Bruzilla
Well-Known Member
http://www.hotrod.com/articles/barn-find-daytona-sells-for-90000-owner-preserving-as-is/
So we all saw/read the stories about this barn find Daytona, and now the other shoe has dropped. Some doctor in Tampa shelled out $99,000 of your health insurance bucks to buy it at Mecum. And his plan is to leave it exactly as it is. Here is his reasoning:
"As you can imagines (sic), the most amazing thing about the barn find Daytona is the response of those who see it. My dad and I watched as hundreds upon hundreds of very knowledgeable car folks walked right by the beautifully restored Hemi Challengers, COPO Camaros, and split-window ’vettes to stand 3-4 people deep in front of this old, nasty, dirty, lichen-overgrown Daytona at Mecum. The car had a magical effect on people as they recounted memories of winged cars or previous barn finds. Every person had a story to tell of their childhood, or a memory that this car brought to the front of their consciousness. It was then that I realized that the real value of this car is in how it makes people feel when they see it, and the memories that it inspires. I also believed that keeping the car as a “barn find” for people to enjoy is more valuable than the totally restored beauty queen it could be. After all, I summarized that I could always restore the car to better than new condition, but making it a barn find again can’t be done. Barn finds are a part of the American automobile culture and every car guy’s dream, so I’m going to preserve it just as it is."
Sorry Doc, but people will walk past perfectly healthy people to get a gander at the sight of someone who's just been mutilated in a traffic accident. They aren't doing it because they are inspired by the sight, they do it because it is something that has gone totally wrong, totally off the reservation of what they are used to seeing. This is why you got the car for far less than the estimated price of $150-$180K. All those people you think were inspired by the sight of this wreck weren't very inspired, nor did they share your pleasure in it. If they did they would have been bidding it up to double the estimate. Instead they spent their money on those beautifully-restored cars you mentioned. What you saw was people not understanding how in the Hell someone could let this car get so bad, and their sympathy for the car only lasted until they saw the next unusual car.
Also, barn finds are not a part of American car culture. They are an aberration to it. Cars were never intended to be locked away and forgotten, ignored, and left to slowly rot. No one bought one of these cars back in the day and said "You know what? I'm gonna drive this for a few months, screw it up, then abandon it in a garage for 50 years." No. They were driven, messed up, then circumstances dictated what became of them. They are a problem that needs to be corrected, not a culture that needs to be supported.
I'm not saying the guy shouldn't do what he's doing. I'm just saying that no car company would make and sell a car in this condition. They make them look great and beautiful, and that's how we should keep them looking. No guy would let his wife or girlfriend walk around in tattered clothes to keep her looking "original", so why would you ever do that to a car you love?
So we all saw/read the stories about this barn find Daytona, and now the other shoe has dropped. Some doctor in Tampa shelled out $99,000 of your health insurance bucks to buy it at Mecum. And his plan is to leave it exactly as it is. Here is his reasoning:
"As you can imagines (sic), the most amazing thing about the barn find Daytona is the response of those who see it. My dad and I watched as hundreds upon hundreds of very knowledgeable car folks walked right by the beautifully restored Hemi Challengers, COPO Camaros, and split-window ’vettes to stand 3-4 people deep in front of this old, nasty, dirty, lichen-overgrown Daytona at Mecum. The car had a magical effect on people as they recounted memories of winged cars or previous barn finds. Every person had a story to tell of their childhood, or a memory that this car brought to the front of their consciousness. It was then that I realized that the real value of this car is in how it makes people feel when they see it, and the memories that it inspires. I also believed that keeping the car as a “barn find” for people to enjoy is more valuable than the totally restored beauty queen it could be. After all, I summarized that I could always restore the car to better than new condition, but making it a barn find again can’t be done. Barn finds are a part of the American automobile culture and every car guy’s dream, so I’m going to preserve it just as it is."
Sorry Doc, but people will walk past perfectly healthy people to get a gander at the sight of someone who's just been mutilated in a traffic accident. They aren't doing it because they are inspired by the sight, they do it because it is something that has gone totally wrong, totally off the reservation of what they are used to seeing. This is why you got the car for far less than the estimated price of $150-$180K. All those people you think were inspired by the sight of this wreck weren't very inspired, nor did they share your pleasure in it. If they did they would have been bidding it up to double the estimate. Instead they spent their money on those beautifully-restored cars you mentioned. What you saw was people not understanding how in the Hell someone could let this car get so bad, and their sympathy for the car only lasted until they saw the next unusual car.
Also, barn finds are not a part of American car culture. They are an aberration to it. Cars were never intended to be locked away and forgotten, ignored, and left to slowly rot. No one bought one of these cars back in the day and said "You know what? I'm gonna drive this for a few months, screw it up, then abandon it in a garage for 50 years." No. They were driven, messed up, then circumstances dictated what became of them. They are a problem that needs to be corrected, not a culture that needs to be supported.
I'm not saying the guy shouldn't do what he's doing. I'm just saying that no car company would make and sell a car in this condition. They make them look great and beautiful, and that's how we should keep them looking. No guy would let his wife or girlfriend walk around in tattered clothes to keep her looking "original", so why would you ever do that to a car you love?
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