Temples Auto Parts: Part Two

Temples Auto Parts: Part Two

By February 2017, it had been several months since I'd last been to Temples Auto Parts, or “Temples” as we like to call it around here. Since my first visit, I had become a full time college student and hadn’t had any time to return.

I met a man named Cameron through Instagram a while back, and it turned out that he lived semi-near me in the North Augusta, South Carolina area. Cameron owns a 1969 Ford F100 and a 1967 Mercury Cougar XR-7, along with a 1968 Mercury Cougar base model that is his daily driver. Cameron is one year younger than I am and was a senior in high school at the time. His father has been a friend of the yard's management for about thirty years.

On a Wednesday, Cameron sent me a text saying that he was going to Temples to get some small Cougar parts. He offered to pick me up and take me to the yard with him. Despite the fact that I didn’t have my DSLR handy, I agreed to go, against my better judgement. I did not have a car on campus during my freshman year. I knew that Cameron would be driving his ‘68 Cougar to my college campus, to the yard, back to my college, and back to his house (almost 250 miles). I also knew that I’d have a lot of explaining to do if anything went wrong, considering that it was the middle of the school week. Despite the circumstances, I couldn't resist. I was eager to enter the candy store that is Temples again. This was also my very first time meeting Cameron in person.

Cameron drove to my college, we exchanged pleasantries, and then left for Temples. We didn’t get there until about 4:15, which only left us with about 45 minutes to actually look around. Despite this, I was satisfied. There were still cars everywhere and I saw many that I hadn’t seen on my first trip to Temples. Time flies when you’re having fun, and before I knew it, 4:55 had come and it was time to rush back to the main office and leave. To my relief, Cameron's car made it back to my college and back to his house without a single problem.

We made the trek to Temples again about ten days later and thankfully, on a weekend. We made the plans a few days prior and because of this, I had my DSLR and was ready to shoot. I was also ready to go early and really explore the place.

Cameron and I walked all around the main yard. There were Chevelles, C10s, old '70s boogie vans, two door Impalas, second generation Trans Ams and Firebirds, Mustang coupes and fastbacks, and other well known classic car models. There were also numerous two door tri-five Chevys in the yard, along with many four doors, a few four door wagons, and one absolutely roached ‘55 Chevy 2 door hardtop.

We then walked into the very back of the main yard, deep into the trees along the fence. With prickly plants poking our legs, we came across a 1970 Dodge Charger and a 1968 Dodge Charger sitting near each other, along with some 1968 and 1969 Dodge Coronet two doors. An ominous looking ‘73 Cadillac hearse was also sitting in the distance. It was obvious that both Chargers had been dormant for a long time and were used for parts back in the day.

The ‘70 Charger had been hit hard in its right side and the other side had been mostly chopped off and salvaged. Not much was left of the '68 Charger. Almost everything of value had already been taken from both cars, but I was still utterly flabbergasted. We had found two 1968-70 Chargers sitting in the trees at an old junkyard. At the time, these were my greatest finds to date. The Coronets seemed to still be in decent shape.

After Cameron tore me away from those Mopar relics, we came across the remains of a real 1967 Pontiac GTO and then ventured to “Ute Row” (a line of El Caminos and Rancheros along one of the fences) as I like to call it. Across the path, a roofless 1968 Cougar and a badly wrecked 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 were sitting next to each other. Cameron quickly discovered that this particular Cougar still had its OEM clock in it, so he pulled that and a few other odds and ends while I photographed him and the Mach 1. Following this, Cameron wanted to pay for the parts he had pulled, so we went back to the office.

This wasn’t the end of our trip, though. Across the road, there are two other yards that are part of Temples. One is closed to the public, but the other is open. This is where the actual car crushing, weighing, and metal recycling gets done. Past all of this is another vast expanse of old cars sitting around. This section of the yard seemed to have a lot more cars from the late ‘70s through the ‘90s, along with numerous vintage tractors. There were a multitude of GM G-bodies, Datsun/Nissan 720 trucks, Foxbody Mustangs (including one SVO), Datsun S30s, and third generation GM F-bodies. This section still had its fair share of old American iron, however. Some particular standouts were a ‘79 Volkswagen Rabbit Diesel, a ‘77 or ‘78 Toyota pickup truck, a 1964 Impala SS, a ‘67 Firebird, and a ‘68 Firebird among other cars. We walked around this part of the yard for a while before coming across another 1968 Dodge Charger, much to my amazement. This Charger was also in bad shape, but it wasn’t wrecked and the main body was still mostly in one piece. That was the highlight of the trip. We went to Temples again following this trip and scrutinized the yard's vehicles even more closely.

After the heat and humidity die down, I'll go back to Temples again. There's just so much stuff in every nook and cranny of the place that it's almost impossible to survey everything in even multiple visits - but there's nothing wrong with that.

If you want to see all of the photos I took on these trips, they are on my Flickr page here.

I am on Instagram (@Dburger62) and Cameron is on Instagram (@patrioticcammm). My YouTube channel is Dburger62.  

Temples Auto Parts is located at 7303 Two Notch Road, Batesburg, SC 29006. The junkyard is open from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM on weekdays, and from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM on Saturdays. The yard is closed on Sundays.

Thanks for reading!