he modern world is a great place to be, riding on the very crest of the techno-logical wave and being present at the

point in time when every new development is made, that’s a good thing and anybody that wants to live in the past must have a screw loose.

Once in a while, having a taste of what it was like to live a few decades ago is an incredible thing, and that’s how we feel right now, stood here on top of a small hillock looking out over about a thousand rusting cars in the Horopito Motors yard. There’s a volcano overlooking us, and we’re surrounded by rusting shells, covered in colourful lichen, old stickers, rare badges and decades of decay.

T

legendary scrapyard

No we haven’t gone back in time, Horopito Motors in New Zealand is real. And packed full of classic Fords...

Rust Never Sleeps

“WE’RE SWAMPED BY RUSTING SHELLS

ALL COVERED IN DECADES OF DECAY”

Words and photos Bryn Musselwhite

MkI and MkII Transits lie covered in battle scars and lichen. Nothing leaves here in one piece.

Damp environment means that interior trim doesn’t last long once exposed to the elements.

If it was imported, or built in New Zealand you’ll find it here — Ford is not the only marque at the yard.

Prefect has clearly sat

here for a very long time.

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MY BACK YARDThe yard was started by Bill Cole in the late ‘40s, and his ethos was that any car that came into the yard would stay there, with every part available for sale, nothing being scrapped. Bill passed away in 1987 and since then the yard has been run by his daughter and her husband, Colin (right). Talking with him makes you realize just what a daunting task running the place is.

NEW ZEALAND SPECIAL

“THERE ARE 4500 CARS HERE, IN SHEDS, FIELDS AND UNDER TREES”

There are over 4500 cars here, in sheds, fields, under trees and partly covered. In the centre of this sprawling empire is a warehouse-cum-workshop, covering roughly half an acre. Half of this has an upstairs floor where spare parts for every model you could imagine can be found.

If the yard closed today, itemising the millions of items in stock it would be a lifetime’s work. That said after half a lifetime here, Colin the boss knows the whereabouts of whatever you should need.

Colin also knows what stuff is worth, so he’s no pushover on prices and isn’t in a rush to sell container loads abroad. However, if you need an unobtainable part for that project, contact them. And if want to take a walk around one of the most evocative car yards we’ve seen in the world, then Colin will be there waiting in a bygone age.

“ITEMISING THE MILLIONS OF ITEMS IN STOCK WOULD

BE A LIFETIME’S WORK”

legendary scrapyard

This picture is not a fake, there really are this many old wrecks here. It’s like a scene from a post-apolcalyptic film.

Consul Classic is slowly sinking into the earth. Still retains some rare bits of trim, though.

MkII four-door looks like it could offer up some useful parts. Check out the side-window’d van behind it.

Cortinas I, II and III fight for space in the already-packed fields. We’ve never seen anything like it.

Thames 400E would have been ideal for travelling around the country in. Once...

This MkI Capri can’t have been stood in the yard for too long as most of the paint is still intact.

Solid cars are kept under cover. This Anglia Super (above) has only covered 23,000 miles.

HOROPITO MOTORS

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FIND OUT MOREFor loads more history and an aerial shot of the yard to give you some idea of just how large it is, check out the website. Colin is keen to point out the best way to enquire about the availability of a part is by fax.Type in www.horopitomotors.co.nz or fax 0061 6385 4275.

MkII Zephyr/ Zodiac has been

well and truly stripped of panels.

1600 Sport must be super-rare in New Zealand, and surely worth saving.