It's a yard sale!

The yard property of Stapleton Salvage & Auto Repair is narrow and long. This image showing a small portion of the yard
is indicative of how vehicles are arranged. The terrain is mildly hilly, and tumbleweeds are plentiful. Ron Kawalke

It’s been 17 years since Old Cars first chronicled Stapleton Salvage & Auto Repair in Dodge City, Kan., but a call from yard owner Henry Stapleton’s daughter, Liz Winn, unfortunately revealed that her 95-year-old father had passed away. The yard is now for sale, which prompted a return visit from Old Cars to get the details of the pending sale.

This story begins in 1959, when Henry Stapleton started storing old cars and trucks in his cow pasture where he occasionally hunted. His yard business came to fruition when Stapleton began selling parts from those cars and trucks, as well as doing on-site repair work on customer vehicles.

Moving to present day, the current yard inventory totals approximately 2,300 vehicles. According to Alex
Stapleton, Henry’s son, approximately 75 percent of that total number spans the 1920s to ’70s, while 20 percent of that age range is comprised of pickups. While there remain some desirable V-8 engines and sought-after transmissions, the bulk of the muscle car inventory was sold years ago.

Late yard owner Henry Stapleton’s daughter Liz Winn and son Alex Stapleton are representing the sale of the Dodge City, Kan., salvage yard. The 18-acre yard property originated in 1959 and now houses 2,300 vehicles, 75 percent of which range from the 1920s to ’70s. Ron Kawalke

The yard’s 18-acre layout is narrow and approximately one-half mile long. It has a sand-rich base soil, and sports mildly hilly terrain. The property contains several outbuildings, two of which include decades of boxed new-old-stock parts. The main Quonset-style shop building includes tools, loose parts and internal office space. The yard property itself contains many random collections of loose parts, including engines and transmissions, body panels, chassis and rear ends. Alex Stapleton also revealed that his dad stored many donor-quality parts in the trunks of random cars in inventory, but that no list exists of the parts or their whereabouts. An on-site car crusher is also included in the sale.

In conversation with Henry’s children, it becomes understandable why Liz and Alex want to find a buyer who will be as passionate about operating the salvage business as their father was over the 60-plus years he owned the yard. They, too, logged much of their youth working in the yard.

“I started working out in the yard when I was 4 (years old),” recalled Alex. “I was out in the yard every day chasing parts (for dad) and removing parts for customers.”

Asked if he had any interesting memories from his childhood yard adventures, Alex chuckled, “A customer junked his 1959 Ford, and my dad and I found that the trunk was loaded with Playboy magazines.”

Liz added that she, too, spent a lot of her childhood toiling in the yard.

“I was tall enough to be able to hold open a hood with one hand and remove a carburetor with the other (hand).” One forgettable memory for her involved working under a pickup installing a transmission. “While I was lying on my back, a bull snake crawled up my leg.”

Both Liz and Alex are representing the sale of Stapleton Salvage & Auto Repair. Liz Winn can be contacted at 316-833-3391. Alex Stapleton can be reached at 620-885-5080. The mailing address for the property is Stapleton Salvage & Auto Repair, 11525 Lariat Way, Dodge City, KS 67801.

The salvage yard is currently closed for business, being prepped for the sale. All photos accompanying this story are included to represent the types of vehicles that comprise the yard’s inventory. None are individually for sale at this time as the family hopes to sell the yard and its entire contents to a single buyer.

There’s depth in inventory for 1950s through ’70s pickups from all domestic manufacturers. This 1968 Ford F-100 longbox example includes optional air conditioning. Ron Kawalke

One of many complete-down-to-the-hubcaps vehicles in inventory is this 1965 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu four-door sedan. Ron Kawalke

Equipped with optional air conditioning, this 1957 Lincoln Premiere four-door Landau hardtop sedan is complete. It’s 1 of 11,223 produced. Ron Kawalke

This slant-back 1935 or ’36 Ford Tudor body shell is solid and an all-steel dream for a hot rod project. The original single taillamp visible is in like-new condition. Ron Kawalke

Most of the 2,300 vehicles in inventory retain their original drivetrains, including the 1956 Dodge Coronet sedan that houses this Red Ram V-8. Ron Kawalke

Surface patina is almost 100 percent of the finish on this 1947 Pontiac Streamliner 8 Sport Dynamic (fastback) sedan coupe. The Indian-head hood ornament remains an eye-catching piece. Ron Kawalke

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