Barn finds?

[Pool Fixer]

This is an agricultural area... There are barns everywhere... Many have cars in them... Some of those cars were parked yesterday... Some fifty plus years ago... In his case he's an Almond farmer & the barn contained his high school car, a 48 Chevy sedan... His first new car a 59 Impala... And a 65 Corvette... He restored his 48 & his 59... And let his son have the Vette since it was the car the son drove on Friday & Saturday nights while in High School... Next time I get by there I'll try to get pictures... It this point the barn is pretty rough, You'd never expect it to contain what it did... George has nicer barns & tin buildings but those cars were in a 70+ year old barn until a few years ago...

I know of a barn where 70 GTO convertible, a 70 Chevelle SS & a 69 Z28 have been parked since the mid 80's... Another barn with a bunch of Mustangs including a 428 CJ... Lots of barns hiding Mopars..
0's
Thing is I've seen lots of cars that were parked in barns around here, I posted my Challenger, but I've helped pull cars from the 20's, 30's, 40's through the 70's out of old barns around here... Last year I helped pull a 37, 38 & a 40 Ford trucks all out of the same barn one county over... The 38 was parked in the early 50's & only shows 24K on the odometer... It's absolutely rust free & original paint... The guy who owns those trucks also owns an automotive machine shop... So the engine is getting rebuilt but the body is getting left pretty much as is... He had a paintless dent repair guy go around the truck & had the paint polished but a good detailer...

There are guys who judge and often they are right... But just as often they are wrong...

Most people aren't getting to these cars...just because you know of a lot of good cars stashed away and a few that have been restored or are being worked on doesn't change that. you can't deny that people in general form bizarre attachments to things.

It's not just the barn cars. I can't imagine how many suburban garages have musclecars in them that are being used to store boxes of 20 year old tax returns. I let it happen to mine for 8 years and it was a mental struggle to get back to it. I'd have never gotten back after it if I was out of the game for 30 or 40 years. My wife would have been stuck dealing with it and i truly beleive that's how most of these scenarios play out.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Most people aren't getting to these cars...just because you know of a lot of good cars stashed away and a few that have been restored or are being worked on doesn't change that. you can't deny that people in general form bizarre attachments to things.

It's not just the barn cars. I can't imagine how many suburban garages have musclecars in them that are being used to store boxes of 20 year old tax returns. I let it happen to mine for 8 years and it was a mental struggle to get back to it. I'd have never gotten back after it if I was out of the game for 30 or 40 years. My wife would have been stuck dealing with it and i truly beleive that's how most of these scenarios play out.

You aren't wrong... I've also talked with a friend who owns a wrecking yard who's been brought in to clean out collections when the owner died... The owner wanted to restore his stuf but it never happened.. And the family who inherited the property don't seen any value in grandpa's old junk....

That happens less now that everyone has watched Barrett Jackson and think that abandoned 4 dr 66 Belvedere most be worth $20K...

But till they start locking up people for hoarding what ever is in that barn belongs to someone... And when they do start locking up hoarders we are all subject to getting locked...

 

[XS22J8R]

A good friend of mine recently bought a loaded curious yellow 71 Challenger R/T 340 that was sitting unknown to anybody in a local back yard under a tarp for 35 years. There isn’t a non rotted piece of metal on that car. My friend is trying to sell it, it’s advertised on a number of sites and was in Ryan’s barn find video last week. He thinks it’ll make a good project for someone and worth doing. I think it’s way too far gone.
There was a black and white 70 V code Challenger sitting in a driveway in the next town over for ages. Even a Mr Norms car. Lots of people stopped and inquired about it but the owner wouldn’t sell.
Finally 11 or 12 years ago it did get sold. It was displayed at one local Mopar show and then vanished. I have no idea what happened to it. It’s so distinctive I’d know it if it ever got restored and shown. The car had a lot of rot and possums had nested under the hood for a long time!
These cars make me so mad that the owners let them sit out and get destroyed. That V code should still be restored if it hasn’t, the 71 is a parts car only now but my friend who bought it will be mad if I say that to him.
Restoration costs have got so high many of these cars left sitting for decades are now goners, whereas if the owners had let them go 10 or 15 years ago they’d have been restored. What a waste!

 

[Pool Fixer]

You aren't wrong... I've also talked with a friend who owns a wrecking yard who's been brought in to clean out collections when the owner died... The owner wanted to restore his stuf but it never happened.. And the family who inherited the property don't seen any value in grandpa's old junk....

That happens less now that everyone has watched Barrett Jackson and think that abandoned 4 dr 66 Belvedere most be worth $20K...

But till they start locking up people for hoarding what ever is in that barn belongs to someone... And when they do start locking up hoarders we are all subject to getting locked...

Well… if someone’s sitting on a hemi wing car project or e body then yes, mandatory jail! Lol

 

[cosgig]

Oh the stories I could tell. One of last years saves…. My buddies Grandpa died in 1967, they drove his car in the barn, and there it sat until I was commissioned to remove it and find it a new home. All done, gone to a good home, the guy had it running and on the road in less than a weeks time, and drove it to a car show that same weekend.

Only about 20 more vehicles to go!

 

[Pool Fixer]

Nice work!

 

[Sam69sat]

Check your own barns too. I had a group of high school boys go into the barn and thought they barn found my 67 Coronet R/T! Little pricks. Luckily i showed up around the same time and set them straight.

 

[stillrunners]

Awesome for him, but that is rare. Not a lot of guys who hold onto a car, neglect it, and let it rot for 40 or so years till they get to it. I'm also assuming this guy wasn't "storing" them in rotted out lean too with no roof or buried up to the floorboards in mud outside?

And that's thier choice and lucky for you - you will never ever ever be in that situation......

 

[stillrunners]

Awesome for him, but that is rare. Not a lot of guys who hold onto a car, neglect it, and let it rot for 40 or so years till they get to it. I'm also assuming this guy wasn't "storing" them in rotted out lean too with no roof or buried up to the floorboards in mud outside?

Or you could have lived in California where they drove in those R/T's and Z/28's right into the clunker crusher heaven...

 

[Pool Fixer]

Or you could have lived in California where they drove in those R/T's and Z/28's right into the clunker crusher heaven...

Don’t even get me started on how heartbreaking it is to think of solid card gettin crushed.