How old is the term "junkyard dog" (something other than a dog that guards a junkyard)

[LDO]

Was the term around before WWII? I'm wondering if a race car cobbled together from many sources would carry that name.

 

Thanks. Lee

[espo]

I remember the term being used in some Rock and Roll songs from the '50s and 60's. Think it was bad boy

Leroy Brown, or that was the person the song was referring to.  

Edited December 6, 2015 by espo

[Ace-Garageguy]

Well, they had junkyards well before WW II (before they were renamed the PC "Automotive Component and Material Recycling and Disposal Centers" we have today. They had dogs too. They had dogs guarding junkyards as well, so I'm sure the term dates from the very first day someone tied an old hound to the bumper of a derelict model T...or A, or Benz Patent Motorwagen while hammering and screwing and welding together parts that were never intended to be on the same vehicle.

"Hey Hank...ya gots any scraps for my ol' junkyard dog today?" 

Max Balchowsky's very successful "Old Yeller" race cars were built from junk and named after the movie dog, so that's kinda close...   

Here's the story of "Old Yeller 2"...                 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ourvuotFuY&feature=share

Edited December 6, 2015 by Ace-Garageguy

[unclescott58]

There use to be a junkyard north of the Twin Cities, who's junkyard dog would watch cartoons on the TV on Saturday mornings. As soon the cartoons were over, and other programming was on, he'd lose interest and go to sleep. I never knew dogs were that intelligent until then.

Edited December 6, 2015 by unclescott58

[sjordan2]

I remember the term being used in some Rock and Roll songs from the '50s and 60's. Think it was bad boy

Leroy Brown, or that was the person the song was referring to.  

From "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" by Jim Croce.

[LDO]

Does anyone know if the term was around before WWII, as slang to describe a car put together on a budget?

I'm asking because I want to do a project like that and I'm wondering if that name would be out of place painted on the side of the car. I got a Pocher Alfa Romeo boattail body for $20 off ebay. That, plus some Deuce or Model T (or Evergreen) frame rails, and maybe a flathead V-8 could make for a pretty cool dry lakes special. Hey- stranger things have happened. Dean Jeffries' Mantaray was build on an old Maserati race car chassis, and Thom Mead built three custom sports cars based on "throw away" race cars from Ferrari and Maserati.

[Joe Handley]

There use to be a junkyard north of the Twin Cities, who's junkyard dog would watch cartoons on the TV on Saturday mornings. As soon the cartoons were over, and other programming was on, he'd lose interest and go to sleep. I never knew dogs were that intelligent until then.

Sounds like typical Saturday TV programming to me, if I'm tired and it's midday, I've done that too.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Does anyone know if the term was around before WWII, as slang to describe a car put together on a budget?

I'm asking because I want to do a project like that and I'm wondering if that name would be out of place painted on the side of the car. 

Part of the point of my post above is that the term (as applied to a car built from junk) could have been coined by anyone at any time during the period junkyards and dogs coexisted on the planet. It had to start somewhere, from one guys mouth, and most likely took a little while to become common usage in the sport.

The exact origin of the terms "hot-rod" and even "Jeep" are disputed, so in modeling's alternative "what-if" universe, I think naming a pre-war racer built from cast-off parts "Junkyard Dog" would most definitely be entirely appropriate.

Anyone who wants to argue the etymology of "junkyard dog" doesn't really have enough to do. 

Edited December 7, 2015 by Ace-Garageguy

[LDO]

Good points, Bill. Thank you.