(Words and Photos by Joe Grippo) Location, location, location. The old adage relating to real estate holds true many times for car events. The Pebble Beach Concours, Amelia Island Concours and even the Gathering at the ROC hot rod show are nationally known mainly because of the quality of vehicles at the show but the environment and setting the rides are presented in certainly adds to the appeal. Beautiful coastline golf courses and the finely manicured grounds of a 1920’s wildlife preserve lodge are cool, but I’d wager that most Bangshifters would feel more at home crawling around a junkyard. If you agree, have I got a car show for you.
The Pumpkin Run, held annually at Harry Fleming’s Auto Parts in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, is a great show in and of itself, but the location is a massive part of the appeal. Fleming’s Auto Parts is essentially a junkyard filled with decaying hulks of cars and trucks from the 1920’s through the 1980’s. Granted this stuff is pretty picked over and they are being slowly reclaimed by the earth, but the stuff on the edges of this show is so cool see and photograph. Early November, when the event is held, is a fantastic time to go exploring the yard. The leaves are on the ground and the overgrown weeds and brush has receded enough to allow getting up close to these rusty relics and check out their morbid details. Bring your camera.
Much like the car show portion out in the open fields of the Pumpkin Run, the variety of machines piled up and scattered in the junkyard is amazing! I saw Mustangs, Camaros, a bunch of station wagons, big 60’s General Motors land yachts, Volkswagens and more. I always carve out a few hours at the end of the show to go exploring in the woods. Habitually I search out a few of my favorite carcasses and grab some updated photos, these include a Porsche 944, the remains of a Bradley GT kit car, the late ‘50s Ford Fairlane Retractable Hard Top and the double Decker bus. I also tend to get a bit melancholic seeing these once viable highway veterans in this state, I can’t help of thinking how they ended up here. Each one was at one point likely someone’s pride and joy when new. The lives they endured are an untold story, a mystery. Having served a purpose on the road, these once gleaming motor vehicles still offer a service…a cool photo op.
Enjoy. And check it out for yourself in 2025!
Click here for more info on Flemings Pumpkin Run:
https://www.flemingspumpkinrun.com/
