OT: barn finds

[skiezo]

https://www.thedrive.com/news/32604/this-50-car-barn-find-is-full-of-your-wildest-american-muscle-car-dreams

[fmradio516]

damn... just imagine whats out there

[paredown]

That's a remarkable collection!

We had exactly one 'barn find' experience--my older brother was looking for a sports car (early '70s)--and we spotted an ad for an MG TC--out in a rural area outside Vancouver. We drove out--and there was this farmer's son's MG that got parked for a decade or more--in the barn! Mice had eaten the interior, it was covered by hay dust (it was sill a working farm)...

This was about the time that those old MGs were quite collectible in California--so we had the big debate, but ended up passing. We were more eager to drive than repair....

There's a slim (but entertaining) book that I got as a present one year called "The Cobra in the Barn"--it has some pretty good stories of lucky collectors.

[Hawker]

That's more of an accumulation than a collection...but interesting for sure.

Makes you wonder why guys do that kind of thing? Building bigger barns just to accumulate seldom pays off. But glad to see some of them didn't go to the crusher and some auto visionaries will bring a few of them back to life.

Thanks for the link.

[Red Tornado]

Looks like the Michelin man or Humpty-Dumpty sitting in the old Ford Model A.

[azrider]

Very impressive.......but was immediately distracted by this......ohhh-EM-GEE

https://www.thedrive.com/news/31725/rusty-1961-mercedes-benz-300sl-roadster-barn-find-sells-for-staggering-800000

[skiezo]

It's not only the cars but all of them parts stacked all over the buildings. I can not image pulling all the spare parts out and trying to figure out want part is for what kind of car. Is this chrome bumper from a 56 Buick or a 54 ford?

[VTCaraco]

Had a colleague who told a story of responding to a classified for an "older Chevy" in the late 80s. He was coaching D1 basketball in the Baltimore/Washington area and needed a care and figured it was worth the inquiry given the asking price. Drove to the nearby home and the seller, an elderly woman, pulled back a blanket to show a PRISTINE Corvette. He explained that she wasn't asking nearly enough and moved on, uncomfortable with the notion of taking advantage of the woman's naiveté.

No idea what turn the story took thereafter, but it painted a great picture in my mind ~ both the opportunity and the noble response.

[buddybikes]

Next door neighbor had a pristine corvette which he lead in the Memorial Day parade. Never sold it, when his estate came, their lawyer traded all legal transactions for the car. Think he was eye'ing it for years

[unterhausen]

my favorite story like this is the guy who filled up semi trailers with new cars and new car parts. He would buy them and then store them. Some of the trailers were welded back to back, so they had to be cut open.

This happened locally, I wonder what happened to that car. 1969 Shelby Mustang GT500 coupe 8500 miles.

http://www.statecollege.com/news/community/local-mans-classic-car-brings-280000-at-auction,1458999/

[d_douglas]

Im not a car guy, so I cant relate, but I dream of coming across a barn full of art or similar.

I remember seeing some horrible show years ago about a new home owner finding hundreds of thousands of $$$ worth of original movie posters. I dont even care about movies, but the idea of finding something so unusual and perfectly preserved would be amazing to me.

OK, back to cars, car nerds!

[C40_guy]

"Caretaker Larry was an incredibly private person and even his family doesn’t know the history of any cars he had"

Sounds a bit like an N+1 bike collector. Not that I know anything about that. :)

[joosttx]

Very impressive.......but was immediately distracted by this......ohhh-EM-GEE

https://www.thedrive.com/news/31725/rusty-1961-mercedes-benz-300sl-roadster-barn-find-sells-for-staggering-800000

not as original as claimed. but it is sure a beauty and prestigious.

https://youtu.be/hvPg00usX_w