in them.
'as chuffed as a dog that's just had a poo' well that made me laugh.
Who needs the current top gear when you have Johnny exploring these classics much more interesting 👌
Could not agree more, I don't even bother to record or watch TG any more
Stopped watching TG 20years ago.
Not even had a TV for 12years.
Top gear is dead to me now
TG no good anymore
That mini wing / headlight is art. Imagine it hanging on a wall with the light on.
There’s something of a sadness to crawling around a garden like this when you think what could have been if the cars were just a bit more valuable when left there.
Absolutely. This is why I save everything - no telling what a car will be worth in 10 or even 5 years.
This graveyard of stuff is really depressing. I hope somebody clears it out and salvages what few parts are still good.
Always think when watching these of the excitement of the new owner picking up their new car from the showroom. Driving home & all the family waiting to see and have a ride in Dad's new car. Now many years later we are looking at the rusty rotted remains of all those emotions & feelings.
The green Japanese car looked like what was sold in Australia as a Datsun 180B (I'm sure it had different names in different markets). The shape of the rear doors and tail-lights are a pretty good match.
Its not a 180 B engine. its OHV so its much earlier than 180 B. Datsun 1600 [510 elsewhere] on had OHC engines canted to get lower bonnet height. The last OZ Datsuns with those series engines were the first bluebirds of the late 60s and they did not have Macpherson strut front ends or power brakes. The smaller Datsun Sunny would have had all that stuff but the vid I am watching does not show the rest of the car and the engine looks bigger than a Sunny engine that was 1300cc I think.
That episode was so full of charm and emotion!! Being a child of the 80s all those cars bring back some sort of memory. I spent my childhood with my mechanic/ welder / recovery driver grandad , and worked and owned most of those and it started my whole obsession with cars ?!
Amazing episode keep up the great work
Breaks my heart every time I watch one of these videos. It's part of our childhood, just left to rot. You can't help but shed a tear, knowing they'll never see the open road ever again.
cant help but love his enthusiasm for old cars.
Not sad at all. It’s life. Found myself imagining them all on the day their first owners drove them away from the dealership. The endless roads and stories that brought them here to return to earth. Like we all do.
The blue Onion, I had one exactly the same colour as that reg C826 NEG. It was a 1.3 CVH engine. Nice car but cost me a fortune. Everything went wrong, oil pump went, I blew an exhaust valve, alternator seized up and I dented the drivers side wing in a multi storey car park. Thank you Jonny, you evoke so many memories.
I’m going to have a guess that judging by the appearance and condition of the Land Rover, it was driven into that spot approximately 3 weeks ago. 😁
Ghosts of time forgotten in the wild. Consumed by time and nature. All dead and cold, not a breath in those souls. I think it was a recovery yard of some sorts. Accident vehicles cut open, and abandoned ones picked up by the recker. Awesome video.
Eerie and sad, yet comforting and exciting!
Love your work Jonny!
Very sad to see so many vehicles just left for nature to take over, they must of been taken there after failing the MOT. Great video Jonny your enthusiasm know no boundaries.
Binged watched The late brake show whilst recovering from a hernia operation a week and a half back, Love the barn finds the story behind them, wether the cars are dead or alive, interesting cars that designers and journalists have were its more power to weight ratio, rather than watching someone trying to handle a 700 BPH Honda civic EP3, Keep up the good work 👍
I agree with you that when an object is beyond saving it becomes fascinating in that state, and is no longer a poor version of it's former glory, but something different entirely, evolving naturally.
This is sad but fascinating. Johnny knows how to do the perfect TV for Christmas present wrapping and reminds me of getting stuck on the rose bushes putting the lights out.
The green Nissan is a PA10 Violet. Also called Auster/Stanza in some markets (updated /face-lifted). Usually came with a OHC 1600 L-series (L16) engine but an OHV 1400 A-series (A14) engine were offered in some markets.
Yep Jonny. Am Irish and got excited by the 4dr Ascona. My parents had one. I learned to drive in it on the farm.
Superb! them 23 minutes flew by 😳 ,hope im not the only one who was leaning into the screen as if i was almost there hehe 🥸
Once again awesome episode. Amazing that places like this still exist in 2022...... Sad to see cars like this but still amazing to see how well some like the landrover have survied.
Thanks Jonny...it is indeed sad how a fleet like that ends up in such a state.....would love to know the back story...
The backstory is people died lol
The Land Rover is a late series IIA 109 so about 1968...71. Looks like it might have been a 2.6 litre 6 cylinder originally but I think thats a BMC 2.2/2.5 diesel in it now - maybe one of the taxis was its engine donor?
The body line looks remarkably straight given the chassis is probably rotten but they are easy to replace so its probably the only vehicle in the yard that's not too far gone.
Going to say the same, metal dash split windscreen but with outer headlights makes it late IIA but not a III. I have a "68 CKD and by that year should be outer headlights from memory but a few of em still had inner lights like mine. 2.6 cars had a deeper firewall and the engine is further set back but hard to tell from the video. (Got both a IIA 2.25 and a IIA 2.6 but a Holden 179 swap but using the original 2.6 engine mounting locations)
@@darcybowyer5743 No fuel filler behind the drivers door so it must have either the bigger rear mounted tank (only standard on 6 cylinder and station wagons back then) or under the seat fill (twin tank MOD spec). Doesn’t look ex-MOD so I’d go with the six pot theory. The heater also looks to be mounted sloping rather than near vertical so another six pot tell. Servo brakes were pritty rare in that period too and I think they were standard fit on six cyl models before it became the norm for everything (though some early ones used remote servos) - stuffing a later servo pedal tower in is quite an easy retrofit though so it could just be off a later car as it’s clearly seen some modifications in its life. A lot of six cylinder models seem to have had engine conversions, probubly because the original engines didn’t offer a lot more power especially top end but did use significantly more fuel. In the UK they often fetched lower prices as no one wanted to fuel and maintain them. They also didn’t tollorate neglect and abuse as well as the 2.25 did so some suffered mechanical failures after being rev’d too hard for too long. In export markets people weren’t so scared of large engines and didn’t consider 2.6 to be all that impressive so swapped in a more grunty localally sourced engine like your Holden when the original needed work. I always thought it odd they made quite a few 3 litre prototypes and enough found their way into fire engines it was almost a secret factory option but never made a ‘production’ model dispite making the engine for cars. Maybe that stretched the gearbox too far on the heavier land-rover work?
Think the UK was the last market to get lights in wings, initially they only did it where it was legally required though some also get registered late.
You're an Amazing Man Jonny. I love Your Passion And Enthusiasm for any type of car..... wrecked, new or in the stage of restoration. Amazing 👏 Videos Sir.
My Dad bought 3 new Avenger’s - in ‘73, ‘76 and ‘79. Learned to drive in one. Remember begging day off school to tag along with him when he collected each new car from the dealer. Also remember rust bubbles even showing on one of them as it sat brand new on the dealer forecourt. It had probably been stood outside 6 months since it had been built. Unbelievable that that was vaguely acceptable even then. Still would love to have one now! Keep up the great work Jonny.
I learnt to drive in a K reg Avenger , estate
You’re correct , the Opel Ascona was very popular in Ireland. Very comfortable seats 😊
10:09- I’d say that’s an SD1 dashboard because of the two air vents… a clever design created for ease of importing to the US market… putting an air vent on both sides of the dashboard meant that there was an allocated space to put the steering wheel/column in left hand drive country cars
Great video! My dad had a Mk5 Cortina company car in red.......within 3 years the bootlid was frilly with rust, so I'm amazed there's ANYTHING left of that poor Mk4!! :)
Really? Gosh that's a reminder of how badly made so many 1970s cars were. This mk4 was comically ruined.
There was a small Ford dealership in my neighbourhood.
He stored the breaker cars in a field next to his father’s farmhouse.
The old man didn’t mind me snooping around.
There was even a JPS Capri, sad to see it rotted away.
By the way, this was in Belgium.
I think the dash board was from an SD1. The give away is the vent in front of the passenger so the dash could be used in a left or right hand drive car.
I had a google and I think that the mystery Nissan is a Nissan Violet A10. The chrome around the windscreen and the A pillar, as well as the little plastic clips for the aerial, all seem to match.
loads of good parts left ready for harvesting hope someone gets the parts that are worth saving and keeps other classics going.
Green Nissan is a Stanza I think, a work mate had one that colour in the early 90s. Yard looks like a banger racers storage compound, got all the right cars from back in the day.
When I was about 14, I'm 55, now, I discovered an old car on a drive in the adjoining village.
It was forlorn in front of a 1960's 3 bed semi and I knew it was something special, a Lagonda from around 1954.
Finding info on something so obscure back then in the early 80's wasn't like it is today.
I never summoned the courage to knock on the door, I was a skint kid and it was a sinister looking unkempt house.
From what I can remember it was 2.6 or 3.0 litre model with an aluminium Tickford body, 2 door I think.
It was quite a stylish, elegant sporting saloon and as far as I can ascertain a pretty rare beast today.
I do know that Prince Phillip owned an open topped version.
I must say that The late brake show is my favourite automotive TH-cam channel. I think it's your enthusiasm Jonny that makes the show, and in depth super nerd knowledge with great subjects. I love a Miura but I love to see the mundane stuff that people never deemed worthy of saving that has all but disappeared from our streets, the stuff I saw every day as a kid.
A lot of it was flimsy stuff and just terrible but I'd love to see a Talbot Tagora, they were very poor sellers in the day and rather a dogs dinner and very few UK spec cars can have survived if any.
What a fascinating exploration. So many cars/vans from my youth.
The closest I've come to this was 25+ years ago, going 'scavenging' on a long derelict VW Beetle and late 50's early 60's (you could peel the body from what was left of the floorpan). That had been 'left' in a wood, although possibly part of a former MOD Site that had been disected by the building of the M40.
Keep up the great content, I hope you and your family have a great festive period and are able to get some downtime 🙂🙂
Absolutely fascinating and brilliant. Better than anything on TV. This should be on TV! I remember when all these cars were on the road and cheap as chips. I turned down a perfectly good MK2 escort for £600!
Many thanks Brian
For a time Opel Asconas were sold alongside Cavaliers here in England; an uncle had a metallic blue 1.6SR for his company car. I think that was on a "P" plate - it replaced a red Avenger estate.
You do some of the best car videos on TH-cam, could watch all day. Easy going, know your stuff and find some very interesting cars and places. Love it 😎
Gary, thank you so much for watching the episodes.
I recall me Dad driving us down to the south of France in an Avenger. It was gold with a black vinyl roof ( I think) the tri-spoke steering wheel brought back memories of singed thighs on the black vinyl seats :) wonderful days
I'd love a follow-up on how on earth this place came to be, and who owns the land.
Looks like an old scrap yard with the remains of SWA cable , just the outer plastic and wire left the copper inner cable gone many years ago
John Shuttleworth cares about the Ambassador. It’s the car that he reveres 😉. Thanks for the videos this year Jonny. Have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Why Reg??
I always enjoy Cardening episodes, something extremely interesting about seeing old cars being reclaimed by nature. Such a shame to see them like that, especially the SD1. They're such a special car from my childhood. Whenever I see one I always smile.
Your journalism in motoring is amazingly well presented Jonny! Thank you 🙏 and Happy Holidays to you and the team at TLBS
Gary, thank you and Merry Christmas
14:18 I think this a Datsun 160 or 180B?
Sad, eerie yet very fascinating place indeed. Great video!
I can always remember my late grandfather having an Opel Ascona 2.0 auto back in the mid 80's very quick car! Like most cars that he had he killed them lol. He had 2 Renault 12 auto's within the space of year, Daf 66 estate which he thrashed to an inch of its life. Great trip down memory lane Johnny ;) Merry Christmas and all the best for 2023 to you and your family. Greetings from Teesside ;)
I can't explain the nostalgic feeling, of seeing old cars that would have been part of the environment as I walked to primary school, ON Blarney st. in Cork Ireland. My dad worked at the Ford Plant in Cork, till it closed in '84. He was a Ford man until then, then he turned to Japan, for a Mazda 323.
Jonny is like our friend taking us along with him, reminiscing with us.
Is that half a rear end of a fastback a Datsun Sunny? The tail light opening and flat rear panel give me that vibe. Not sure the year.
Thank you for the great content.
I love watching these exploring videos with cars, I'd love to do this with the misses one day as we're both petrol heads :)
What’s sad is they were probably laid up for minor but expensive issues and were worth nothing at the time. Now that they would be worth something they’re all too late to be saved. So so sad yet utterly fascinating. Cheers Jonny!
Why I subscribed to Johnny's channel? VW bugs - ive had 62;s, and 65s. My girls learned to drive in the robins egg blue 65. Lowrider? Yep, I built a Lincoln on hydros, still got that one. Speaking of - hey Johnny, when you getting that lowrider done? They are an absolute giggle to drive around town in!
Many thanks Jonny...! Isn't it weird how certain parts of cars survive that you would expect to be completely knackered and vice versa.
Thanks Rup, it certainly is. Like the mk1 Escort inner boot skin, but not the outer?
That green car looks like a 1979/81 Datsun Sunny saloon which was not exactly known for rust tolerance…they were suffering badly when only 3/4 years old but the engines and drivetrain were beautifully made and would far outlive the car! The poor wrecks worry me as I knew them all brand new and some I bought new. That Opel Ascona is similar to the 1.9 SR that our family Doctor owned and was a fine car when new (VYC 575M in gold). I have not seen one in maybe 20 years! All very sad to see now….my Dad was close to buying a new Rover 3500 SDI when they we first announced but a stroke got in the way! Keep searching Jonny! 😀😀😀😀😀Richard
Yet again, love the capture of this and that it gets to you Jonny where it can be produced for us. Epic video. Epic chap. #gojonny
Really kind, thank you Jon.
More cardening please! I used to visit old breakers yards in the mid eighties, tons of dead old cars piled high many of them would be considered repairable today.
PS- green Nissan/Datsun is a Stanza, aka Violet/160J/510.
I Believe it's a Datsun 140j
@@Padraigdubh same thing
Brill video Jonny, I’d love to know the back story of how they all ended up there!
Absolutely class as ever
Much better than any current car show on the TV
Give Johnny his own show again on mainstream TV
With Plato 😎😎😎🙌🙌🙌👍
Love your videos Jonny (and team). Pity to see so many cars so far gone though! Always love a good bit of carcheology...
Also these videos always send me down an AutoTrader and Car & Classic black hole... SD1... hmm... old Avenger... hmm...
Cracking 3500 manual SD1 in dark red, 29000 miles, auction coming up, looking mint. BAD BOY Jonny for putting ideas into my head!! If only I had somewhere to store one (and the spare cash, etc...) Always loved the SD1.
I had 3 Asconas, 1.6, 1.9 auto & 2.0s...the difference between it & the Cavalier was the Vauxhall had a modified Manta snout...were sold alongside the Cavalier in the UK...now like hen's teeth & very valuable. They were great cars to drive & the 2.0s was decently fast for the era and nicely tail-happy. Cheers!
Great work Jonny
And Happy New Year and here’s to your next projects. Loving all your content and keep up the great work
I have a distinct love/hate relationship with episodes like these as i hate to see old bangers just left to rot….either save them or crush them is my motto. They all started life as some ones new dream and ended their lives through neglect.
After a slow down and a lot of pausing around the 19min mark, I have to conclude that the Landie is a late model 2A, either J or K plate. Fantastic video Jonny .
Thank you so much for your detective work. Appreciated.
It would have been great to have had Porter follow you around with an umbrella again!
Next time...
Pointing at things with it...
Spot on comment Jonny about the Ascona! Sister car of the Cavalier and very popular here OTSOT. From one of your regular Irish ☘️ viewers 👍
'Cardening' love it! needs to go in the Oxford English that one! - that Mini headlamp and bit of wing - wall art right there :-) 😀
I had a red escort 2door estate back in the day... fab motor... also had a white one. Thanks for the Vid Johnny... Have a super Christmas.
Thank you, and you too!
Brave to wear a new puffer jacket while clambering around rusted and twisted steel! Happy Holidays to Johnny and Chops. Have a great holiday break and looking forward to more in 2023.
That jacket is well over 10 years - and worth every penny. It has been my best winter buddy in years now! Thanks David, happy Xmas to you
@@TheLateBrakeShow i bought a Rab puffer after seeing yours. I love it. And it’s pretty tough compared to ones ive had before
Excellent Jonny.. and strangely therapeutic.. sad to see but there must be many of these graveyards, you’ve captured a moment in time here, eventually they will have totally dissolved with just a strange collection of glass and plastic left. One day it’d be great to find something restorable and save it.
The Dunlop SP Sport rear tyre on that first Jag XJ is in good shape, unlike the rest of the car!
The Avenger must have been one of the first cars to have door pockets like that. I used to find them great for carrying aerosol cans and drinks!
Dunlop SP Sport, with water clearing aquajets, said the ads.
“Tina” was a mk 4. Could tell with the rear light cluster. Learned to drive in a base model mk 5 in 89 & destroyed 4 pintos in 12 months.
Good times
Great vid loved it
Wow a real veiw of how nature take charge, if we don't keep it manicured! Sad, fascinating and just awesome thanks for taking us through this "dig" My second car was an Opel Ascona A 1973
My dad was like this. When his current car had to come off the road to be worked on he'd park it up saying he was going to fix it, but in the meantime he'd buy another cheap "temporary" run about. And when he needed a garage or shed for a planned project he'd build a new one, rather than emptying an existing one, which of course contained another ongoing project. And of course that project would then get put on hold for some other project and so on and so on.
People would knock on his dour wanting to buy stuff but he'd chase them away saying it was, "his stuff" and "one day" he was going to fix it. When he eventually passed away sadly most of it was just scrap
Interesting to hear about your Dad Keith. How many cars did he end up with? And I wonder why he behaved this way, rather than sell them.
@@TheLateBrakeShow It' wasn't specifically cars but also old machines, tools, piles of wood and metal, in fact anything that might be useful for doing anything. (I laughed when you found that pile of mattresses still in their wrappers). When he was younger he would actually fix and make things, but as he got older he just became a hoarder. Right up to within months of his death he was still insisting that he was going to put a new roof on his big barn and rebuild his old Land Rover.
I think that part of this behaviour was due to having grown up during WW2 when everyone had to make do and mend,. but he also clearly had some psychological issues. As human beings we are all pre programmed to bond but he was what we now call "on the spectrum". and wasn't very good at bonding with other people. So like a lot of other types of hoarders he emotionally bonded with other things, and for him it was his "stuff", to the point of having his "stuff" became part of his sense of who he was.
Great nosey around!! John Shuttleworth likes Austin Ambassador's especially on a Y Reg....it's the car that he reveres!
So sad to see these vehicles in those conditions. The gems in that bunch!
Never knew Rab jackets came in other colours other than green and black! Awesome video, thank you for sharing 😀.
Almost forgot.... Love your channel Johnny, especially the Barnfind episodes !
Greetings from Northern Ireland Asconas were everywhere in NI alongside the Kadette C. We had a 1976 kadette C Coupe in bright yellow that had it's front badge stolen! The culprits were caught and the local paper said that the badges could be reclaimed ,dozens of them that had been taken off cars over a weekend . We had bought a new one from the main dealer keeping the original back as a spare.I still have it I wish I still had the car but it was replaced by an Astra celebrity in the early 80s
love it when jonny says transit and of course sportttaa
Traaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaansit-tahhh
I *think* the green Nissan may well be a Violet, which was a late 70s / early 80s antecendent of the Bluebird and probably better known as a Stanza in other markets. My dad had one when I was about 5 years old and the light cluster looked familiar. Mechanically superb, but the body rotted through in no time.
I had a 1975 Avenger which was originally magenta (aka "nipple pink") with a black vinyl roof, but had been resprayed orangey-red and de-vinylled. It made a decent road rally car.
Not a Datsun Bluebird, but a Datsun 140J. My folks had one for eight years.
Great car.
That rusted mini wing with the front light would make a great piece of art in your kitchen. A real car graveyard,if you went round and took off all the bits that didn’t rot,I bet you could get some good money on Ebay for a full set of windows,or name badges and other stuff.
It would be lovely to see this stuff live on in some way.
Definitely a combination of interest, nostalgia and sadness. Thanks for risking your Puffa for our entertainment Jonny.
Always willing to risk the puffer if the cars are worth it.
I think the fascination with cars that have been left to decay.. aka. Car Grave yards or abandoned cars, has a lot to do with our human experience. The journey of all our lives. So many people were involved in bringing these objects of transportation into the world. The people who drove them, worked and used their dreams and hard earned money to buy them, travel with their families, be washed and waxed and be a sense of pride for a moment in their life.
I reckon the jade green car is a Datsun Violet 140J. The fastback car you mentioned early on is I think a MK2 Cavalier hatchback.
That's what I Thought or a 160J , my dad briefly had a SSS coupe back in the 70s nice nostalgia trip😄
18:37 my first company car was a 1982 Y Reg 2 door 1.3L Escort Estate. Ideal for a 21 year old trainee surveyor.
Absolutely brilliant Johnny. Loved it loved it loved it many thanks glad the Puffa survived!!
I believe the green Japanese car is a Datsun Violet. I had one in the 90’s and it was very reliable but rust was eating it alive 😬. I called it the Violent 😂
I think your right, wasn’t it also called a 140 J ?
I thought it was a sunny but i think you're right.
I thoughts so too - 140J or 160J Violet, late '70s. Rear light cluster and the the "chrome" around the windscreen pillars made me think it was a Violet rather than a Sunny.
Looks a bit more square like a Datsun 510.
@@pjw140 I too thought it a Sunny as I had one in that colour - but the dash wasn't quite the same (although the switchgear was!) and yes, the chrome windscreen pillars. My brother had a 160J SSS coupé in white.
That’s the perfect back garden!
Hi jonny greetings from Thailand great to see all these old cars looks a bit cold there only 28 here today bit cool for here keep it up have a good Xmas and new year
Rule of junkyard cruising: never wear clothes you are attached too.
Holy Moses, the UK must be a very unforgiving place looking at how badly rusted those cars are. Wow that next level stuff.
Between our generally damp climate and judicious use of salt on the roads in the winter almost guarantees our cars rot quickly, it's not unusual for a vehicle to rot to pieces in less than 20 years!
Next time I will stick to the old school fleece top and rigger boots!
The green Nissan is a Datsun Violet from the 1970s. Great video, you'd like a visit to the yard of Myalls Coaches in Cambridgeshire. He has vehicles of all kinds dissolving into the hedgerows, some have been there 40+ years.
Could you email us the details of Myalls please? Do you know them personally?
@@TheLateBrakeShow email sent.
Those XJs remind me of a recent find. I've been driving past a terrace of Victorian houses which have been empty for at least 25 years and have deteriorated badly.
Passing a few weeks ago I noticed for the first time a garage tucked to the side of one, its very overgrown which is why I have missed it. The wooden doors are now rotten and inside is a classic 70s brown XJ, unfortunately kids have been in a smashed it to bits.
Tragic that both the car and a row of houses have been left for so long, beyond repair now by the sounds of it. Humans are so wasteful.
@ 10:25 the cut-up panel is the rear n/s quarter panel and part rear tailgate slam panel and valance of a mk2 vauxhall cavalier 5dr Hatch. 👍
Loving the Gulf coloured scarf Johnny ❤👍🏻
This is so sad but strangely cool to watch as well.
I think the green Nissan is perhaps a Stanza. Not many models with a fully chrome A pillar. Could be wrong.... Great vid Jonny!
I'm both mesmerized and saddened to see stuff like this.
I had a Bedford CF Luton van back in 1993
Sold it to two Gypsy lads but never filled out the V5 - my phone rang about 6 months after the sale police on looking for the owner, the driver had drove into a carwash in Edinburgh and smashed it all, Police were really friendly on the phone and I guess you learn from those situations, I was driving through Edinburgh months after that and seen the van in a car park, all 6 tyres were flat and it looked abandoned.
As soon as you showed the interior of the green car I know it was a Nissan/Datsun. My wife was given an 81 510 Wagon “estate” by her parents in 1990 and the dash looked just like that car.