Finding cars in barns...........

[lokalik]

we were on vacation in ohio (i know, why ohio) anyway we pull into a car shop, start talking with the guys. they were in the process of doing a bird clone. i told them i had recently finished my bird.  so that led to a older guys house in the area. come to find out in his barn there sat a bird. original unrestored with all kind of race stickers on it. the story is that the car was the pace car for charlotte motor speedway in 71. he was the driver and purchased the car at the end of the season for $1400. he had all kinds of photos and ads with him and the car, let me take a bunch of pictures. as a side note. next to the bird a 57 chevy convert.

[moparstuart]

we were on vacation in ohio (i know, why ohio) anyway we pull into a car shop, start talking with the guys. they were in the process of doing a bird clone. i told them i had recently finished my bird.  so that led to a older guys house in the area. come to find out in his barn there sat a bird. original unrestored with all kind of race stickers on it. the story is that the car was the pace car for charlotte motor speedway in 71. he was the driver and purchased the car at the end of the season for $1400. he had all kinds of photos and ads with him and the car, let me take a bunch of pictures. as a side note. next to the bird a 57 chevy convert.

post up the pictures please 

[TheAutoArchaeologist]

I have the pics of it too if you want me to throw them up.....  I did not take them.

[64dartgt]

My Godfather loves to tell me what a bondo bucket my 64 Dart convertible is...while raving about the car he has stored in absolutely mint condition for the last forty years...anyone want to pay big bucks for a mint black 1972 Country Squire with woody sides?

[Brock Lee]

Make friends with the local old school Mopar guys. The ones thet grew up in the area and were into the cars back when they were new. Don't let them know you are looking to buy, you are just interested in the cars. In time they will clue you in to where they all are. If they think you will buy them, they will not give up the info. If they think it is all just conversation, they will drop some hidden treasures on you.

[ChargerD100]

I was a delivery driver for a local paint shop and me and a my buddy used old muscle cars sitting in fields and driveways as key landmarks and also found tons of old awesome cars sitting just driving random ways for work one day he found a 67 charger in a back yard that had grass to the roof,  he came back from a delivery and said "hey lets go to lunch i found a old fast back, I think it's a dodge" we went and I looked at it, it was a factory 383 with a center console floor shifter black with black interior, I asked the guy if he'd ever sell it (noticing my mopar tat) he said to me $1500 as it sits, I said cool if I ever get the money together I'll get ahold of you... I got the money but I forgot what road the car was on.. also never got a number for the guy so it could still be there, or not no idea

[moparstuart]

I have the pics of it too if you want me to throw them up.....  I did not take them.

yes

[TheAutoArchaeologist]

They aren't my pictures to post, if lokalik wants me too, I can.

[Black Charger]

I started looking for old cars several years ago when a buddy of mine got me into it. I would actually start with the town you live in first. You won't believe what you will find if you just LOOK for it.
Case in point: In my hometown was a scenic, large park and there was a rather well-to-do family that lived in a large home near the park's rear entrance. I have driven by this place literally hundereds of times and I noticed what looked like a '71 Satellie parked next to a garage. I told my buddy about it and he informed me that it was a real '71 HEMI Road Runner! The guy bought it new, drove it for several years then parked it. Scores of people tried to buy it over the years but the guy refused to sell it. This one does have a happy ending though. I spoke to the man myself after I noticed the Runner was gone and he told me that he gave it to his oldest son who lives in the St. Luois area, and he had it fully restored.

LIke I said, I drove past this house literally HUNDREDS of times before I realized it contained the holy grail of barn finds, the kind that inspire others to keep searching.

Don't be discouraged if a car's owner refuses to sell you something cool when you do find it. The old "I'm gonna fix it up someday," "it belonged to blah blah blah and can't bring myself to part with it," etc etc are stories you WILL get used to hearing. ALso, if you are truly serious about buying something, BRING CASH!!!! The main reason a lot of poeple refuse to sell you something is because they get sick and tired of dealing with tire kickers who have no money who waste their time and get their hopes up. After this happens a few times, they find it easier to chase people away than to get their hopes of a few extra bucks crushed YET AGAIN. My buddy bought a clean, one-owner '66 Tempest from an elderly man after he spotted it sitting in his yard. The guy hemmed and hawed around until my buddy pulled out his wallet. When the guy saw that my buddy was serious and had cash, he sold him the car. My buddy has that car almost until the day he died.

Just hang in there and keep looking. You will find something cool where and when you least expect it.

I know that car! I went to school with 3 of the owner's sons. The last time I saw it up close mice had chewed up the interior and wiring. The guages were cracked. That was back in the 80's. The owner would never sell it because he thought someone would get killed in it. I also heard his oldest son had it restored. It was blue and the owner's initials are RG. The funny part of this is that I was telling a coworker about that car the day I read this post!

YES!!! Apparently we lived in the same hometown. I saw "RG" at the annual car show at the park in question back in the 90s and talked to him personally about the car. He said he gave it to his oldest son and he had it restored. I would LOVE to check it out sometime. I am amazed he hasn't brought it back up for the annual car show, since it spent many years being the most famous lawn ornament in Central Illinois!

[Shaners74]

At least that one had a happy ending!!! Did you ever check out the area in the North West part of town that had the woods filled with cars. They were mostly 57 chevys and the were rotting but "not for sale".

[lokalik]

hey devil if you can post pics go ahead, i have not figured that out yet. i can email them to you and that trouble maker stuart let me know. dang cool car and all the stuff he has. have you met him? how did you get pics?

[TheAutoArchaeologist]

hey devil if you can post pics go ahead, i have not figured that out yet. i can email them to you and that trouble maker stuart let me know. dang cool car and all the stuff he has. have you met him? how did you get pics?

So here we go then!

[lokalik]

thanks devil. the interior on this car is perfect.

[Aero426]

The "Torque" Bird was at the second ever wing car meet at Talladega in 1976.    It looks exactly the same today.   Even back then looking at it in the motel parking lot, we called it a little rough looking, but it was real solid.     I will find the pics from back then and post them up.    I love the off brand generic tires.  Nice to see it has survived.

[lokalik]

yep. 85,000 miles on it.

[Benji]

Here is my "barn" find.  This car was in the garage of an old house that had not had the taxes paid for a number of years so the county sheriff held a tax sale and it was sold to the highest bidder which happened to be my mother.  The house was next to hers and she wanted to buy the place, tear down the house and make her side yard larger (the house was VERY close to hers.)  She called me and said she just bought the house next door along with the contents and said there was "an old car" in the padlocked garage underneath.  The house was built into the back side of a hill so the garage was under the house and the only way into the garage was through the garage door.  I asked her what kind of car it was.  She said she thought it was an Olds Cutlass four door, so I borrowed a pair of bolt cutters and cut off the two padlocks, raised the door (for the first time since 1980) and there sat a 1971 Olds 442 with 60,000 miles.  A 455 auto with the his and hers shifter, the fiberglass twin scoop hood and styled steel wheels.  The image below was after we moved the car to my place.

Benji

[moparstuart]

hey devil if you can post pics go ahead, i have not figured that out yet. i can email them to you and that trouble maker stuart let me know. dang cool car and all the stuff he has. have you met him? how did you get pics?

i dont make any trouble      thanks for the pictures  


  is the pearl white car yours  ?   

[68pplcharger]

Here is my "barn" find.  This car was in the garage of an old house that had not had the taxes paid for a number of years so the county sheriff held a tax sale and it was sold to the highest bidder which happened to be my mother.  The house was next to hers and she wanted to buy the place, tear down the house and make her side yard larger (the house was VERY close to hers.)  She called me and said she just bought the house next door along with the contents and said there was "an old car" in the padlocked garage underneath.  The house was built into the back side of a hill so the garage was under the house and the only way into the garage was through the garage door.  I asked her what kind of car it was.  She said she thought it was an Olds Cutlass four door, so I borrowed a pair of bolt cutters and cut off the two padlocks, raised the door (for the first time since 1980) and there sat a 1971 Olds 442 with 60,000 miles.  A 455 auto with the his and hers shifter, the fiberglass twin scoop hood and styled steel wheels.  The image below was after we moved the car to my place.

Benji

That is a sweet deal 

[lokalik]

pearl white car is mine. it's the one i made from a sport satellite. thanks.

[Benji]

Here is my "barn" find.  This car was in the garage of an old house that had not had the taxes paid for a number of years so the county sheriff held a tax sale and it was sold to the highest bidder which happened to be my mother.  The house was next to hers and she wanted to buy the place, tear down the house and make her side yard larger (the house was VERY close to hers.)  She called me and said she just bought the house next door along with the contents and said there was "an old car" in the padlocked garage underneath.  The house was built into the back side of a hill so the garage was under the house and the only way into the garage was through the garage door.  I asked her what kind of car it was.  She said she thought it was an Olds Cutlass four door, so I borrowed a pair of bolt cutters and cut off the two padlocks, raised the door (for the first time since 1980) and there sat a 1971 Olds 442 with 60,000 miles.  A 455 auto with the his and hers shifter, the fiberglass twin scoop hood and styled steel wheels.  The image below was after we moved the car to my place.

Benji

That is a sweet deal 

Thanks, I just wish it had been a Mopar!!!

Here is what it looked like after about a year or so in my garage.

Benji

[68pplcharger]

Here is my "barn" find.  This car was in the garage of an old house that had not had the taxes paid for a number of years so the county sheriff held a tax sale and it was sold to the highest bidder which happened to be my mother.  The house was next to hers and she wanted to buy the place, tear down the house and make her side yard larger (the house was VERY close to hers.)  She called me and said she just bought the house next door along with the contents and said there was "an old car" in the padlocked garage underneath.  The house was built into the back side of a hill so the garage was under the house and the only way into the garage was through the garage door.  I asked her what kind of car it was.  She said she thought it was an Olds Cutlass four door, so I borrowed a pair of bolt cutters and cut off the two padlocks, raised the door (for the first time since 1980) and there sat a 1971 Olds 442 with 60,000 miles.  A 455 auto with the his and hers shifter, the fiberglass twin scoop hood and styled steel wheels.  The image below was after we moved the car to my place.

Benji

That is a sweet deal 

Thanks, I just wish it had been a Mopar!!!

Here is what it looked like after about a year or so in my garage.

Benji

Awesome car, Daytona would have been better for sure. I don't think i would be upset with that muscle car classic.

[TheAutoArchaeologist]

Eh, Daytona's in barns and garages happen all the time.  Very over rated.

How about finding the last known Mr. Norm's flopper in a storage unit.... hehe

[68pplcharger]

Eh, Daytona's in barns and garages happen all the time.  Very over rated.

How about finding the last known Mr. Norm's flopper in a storage unit.... hehe

Wow who owns that... 

[moparstuart]

Eh, Daytona's in barns and garages happen all the time.  Very over rated.

How about finding the last known Mr. Norm's flopper in a storage unit.... hehe

does  it have rich corinthian leather seat   

[Black Charger]

Here is my "barn" find.  This car was in the garage of an old house that had not had the taxes paid for a number of years so the county sheriff held a tax sale and it was sold to the highest bidder which happened to be my mother.  The house was next to hers and she wanted to buy the place, tear down the house and make her side yard larger (the house was VERY close to hers.)  She called me and said she just bought the house next door along with the contents and said there was "an old car" in the padlocked garage underneath.  The house was built into the back side of a hill so the garage was under the house and the only way into the garage was through the garage door.  I asked her what kind of car it was.  She said she thought it was an Olds Cutlass four door, so I borrowed a pair of bolt cutters and cut off the two padlocks, raised the door (for the first time since 1980) and there sat a 1971 Olds 442 with 60,000 miles.  A 455 auto with the his and hers shifter, the fiberglass twin scoop hood and styled steel wheels.  The image below was after we moved the car to my place.

Benji

That is a sweet deal 

Thanks, I just wish it had been a Mopar!!!

Here is what it looked like after about a year or so in my garage.

Benji

Your 442 is beautiful! Do you still have it?