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Iconic Vancouver car wrecking yard closes doors forever

Coast Import Auto Supply was the go to place when searching for a hard-to-find bit of British or Italian treasure

Alyn Edwards
May 29, 2021  •  May 29, 2021  •  4 minute read  •  Join the conversation
Ed Tretwold with the 1969 Jensen Interceptor he salvaged from backyard storage many years ago.
Ed Tretwold with the 1969 Jensen Interceptor he salvaged from backyard storage many years ago. Photo by Alyn Edwards

For more than a half-a-century, Coast Import Auto Supply has been the go-to place for restorers and repairers of foreign cars needing hard-to-find parts.

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Imagine rows of British sports cars and saloons: Jaguars, Triumphs, Sunbeams, Austins and even a rare V8-powered Jensen Interceptor. There were Italian, German and some Japanese cars. Engines pulled from wrecked cars were lined up like cans on a shelf. Radios, heaters, fenders, doors and small parts galore.

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Showcases below the counter where Ed Tretwold has sold parts for the past 51 years are loaded with emblems, badges, trim pieces and memorabilia. The one-acre property, which includes an old Chevron gas station closed for decades, are stacked with bits and pieces that enthusiasts have loved to comb through. (Check out the website at coastimportautowrecking.com).

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Ed is 76, his long-time partner Dick Johns passed away last year and the property on Mitchell Island across the Fraser River from South Vancouver has become so valuable that it was time to sell. The doors close for the last time on Thursday, June 10.

“It’s been a great ride,” Ed says with some sadness.

He grew up with his father operating a wrecking yard and has been in the business his entire working life. He rifles through hundreds of card files in drawers below the counter where parts have been meticulously listed. He knows what parts fits specific vehicles and parts from one car that work on others.

  1. A Triumph Spitfire sports car at the Coast Import Wrecking yard.
    A Triumph Spitfire sports car at the Coast Import Wrecking yard. Photo by Nigel Matthews
  2. An exotic European sports model has been well picked over at Coast Import Wrecking.
    An exotic European sports model has been well picked over at Coast Import Wrecking. Photo by Nigel Matthews
  3. An Austin sedan from years gone by.
    An Austin sedan from years gone by. Photo by Nigel Matthews
  4. A Sunbeam Minx at the Coast Import Wrecking yard.
    A Sunbeam Minx at the Coast Import Wrecking yard. Photo by Nigel Matthews
  5. A Jaguar XKE coupe is a rare sight in a wrecking yard.
    A Jaguar XKE coupe is a rare sight in a wrecking yard. Photo by Nigel Matthews
  6. A Jaguar convertible found its final resting place at Coast Import Wrecking.
    A Jaguar convertible found its final resting place at Coast Import Wrecking. Photo by Nigel Matthews
  7. A MG Midget is among the salvaged cars picked for parts at Coast Import Wrecking.
    A MG Midget is among the salvaged cars picked for parts at Coast Import Wrecking.
  8. A MGB sports car is being picked for parts at Coast Import Wrecking on Mitchell Island across the Fraser River from Vancouver.
    A MGB sports car is being picked for parts at Coast Import Wrecking on Mitchell Island across the Fraser River from Vancouver. Photo by Nigel Matthews
  9. An unusual Honda S600 coupe rides high on an old truck body at Coast Import Wrecking.
    An unusual Honda S600 coupe rides high on an old truck body at Coast Import Wrecking. Photo by Nigel Matthews
  10. A Range Rover is being picked for parts at the Coast Import Auto Wrecking yard.
    A Range Rover is being picked for parts at the Coast Import Auto Wrecking yard.
  11. Most of the foreign cars sold as parts at Coast Import Auto Wrecking are damaged cars purchased from the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia.
    Most of the foreign cars sold as parts at Coast Import Auto Wrecking are damaged cars purchased from the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia.
  12. Salvaged BMW convertible is part of the Coast Import inventory.
    Salvaged BMW convertible is part of the Coast Import inventory.

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“As the owner of some old British cars, Ed was always my last hope before having to mail order something from England,” says Hagerty Insurance representative and international Concours d’Elegance judge Nigel Matthews. “His yard was an absolute treasure trove for those lucky enough to have had the opportunity to take a look around,”

He has been a regular visitor to the wrecking yard since the late-Seventies. “This is the place you would go when you had broken that impossible clip or something made of unobtanium.”

Matthews says Ed Tretwold is reminiscent of an older man behind the counter at a dealership parts department. “You could walk in and throw something on the counter and the parts guy would say: ‘Oh, you need a BH1257-642” and then go and get one.’

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“You could do the same with Ed or telephone him and tell him what you were looking for and, unlike the yards of today where they have to look on the computer to check their inventory, Ed would have that information in his computer which was attached to his neck. He would know instantly that, ‘Yes, we have a 1974 TR6 in the yard with a good transmission,’ or he had three already removed and on the shelf inside the main building.”

  1. Ed Tretwold has been at the Coast Import Auto Wrecking sales counter for 51 years.
    Ed Tretwold has been at the Coast Import Auto Wrecking sales counter for 51 years.
  2. Meticulously prepared card files list the thousands of parts available at Coast Import Auto Wrecking.
    Meticulously prepared card files list the thousands of parts available at Coast Import Auto Wrecking.
  3. An old Chevron gas station that has been closed for decades is part of the Coast Import Wrecking property that has now been sold.
    An old Chevron gas station that has been closed for decades is part of the Coast Import Wrecking property that has now been sold.
  4. Bits and pieces as well as manuals and literature line the Coast Import Auto Wrecking office.
    Bits and pieces as well as manuals and literature line the Coast Import Auto Wrecking office.
  5. Coast Import Wrecking closes its doors June 10th.
    Coast Import Wrecking closes its doors June 10th.
  6. Dozens of engines salvaged from foreign cars are stacked on shelves.
    Dozens of engines salvaged from foreign cars are stacked on shelves.
  7. A never-ending display of oddly beautiful things.
    A never-ending display of oddly beautiful things.
  8. Rows of salvage foreign cars line the Coast Import Auto Wrecking yard on Mitchell Island across the Fraser River from Vancouver.
    Rows of salvage foreign cars line the Coast Import Auto Wrecking yard on Mitchell Island across the Fraser River from Vancouver.
  9. Wheel covers galore are stacked up at Coast Import Auto Wrecking.
    Wheel covers galore are stacked up at Coast Import Auto Wrecking.
  10. Truck bodies are filled with used foreign car parts at Coast Import Auto Wrecking.
    Truck bodies are filled with used foreign car parts at Coast Import Auto Wrecking.
  11. Ed Tretwold has sold hundreds of foreign car manuals to buyers all over the world on the internet.
    Ed Tretwold has sold hundreds of foreign car manuals to buyers all over the world on the internet.
  12. Showcases filled with badges, parts and memorabilia have attracted buyers from all over the world to Coast Import Auto Wrecking.
    Showcases filled with badges, parts and memorabilia have attracted buyers from all over the world to Coast Import Auto Wrecking.
  13. Foreign car hulks are piled throughout the 1 acre Coast Import Auto Wrecking property.
    Foreign car hulks are piled throughout the 1 acre Coast Import Auto Wrecking property.
  14. Thousands of used foreign car parts are stacked on shelves throughout the one acre Coast Import Auto Wrecking yard.
    Thousands of used foreign car parts are stacked on shelves throughout the one acre Coast Import Auto Wrecking yard.

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European car restorer Robert Maynard says Coast Import has been invaluable for restoration companies. He spent weeks gathering part, knowing that most will go to the crusher.

“It’s hard to watch this, knowing everything is going,” Maynard says. “There are reproduction and after-market parts. But a lot of it is garbage. There is nothing like originals.”

Some complete cars including a Honda S600 Coupe, a Sunbeam Minx and others have been snapped up for fear that they might go to the crusher.

A lot of the parts from salvaged Japanese imports have been purchased by J.K Japanese Auto Parts, which is nearby on Mitchell Island.

Nigel Matthews offers a personal example of how rare and much sought-after parts were available at the Coast Imports yard. He says a 1969 Jensen Interceptor MKII has been sitting at Coast for as long as he can remember, and it must have been scrapped as a fairly new car.

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“A fellow Brit who works for Hagerty in our legal department in Michigan acquired a Jensen Interceptor. In conversation one day he said that his wheels were not the stock wheels and, being a purist, he had been searching in vain for the correct ones.

“I told him I knew where there was a car, have walked past it many times over the years but it doesn’t have any wheels. Then the light came on in my head and I told him I would go and visit the yard and see if they are still around. I visited and asked Ed about the Jensen wheels, where are they? He laughed and said: ‘If you go outside and look closely you will find them laid out under the car probably covered by other parts’.

“They were indeed where he said they would be. There were five and in perfect condition. A very reasonable deal was negotiated, and the wheels were off by ground freight to Michigan. Good old British Columbia and its vast supply of British car models came through once again,” Matthews says.

An unusual Honda S600 coupe rides high on an old truck body at Coast Import Wrecking. CREDIT: Nigel Matthews
An unusual Honda S600 coupe rides high on an old truck body at Coast Import Wrecking. CREDIT: Nigel Matthews Photo by Nigel Matthews

Ed Tretwold is so knowledgeable about the right parts for English vintage and classic cars that he is a valued member of the judging team at Vancouver’s annual All British Field Meet that is in its 35th year.

So, what will the foreign car parts expert do in his retirement years?

“I’m going to work on my 1930 Ford Model A coupe. It’s been apart for 40 years and it’s time to put it back together,” Ed Tretwold says.

Alyn Edwards is a classic car enthusiast and partner in a Peak Communicators, a Vancouver-based public relations company. aedwards@peakco.com

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