A look at some awesome classic cars destroyed in the California wildfires

Wildfires have been raging recently along the West Coast, so far burning 900,000 acres of forest in Oregon, 2.5 million acres in California and 480,000 acres in Washington, according to the New York Times. Many of those forests were the passing terrain of some impressive vintage cars, which are now destroyed. Let’s take a look.

I will start by saying that the lives, homes and livelihoods of people and animals are much more important than cars. With that said, this is a car website so we poured in a liter of Dexron III / Mercon transmission fluid as a sign of respect for these lost cars.

The incredible photo above, taken by David McNew on September 8 and distributed by Getty Images, shows a Willys CJ-3A with seat cushions and tires that have succumbed to the heat of a wildfire near Shaver Lake, California. Originally sold as farm equipment, the CJ-3A was the slightly more comfortable but largely the same successor to the first civilian Jeep, the CJ-2A, which in itself was an absolute workhorse. With original 5:38 gears, an inline four-cylinder Go-Devil iron block, and a rugged T-90 three-speed manual transmission mated to a Spicer Model 18 transfer case and strong Dana axles, the CJ-3A is almost impossible to kill. This fire made it, I bet.

Right behind the CJ-3A is an early Jeep CJ-5. You can tell it’s an early model because it has the short hood, which includes a cutout for a snorkel and a blackout light (you can see the hood cutout for the snorkel on the passenger side, right along the fender). The CJ-5 was in production from 1954 to 1983, but pre-1972 models tend to be more desirable despite not having the more powerful AMC inline six engine options (in fact, there’s even a forum called EarlyCJ-5.com).

Behind the CJ-5 is a Dodge Stealth or a Mitsubishi 3000GT (they were essentially the same vehicle). It’s a pretty good sports car, with an available 300-horsepower twin-turbo V6 engine, all-wheel drive, and manual transmission. To the left of the photo is what looks like a plow-equipped 1970s Chevy C / K pickup truck, probably outfitted with an impressive bench seat and a great V8.

In the background is what looks like a Dodge pickup from the 1940s. I bet it also had an amazing bench seat, along with a three-speed gear stick on the floor.

This photo above, also by David McNew, shows a 1930s two-door sedan with at least one missing front tire and broken glass everywhere. The machine does not appear to be in driving condition to begin with, given the lack of a hood and engine, but the fire did cause some damage, with the Getty Image caption reads:

A burned-out car is completely destroyed after the Creek Fire tore through the area on September 8, 2020 near Shaver Lake, California. California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in five California counties after record heat wave temperatures fueled numerous wildfires over Labor Day weekend. The state of emergency applies to Fresno, Madera and Mariposa counties, San Bernardino and San Diego. (Photo by David McNew / Getty Images)

In the Josh Edelson picture above, a classic 1980s BMW 6 Series is seen covered in the debris of what looks like some sort of fallen structure. The car’s glass is gone, as is all the plastic, and the interior is non-existent. In the background is a 1980s four-cab double Chevy pickup.

Here’s another look at the 6’er gen E24, a comfortable, rear-wheel-drive, inline-six-equipped vintage sports coupe:

The Getty Images caption in the photo above describes the scene:

Burned vehicles smolder at a residence during the Creek Fire in an unincorporated area of ​​Fresno County, California, on September 8, 2020. – Wildfires in California have set a record fire of more than two million acres, the state fire department said on Sept. 7, as smoke hampered efforts to airlift dozens of people trapped by a wildfire.

Finally, the photo above shows a first-generation Land Rover Discovery with a trailer attached. You can see that any trace of wood or aluminum has melted from that trailer, and if you look closely at the Discovery, not only is all the glass gone, but the exterior body panels as well, from the first-gen Disco (and all the Discs, for that matter) is made mostly of aluminum.

These are powerful shots showing ruined forest houses and cars melted into puddles on the dirt floor. True devastation.