Chuck Hippely owned his own junkyard on McCracken Road for 20 years and worked for the former Patterson Chrysler Plymouth dealership in Salem years ago. Today he’s retired but still has a couple automotive gems in his garage, a 1931 Ford Model “A” roller roadster, a 1946 International street rod and a 1948 International (above on the rack) red half-ton truck he bought from a farm in Montana. Behind Hippely is a 1946 International pickup that needs attention that a bad back prevents him from working on. (Salem New photo by Larry Shields)

SALEM — Every now and then there’s a story about one of those Pontiac GTOs or Dodge Challengers stashed in old barn rusting away for 40 years.

Maybe not the rarest cars out there, but no matter, across the American hot rod landscape, they are out there and you can find just about anything if you know where to look.

So Chuck Hippely is a great example of that, and he has a place to look.

He ran an auto salvage business, junk yard to be precise, for 20 years on McCracken Road, closing it in 2000.

That was after working almost 20 years at Patterson Chrysler Plymouth in Salem pretty much after graduating from the third class at the then-brand new United Local High School in 1961.

He’s still a car guy, but not like when he was piling up demolition derby trophies during a 15 year stretch.

“I’ve got a whole box of trophies back there,” Hippely says thumbing to the back of his large garage.

He and Jim Mercer, who died years ago, competed in the Columbiana County Fair, Canfield Fair and events at Stoneborough, Hookstown, Pa., along with the Mile Branch demolition derby.

Hectic times but it was almost requisite back then if you owned a junk yard.

Brace up a big sedan, whittle it down to the bare necessities, lash the battery to something strong, tighten it, spray paint it. Put something on it. Anything. Then, just let ‘er rip.

The demolition derbies lasted awhile and when Hippely closed his business on McCracken Road there were 450 cars that he was ordered to crush, turn into cash, for a divorce settlement.

“I crushed every one under a court order,” he said, “I could have gotten four times as much if they would have just waited a little while.”

Bygones. There are a lot of those. Always something.

After crushing every single car, Hippely worked at the Alliance Walmart “for a short time” while maintaining his gear-head stature and working on a couple of old vehicles he stowed away in that beautiful, floor-heated garage he built next to his new house on Salem-Grange Road.

All those years around cars and he still loves them. Engines, bare blocks, heads, transmissions, rear end assemblies, fenders, rocker panels, cowlings.

Do that long enough and a sort of collection mania takes hold.

No, I don’t need this, but I might later. Not sure about that, better buy it. What am I going to do with that? Better get it. You never know.

Hippely is taking it pretty easy now. He’s been retired since 2005 and so as he surveys his garage the inventory includes a 1931 Ford Model “A” roller chassis sitting high off the ground on a lift.

It’s all steel body with fiberglass running boards and fenders just sits there, lurking in a dark corner, waiting. Waiting to be unleashed.

“There’s a Mustang II suspension in the front,” Hippely says, and, not that he’s selling it, and, conversely, not that he’s not, he points out that all-steel body alone can go for $7,200.

“The doors and cowling are done,” he said and it’s title is clear.

Number two in the inventory is a red 1948 International short bed half-ton pickup.

“It’s International red,” Hippley said, “got the paint from Penn Motor.”

If you can remember Penn Motor, it was on East Pershing Street. It was the go-to auto parts store in Salem. It’s been a while. But that’s where he got the “International red” paint.

The truck has a Green Diamond 6-cylinder engine with a standard floor-shift 3-speed transmission.

“It needs a battery, fuel pump and the carb may need some attention,” Hippley says, explaining he bought it from a farm in Montana.

“Oh, it has handmade exhausts by John Reese,” he said, identifying Reese’s Muffler shop as being located in Lisbon on U.S. Route 30.

Hippley worked on it “for quite a while” and allows the truck is 90 percent turnkey.

Divorces can be considerable distractions, so that’s one reason why it’s taken so long.

The 1948 International is also perched on a lift and directly underneath resides a 1946 International roadster street rod. It has a 1980 Chrysler Cordoba suspension that “fit under there like it was made for it,” Hippley said.

“I’ve got everything for it,” he says and letting his eyes wander around the garage. He spots something.

“A new hood and glass,” he says motioning to a couple of unopened boxes.

“It’s down to the point where all it needs is labor. There’s a Chevelle 350 automatic and a Ford rear end … Dodge Daytona bucket seats. Pretty much 99 percent of everything is there.”

When Hippley says it’s down to the point of needing labor, he doesn’t mean he’s going to do it himself.

After time, a bad back and a couple of other issues, climbing around, over and under cars gets old, even if you still like doing it.

But that’s what happens in many cases.

That’s why these old gems dot the American hod rod landscape, hiding away in garages all over the place.

lshields@salemnews.net