This 1956 Hudson was discovered in New Mexico in an abandoned state. Hudson was near the end of its life in 1956, with the last Hudson rolling off the assembly line on June 25, 1957. Total Hudson sales dropped to 22,588 in 1956 and bottomed out in the shortened 1957 model year to 4,180 units. The 1956 model could be purchased with a V8 engine. (Photo by Jim Prueter)

This early 1960s Ford Econoline pickup truck looks as if it's ready for restoration. Based on the compact Ford Falcon, the first Ford Econoline utility van and pickup was introduced to the public on Sept. 21, 1960, for the 1961 model year. The design put the driver on top of the front axle with the engine near the front wheels, called "cab over." Early models sported a 144 cubic inch (2.4 L) inline 6 engine with a three-speed manual transmission. (Photo by Jim Prueter)

This 1956 Chevrolet pickup was caught in the wild still doing duty for nearly 70 years.  Chevrolet gave its pickup a new body style in 1955 that carried through to 1959. These trucks were labeled Task-Force and came with six different engine sizes including two inline six engines and four of V-8 configuration. The Task-Force trucks replaced the Advance Design and in 1960 were replaced with the C/K Series. (Photo by Jim Prueter)

This 1969 Lincoln Continental was spotted in eastern North Carolina missing its 462-cubic inch V-8. It was the final year of the fourth generation of the Continental. The big luxury car competed with Cadillac Coupe de Ville and the Chrysler Imperial. The '69 Lincoln came with a three-speed automatic transmission. It stretched out 225 inches with a 127-inch wheelbase. (Photo by Jim Meachen)

The grille of this 1954 Ford F-100 indicates that the truck carried a revised six-cylinder engine making 115 horsepower. This second-generation F-Series pickup featured a new hood badge with a lightning bolt/gear-wheel motif. Ford started building the F-series pickups in 1948. The second generation was built from 1953 through 1956. (Photo by Jim Meachen)

This 1977 Pontiac Ventura was discovered in an abandoned condition in eastern N.C. The Ventura was built from 1960 through 1977, its name derived from Ventura, Calif., and was a version of the compact Chevrolet Nova from 1971 onward. For 1977, the Chevy 250 six-cylinder was replaced by Buick's 231 cu in V6 as the base powerplant, and the Chevrolet 305 cubic-inch V8 was introduced as an option. (Photo by Jim Meachen)

In 1949, Dodge came out with its first all-new car since the pre-war 1942 model. They were produced from 1949 through 1954 with only some grille changes through those years. For instance, the 1950 model front-end lasted for just a year before another rendition showed up 1951. The post-war cars could be purchased with Fluid Drive, a semi-automatic transmission that reduced (but did not eliminate) the need to shift gears. This 1950 example was found abandoned in New Mexico. (Photo by Jim Prueter)

1941 was the first year of a new look for the Chevrolet pickup, using a split-grille front end design popularized by the 1939 Dodge truck. Chevrolet came out with an all-new truck in 1947 following World War II. This truck used as a "business sign" was found in eastern North Carolina. (Photo by Jim Meachen)

It's time to consider car doors. A Christmas gift, perhaps? All cars all have them — even the Jeeps of the world where an owner can actually remove the doors for short drives. But what happens if you need a replacement door after a nasty "fender bender?" Or you need to replace one while restoring a car. Perhaps you scour a salvage yard such as this one in Arizona. (Photo by Jim Prueter)

This 1947 or 1948 Chevrolet Thriftmaster pickup was spotted sinking into the ground in a front yard near Austin, Texas. The pickup was completely redesigned in 1947 and carried the Thriftmaster or Loadmaster emblems through the early part of 1949. The designations were dropped in 1949 in favor of numbers that designated cargo capacity: 3100 on half-ton, 3600 on three-quarter ton and 3800 on one ton. (Photos by Jim Meachen)