Barn Finds (2013, Germany, coupe, truck)

[Soviet]

I was reading up on the Bugatti Type 57 when I came across a news article about one being found in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, United Kingdom as a barn find. I haven't read about barn finds in a while & decided to do some reading on them.

Barn Finds - Rescuing Forgotten Classics

Some good stuff on that website, but I was also curious to hear about your experiences, as well. Have you or anyone you know ever found a barn find? Or heard of a good one in your area? What did you do with it afterwards? And if it wasn't your own barn find, do you know what happened to it?

Very curious to hear about some personal experiences with barn finds with you guys.

[exnj1970]

Cool link! That Brazilian VW dealership reminds me of an article in the April 2012 Hot Rod of an AMC dealership in North Carolina that stopped ordering new cars even before AMC was gobbled up by Chrysler.It isn't closed,but you need an appointment.They have many old AMC cars and even a few that have never sold and still have the window stickers in them.It is all overgrown ,and kind of sad.

[don1945]

Not a barn find per se, but in about 1969 when I was driving home from work every day I would pass a house with what looked to be an old car grille sticking out of the bushes next to the garage. I never stopped, but one day I had time so I drove up to the house to see what it was.

Turns out it was a 32 Ford pickup that had been hot rodded (badly), it had a chopped top and a 37 Ford tube axle under the front with some very questionable engineering on the rest. As I was looking at it a lady came out of the house and asked if she could help me, so I asked if the car was for sale. She said "It belongs to my husband, but the SOB left me and didn't even leave me money for cigarettes !" She said "How does $15 sound ?"

I couldn't get home fast enough to get the tow bar to drag it out of there. I bet if he ever came back to her he would have killed her for getting rid of it, but at least she got her cigarettes !

Don

[MckinneyOwnr]

My uncle once bought a property that had an old detached garage. He got the property at auction, and apparently, the detached garage was a good ways back from the house, very run down, with an old rusted padlock on the gate. No one had bothered to open it up to see what was in there.

A widow had died, and had no living relatives, so it went to the state to be auctioned. Anyway, my uncle bought the property and his plans were to bulldoze the house and put up an apartment building. Finally got around to checking out the garage, and inside found a 1950's Jaguar XK-120. This was in the 70's, so they weren't worth much, and it needed a good bit of work, so he paid someone to come haul it away.

Those cars are worth about $100k now restored.

[d4g4m]

My brother had a 'garage' find a few years ago. He went to see a guy about purchasing a small outboard motor. When the guy opened the garage door, my brother saw a mountain of garbage piled high on what looked like a car. Walking closer, he could see what appeared to be Corvette tail lights. Turned out to be a 66 coupe that was sitting there for 22 years with 4 flat tires. Brother gave the owner an offer he couldn't refuse.
As far as a 'barn' find, Mike and Frank on American Pickers find or see collector cars all the time. The owners have no desire to sell them.

[NewUser]

We live in a semi rural section of the city and our neighborhood is surrounded by soy bean fields and old farms. My 8-yr old son and I decided to ride our bicycles out into the fields yesterday because he wanted to watch the combines harvesting the beans. As we skirted around the edge of one farmhouse, I saw 4 cars parked in the brush. A 1950's sedan, what looked like a 1970's Polara or Monaco, a 1970's Cadillac Fleetwood, and an early 70's El Camino with a 350 in it. Nothing super valuable, but all looked to be in pretty good shape with minimal work needed to restore them.

[Yellow Jacket]

I found a BMW 3.0 CSL and a BMW 2002 in a barn. I had an orgasm as I knew what they were(but I hid my excitement) but they were in rough shape. The owner died and it was sitting in the ranch barn. I opted to not purchase the 2002 because the son who knew nothing about the cars backed out of a deal for me to buy them quickly contacted someone knowledgeable and all of the sudden upped the price. He offered to sell the 2002 at the new price but the CSL wasn't going anywhere. They were both imported from Germany after he came back to the US.

Funny enough I learned that the will (which I guess wasn't immediately executed) stated that the two cars went to his younger brother so he truly had no right to sell them. I was quite pleased that I backed out because I could have fell into some mess and I was even more pleased that the brother got bit on the arse after he reneged on our agreement.

[City Guy997S]

Originally Posted by d4g4m

As far as a 'barn' find, Mike and Frank on American Pickers find or see collector cars all the time. The owners have no desire to sell them.

While I enjoy the show..........it is a scripted show! Those guys are acting like it is all a random "hunt" yet there are scouts that are finding locations all day long

[caco54]

My kid brother collects cars. He needs a ton of garage space to store them and he seeks out widows who have given up driving and he rents the garage to store his car. I believe he has 8 or 10 right now. Pays them $50 per month cash and pays for two months in advance. He also gets a letter signed by the "next of kin" in case the old lady dies the kids don't think the 67 El Camino car was hers.

[Design7]

Here is a barn find that I would often pass and photograph in the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico. up to about five years ago. I drove past there this past weekend and discovered that the barn is now empty. I hope that lovely old truck has a great new home and restoration!