True barn finds

[Restorer32]

Have you ever actually discovered and/or purchased an original condition, unrestored car out of a BARN? Not a pole barn, not an out building but a true wood siding covered, post and beam constructed, authentic gol-darned BARN. Extra points if the barn still contained agricultural implements and hay or straw. Extra Bonus points if it still sheltered livestock. If you purchased it from the farmer's daughter you win!

[DAVE A]

I didn't purchase it, but i got a 48 Crosley wagon out of a barn in rural New Your about 8 years ago. The guy called me and said I could have the car,if I helped him get it out of the barn. When I arrived I found that the barn had collapsed around the car. I spent 6 hours removing debris from around the car just to be able to get it clear enough to try to drag it out. When I finally could get a chain to the car (thank God I brought a long enough chain that I didn"t have to get my truck too close ), I literally pulled the back half of the car off. It was nothing but rust!! Fortunately from the rear seat forwarsd, there were many salvagable parts that made it worth the trip. Front seats, gauges, transmission, some engine parts (broken crank was the reason the car met its' demise), hood, and front fenders were pretty nice. After I removed the car, there was a bulldozer that had arrived . Before I finished chaining the remains down to my trailer, the "barn" had been reduced to a pile of lumber and was being set on fire as I drove away.

[trimacar]

The closest I've gotten to a true "barn" find is on a farm in Virginia, a little over an hour south of Winchester.

The first picture was taken as I got out of truck, my first view of the "find".

1936 Pierce, put in shed in the early 1950's and not moved since. Bought it, put new tires on it, had some good friends who got it running, drove it on to Hershey flea market field a couple years ago (as you see it in side view) and sold it.

And yes, there were farm implements in the rest of the shed!!

I think your question is great, however, in that these days, a car put in a garage 20 years ago is being called a "barn find"............

[Dandy Dave]

Not cars, but I have gotten some tractors that were out beside the barn. One old Allis Chalmers K-35 Bulldozer comes to mind that was used for a Bull Ancore. I was around 14 years old and Everyone around the neighborhood thought I was having fun with the farmers daughter, and teased me about it. Some of the old geezer's around the neigborhood tried to buy it, but she would not sell it to them. I helped out around the farm with rebuilding an old tractor, and some other stuff and she gave me the "Bull Ancore" Dozer. Good old mountian folk. Dandy Dave!

[Restorer32]

We bought a '28 Cadillac Sedan out of a barn in Lancaster County, PA and looked at but didn't buy a Triumph TR3 in a cow barn. The top was down on the car and a door was open and a cow had apparently climbed into the car and sat on the rear cowling, with just the results you would imagine. I once got a bit of education out behind a barn but that's an entirely different story.

[Ron Green]

I bought my 55 Pontiac on super bowl Sunday in 1994. It was stored in a true 2 story barn along with 25 plus other antique vehicles. It snowed so much that day I couldn’t pick it up until 3 months later. However it was somewhat partially restored and not 100% “original”.

[Richard Lichtfel]

Years ago that's how we found old cars. There were no publications that advertised antique cars. There was the Antique Trader that would have an old car advertised once in a while. We had to go out and find cars. It was kind of fun to see what you could find. We would drive down a back road in farm country and write down the name from a farm mail box, then drive a bit and pull into a farm driveway and ask the gentleman that we were looking for so & so who was supposed to have an old car in his barn ( you never said antique) farmers know just about every one in their area and would answer no he doesn't have one but Joe over here has an old car in his barn.

Found a 1925 T roadster in a chicken coupe, bought it for $15, brought it home, cleaned it up and got it running and sold it for $50

Found a model N Ford but the farmer wanted $500 for it. Thought he was nuts. found a 1903 Cadillac but the farmer would not part with it. Even found a WW-1 Jenny airplane in a barn in Iowa, wish I had a camera with me. We were tracking down leads on a Model T in Michigan and finally found it on a small farm in a shed. The farmer couldn't part with it. He bought it from Henry Ford and showed us the papers, he had every farm accessory that attached to it and still used it on the farm. He said someone wanted to swap him a newer car for it but he only new how to drive with the three pedals. I found my 1916 Peerless in an old garage in Iowa while tracking down a 1910 model T. My Dad bought the Peerless for $100 and gave it to me for Christmas. I restored it in high school and still have it. Interesting that Barn Finds are so unique today. I guess it's because we searched most barns years ago. I wish I had kept a record of what we found.

RHL

[alsancle]

The closest I've gotten to a true "barn" find is on a farm in Virginia, a little over an hour south of Winchester.

The first picture was taken as I got out of truck, my first view of the "find".

1936 Pierce, put in shed in the early 1950's and not moved since. Bought it, put new tires on it, had some good friends who got it running, drove it on to Hershey flea market field a couple years ago (as you see it in side view) and sold it.

And yes, there were farm implements in the rest of the shed!!

I think your question is great, however, in that these days, a car put in a garage 20 years ago is being called a "barn find"............

That is a good looking car.

[JV Puleo]

When I was a senior in High School, in 1969, my friend John and I went looking for old cars. One we had heard about was in a local barn...a real barn, its still standing today. Its only qualifying point was that it was an extremely well kept and clean barn although I don't think it had been opened in years.

In the barn was an unrestored Franklin tourer (about 27-29), in brown paint with red pinstripes and brown leather upholstery. A sales brochure from the local Franklin agency with the exact car circled was in the door pocket. The top was up and there was a duster draped over the seat. Everything was covered with a thick layer of dust but nothing like as bad as the usual "barn" car... no animal droppings or real dirt. The building had been kept extremely clean, Dr. Marshall (the original owner) made sure there was nothing there to attract rodents. It was up on big wooden blocks so the tires still held air. It looked as if someone had just put it up for the winter... in about 1935, which is exactly what had happened. I had actually known the owner a bit when I was little because he had a big horse chestnut tree in his yard. The Franklin wasn't for sale (and we couldn't have afforded it in any case), in fact it was going to be shipped to the Doctor's son in the midwest so I never saw it again.

[trimacar]

"He bought it from Henry Ford and showed us the papers, he had every farm accessory that attached to it and still used it on the farm. He said someone wanted to swap him a newer car for it"

RHL, if a newbie to the forum had posted that sentence, it would be Katie Bar the Door with responses!!!! One would start with "Well, ALL Model T's were bought from Henry Ford........."

But I respect that this actually happened to you, and you are correct, as the American Pickers say "free styling" (just wandering around looking) is the way a lot of cars were found. I used the ploy back in the days when there were small towns and general stores, you'd walk in and start talking to the owner, and say "Gee, I heard a fellow hereabouts has an old car stored away", and quite often you'd get a positive response......

The trick is to follow up every lead, even if you don't believe it. I was told of the Pierce mentioned previously by someone at work, "Hey, did you see the Pierce Arrow advertised in the Valley Trader [a local weekly swap paper]" and didn't believe him at first.....

[oldcarfudd]

Back in the '60s, when I was living in Minnesota, I helped Dave Fackler rescue a '23 Packard 6 from a collapsed moonshine still. Some of the equipment was still there. I wrote it up for Antique Automobile, and it was published decades ago.

Gil Fitzhugh, Morristown, NJ

[RU22]

I still find things in barns. But the worst is finding stuff in Chicken houses

[Restorer32]

We found a pair of later 16 cyl Cadillacs in a chicken coupe. A young lady came into the shop with her boyfriend to enquire about rust repair on a used Mercedes. She saw an early Caddy we had sitting in the shop and told us about playing in a pair of old Cadillacs as a child but she thought they were 16s. We followed up on the lead and sure enough there they were. One was a limo, the other an open front town car. The owner wouldn't part with them. Their existence eventually became common knowledge and they finally sold at auction, not to us.

[Guest bkazmer]

In the 70'sI stopped to inquire about a mid 50's Chevy parked outside. The farmer said it wasn't for sale, but the car it replaced might be. 1941 Plymouth in the barn, buried under piles of old newspapers - my start in this insanity

[CarlLaFong]

I've told this story before. I was visiting my relatives in Hemet, CA in about 60-61. My cousin knew I likes old cars. He told me of a friend of his, who's dad had a bunch of them. We walked over to his house, a few miles away. Sitting under a big carport was a huge Locomobile touring car with an extra engine sitting next to it. In a large barn he had about 20-25 20s and early 30s cars. All of them were high end, Cads, Lincolns, Pierces, etc. The kid told me his dad, or maybe grand dad had bought them during the depression for next to nothing and stashed them away. All of them seemed in good shape. They were dirty, with a lot of dust and grime, but were kept dry inside the old building. I have to think that this was a well known collection at the time and there must have been a sale at some point. Anyone aware of this old stash??

[Restorer32]

I've told this story often. The father of a customer of mine was in the scrap iron smelting business in Clark's Summit, PA. In 1937 he bought 1000 cars for scrap. He paid $1.70/car. Imagine what was in that pile!

[Guest De Soto Frank]

I've told this story often. The father of a customer of mine was in the scrap iron smelting business in Clark's Summit, PA. In 1937 he bought 1000 cars for scrap. He paid $1.70/car. Imagine what was in that pile!

I'm just trying to imagine someone running a smelting operation in Clark's Summit these days...

The well-heeled underbites would never allow it ...

[John_Maine]

No, I've never had such luck.

[huptoy]

This 1930 Hupmobile Model S barn find is being auctioned off Saturday, Sept 24 at noon in Mechanicsburg, Ohio about 35 miles west of Columbus OH. The car has been parked for 40 years and while it has surface rust everywhere, it is solid. Anyone interested?

Car was purchased for $8,200 by a local 70+ man. He plans to clean it up, reassemble, and get it running without a complete restoration. He has done several cars but has never owned a Hupmobile.

Edited September 24, 2011 by huptoy
Sale price (see edit history)

[keiser31]

OH MAN! I LOVE that coupe!!! So far away.....

[Guest danceswithpumps]

Here's my Barn Fresh GMC.

Rod:)

[sftamx1]

Here's my barn find, which I still have and remains untouched since this pic was snapped in 1980. The car had been in this barn since sometime before WW2, I was just a teenager in the early 1970's when I discovered this car of my dreams. I risked life and limb just to find out the make and model.I will let the viewers take a guess on what it is! The car on the right is a '39 Chevrolet.....

[Guest stephen48]

Is this a barn find?

[Dave Mellor NJ]

Here's my barn find, which I still have and remains untouched since this pic was snapped in 1980. The car had been in this barn since sometime before WW2, I was just a teenager in the early 1970's when I discovered this car of my dreams. I risked life and limb just to find out the make and model.I will let the viewers take a guess on what it is! The car on the right is a '39 Chevrolet.....

32 Hudson?

[1937hd45]

About 5 years ago I bought the contents of a collapsed chicken house that had been the storage building for a parts collection. The roof was totally gone, only three walls were sort of standing. The floor was also rotted away. I must have dug down a good two feet until it hit solid ground. Lots of pre 1915 Harly Davidson parts and an AMBLER over head valve head for a Model A Ford. Sure would like to find more of those deals.

I still find things in barns. But the worst is finding stuff in Chicken houses

Edited September 22, 2011 by 1937hd45 (see edit history)

[jim5618]

Gee...I think my car counts....we keep our old horse in a stable attached to the garage

[alsancle]

I've posted this before.

Edited September 22, 2011 by alsancle (see edit history)

[edinmass]

OK...... barn find with animals still in the barn, my last one would be a 1931 Cadillac from the Hudson Ny area in 1998. I left behind the Lincoln V-12 (open) as they wanted too much money for it. There were at least 50 cows in the barn. I can still smell it when I look at the photos. Cars from a barn with just hay or tractors, in March of this year I pulled out a 1934 Pierce in the northeast section of Ohio. The farm had no livestock, but was still making a living by planting. Pole barns are excluded by the first post, but they sure are my favorite spots to dig out treasure. Lately, shipping containers have been very good to me also. I would like to see a thread on how best to turn up cars, but like most, I won't give away my best "find" tools. Ed

By the way I was on the trail of the Stutz in the above post, I ran it down till there were no more leads...... ( It took me 18 months to be at a dead end, while Aj and his dad were working on the car for around 20 years.....You can just never give up!) It was quite a treat to have a friend find it. The lead I had on the Stutz started in a small antique store in Detroit Michigan, and ran down to a town 80 miles from my home in Mass. it sure is interesting to run them down.

Edited September 22, 2011 by edinmass (see edit history)

[Guest greg walsh]

I bought my 35 Buick from a farmer in northern Illinois in the mid 70s for $300. It needed alot of work but it started up and idled fine. I still love the smell of old varnished gas. Anyway I pulled the oil pan and I found half of the piston skirts in the bottom of it! So after two parts cars and a motor rebuild[ #8 cyl. had to be sleeved] new interior and paint and body work, I still have it.It was in a barn along with it's original title.

[hwellens]

Here is one I found in a barn

Edited September 22, 2011 by hwellens
add photo (see edit history)

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Does it have to be the whole car? At age 14 I "earned" two '32 Ford grille shells right out of the barn assisting a friend of our family cutting logs for firewood on his farm. One passenger unit that I have to this day, one commercial that I gave to my high school shop teacher a few years later - he was restoring a '32 pick up missing only - - the grille shell! What are the odds of that?

The barn had a few other neat cars as well - '37 Packard 115, '30-31 A pick up and '58 or '59 Corvette. Over the years I sort of pursued the Packard but the timing was never right. They all sold in the mid-80s at a barn sale.

I have not ruled out building a highboy to stick on the back of the shell someday, but I guess it would be a stretch to call it a "barnfind"

A.J. - BTW the Stutz looks like it is coming along nicely! Perhaps we will get it to Glastonbury next year!!?

Edited September 23, 2011 by Steve_Mack_CT (see edit history)

[mike brady]

AJ,

Perhaps in a separate thread you can provide an update on your project and it's next steps ?

Thanks

[alsancle]

Here is a link to a long thread on the Stutz Edited September 24, 2011 by alsancle (see edit history)

[Guest De Soto Frank]

This 1930 Hupmobile Model S barn find is being auctioned off Saturday, Sept 24 at noon in Mechanicsburg, Ohio about 35 miles west of Columbus OH. The car has been parked for 40 years and while it has surface rust everywhere, it is solid. Anyone interested?

Wow. Too bad about the surface rust on what appears to have been a very nice survivor when it was mothballed...

Is that an AACA badge attached to the radiator core ?

Let us know what it brings.... :cool:

[Curti]

Here is a 1913 Cadillac that I bought with full intentions to restore. I found it to be too ambitious and sold it to a chap in the UK. He is contemplating selling it now.

There is a bunch of model T's and a 31 Reo that are still there.

[alsancle]

Curt, was the Reo a Royale?

[Curti]

If it was A J, I would have been on it like good cookies!

[alsancle]

If it was A J, I would have been on it like good cookies!

Yeah, I kinda figured that

[Joe Block]

Great old pictures, I love them especially teh newspaper clip

[Curti]

Here are some model T's that are still there. This is a quanset hut machine shed, I hope it qualifies.