Anyone know any Barn-Find rumors in central Ohio?

[mach1mustang_14]

I'm new to the forum and just wanted to know if anyone knew of any barn find cars in Central Ohio.

[ABear]

Most "barn finds" are typically found via a friend of a friend type thing, not like most people are going to let that information leak out on a forum..

 

The forum does have a "buy sell" section you can look through, some of the posts are folks who have seen something on Ebay or even facebook and post it in that section as "not mine".

 

You can also search Craigslist using some of the major cities near you to see what may be listed, just be aware of the "too good to be true" low ball prices for the cars as those tend to be scammers.. Scammers and "professional" sellers (IE flippers) have pretty much ruined craigslist to the point it is not of much use.

 

You can also search Ebay, might be able to narrow the search, haven't been on that for yrs..

 

You also have Facebook market place if you don't mind spending rest of your life with endless scrolling (not much of search filters there), but very wary about potential scammers, they are on that platform.

 

I have a friend who stumbled on a nice 80's Caddy that was sitting in a garage collecting dust.. He was working for a friend who does house painting, asked the owner if they wanted to sell, they agreed on a price and had it flat bedded home.. It was parked when it quit charging the battery.. New battery, new alternator and new exhaust later and he was a happy clam!

Edited April 12 by ABear (see edit history)

[alsancle]

I argued for mandatory introduction thread a while ago but was out voted.

[Fordy]

10 hours ago, alsancle said:

I argued for mandatory introduction thread a while ago but was out voted.

I wasn't aware of a vote taking place. I would have been a yes

Steve

[alsancle]

1 hour ago, Fordy said:

I wasn't aware of a vote taking place. I would have been a yes

Steve

Where were you when I needed you?

 

 

Edited April 13 by alsancle (see edit history)

[60FlatTop]

That is a pretty good one liner introduction in my book.

[kramaton]

Heard there's a guy in the Columbus area that has five 32 Ford 3 window coupes in his barn. Wants 500 bucks a piece. 

[CarNucopia]

All these years I’ve spent searching for barn finds and it never occurred to me to simply ask where they were. 

[mobileparts]

I , too , would like $ 100,000.... Am willing to pay $ 50.... LOL 😂!!! ( maybe $ 100 )

 

( maybe I should have put this in the Automotive Humor sub section )

Edited April 14 by mobileparts (see edit history)

[TAKerry]

9 hours ago, CarNucopia said:

All these years I’ve spent searching for barn finds and it never occurred to me to simply ask where they were. 

Since were on the subject, if anyone knows about any in northern MD give me a shout, LOL. 12 and 16 cylinders preferred.

[PAV8427]

I am starting to think I should buy an old farm and just rotate cars every couple months.  
Extra barn find value might offset land purchase price. 
I would get real barn dust in the deal too. 
 

[mobileparts]

28 minutes ago, TAKerry said:

Since were on the subject, if anyone knows about any in northern MD give me a shout, LOL. 12 and 16 cylinders preferred.

12 --- 1 cylinder Lawn Mowers in this one barn near Baltimore --- $ 200 takes all !!!

[mach1mustang_14]

10 hours ago, kramaton said:

Heard there's a guy in the Columbus area that has five 32 Ford 3 window coupes in his barn. Wants 500 bucks a piece. 

If you have any more info on these I would be interested. Thank you.

[1912Staver]

10 hours ago, kramaton said:

Heard there's a guy in the Columbus area that has five 32 Ford 3 window coupes in his barn. Wants 500 bucks a piece. 

But in order to get that price you have to take all 5 off his hands at once . There is always a catch.

[gungeey]

20 minutes ago, 1912Staver said:

But in order to get that price you have to take all 5 off his hands at once . There is always a catch.

Guy I know heard a rumor that there was a price drop since. The farmers daughter is sick of looking at them. 

[58L-Y8]

Judging from some of the identified "barn find" cars I've seen...they should have been left "barn lost"...

[Brass is Best]

11 hours ago, kramaton said:

Heard there's a guy in the Columbus area that has five 32 Ford 3 window coupes in his barn. Wants 500 bucks a piece. 

I went and looked they were just roadsters and he wants 550 each, unless you don't want the Ardun heads.

[Brass is Best]

1 hour ago, PAV8427 said:

I am starting to think I should buy an old farm and just rotate cars every couple months.  
Extra barn find value might offset land purchase price. 
I would get real barn dust in the deal too. 
 

Don't forget to let the mice and pigeons in for extra patina.

[Brass is Best]

I have a friend who builds some serious hot rods. Usually when he calls it means something good is going to happen. Help road test a new build. Get invited to go to a show. Things of that nature. So, he calls me and says he is in a barn near Mansfield Ohio. He tells me he is buying a 32 Ford Coupe but there is another car that I might want. He says it has been there for over 60 years. It has all brass trim, two seats and a huge fuel tank. The engine is a giant 4-cylinder. I asked if there was any name on it. He says the farmer is trying to rub the tarnish off so they can read it. Then he says it has some racing numbers on the sides of the fuel tank and hood. I asked how much is this car? To which he replied oh we can read the name, it says Stutz. Then he asks me what is a Stutz and oh the farmer says $10,000 takes it. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I said I am on my way, what is the address. This is when my friend said April Fools. 

[60FlatTop]

Back in the early 1980s I taught an HVAC apprenticeship program and also owned a 1935 Nash that the students knew about. One of the students had a landscaping company servicing  the upscale east side neighborhoods. He told me a client had an old car with running boards that they wanted removed. I asked him to check it out.

 

A week or so later so told me they got rid of it. I asked why I didn't get a shot at it. He relied "I thought you were only into Nashes, it was a Packard." Gnash!

[ABear]

3 hours ago, mach1mustang_14 said:

If you have any more info on these I would be interested. Thank you.

I suspect it was a joke (sarcasm)..

 

But, nice try 😀

[auburnseeker]

The internet has greatly reduced ones chance of running across a truly great car that is ridiculously under priced.

 

It has however greatly increased the price of dirty old nothing special cars that have been poorly stored for decades.

 

Yes there are still a few cars out there you might stumble across and get a deal (often related to the much more valuable property being sold ,  so the value of the car is an insignificant factor,  when they are selling an old run down building with land worth over a million dollars to a developer. )

 

As I tell most people that think this or that is a smoking deal,  often a close friend of the owner or someone that has done work for the owner ends up with it,  or an immediate friend before it ever gets to market.   The last barn find I bought 10 years ago,  was relayed to me through a friend.  Never hit the market and even when I sold it, it never hit the market. 

 

With values of 99% of cars just a few clicks away it's just not happening with much frequency like I'm sure it did,  pre internet days.

 

I remember a guy walking up to me at a gas station and offering me his mom's 53 Buick ragtop as I was driving my old convertible at the time.   Today I doubt that happens much.   (oh I did buy it)   It was a barn find. Well had been in the barn once until it fell down.   But pretty much all original.

[Tom Boehm]

Every so often a first time poster asks a ridiculous question that I suspect is only intended to get everyone wound up. Most of the time they post a picture of a nice old car with no details and ask how to street rod it. I guess the OP is entertained by the sincere predictable responses. 

Edited April 14 by Tom Boehm (see edit history)

[1912Staver]

53 minutes ago, auburnseeker said:

The internet has greatly reduced ones chance of running across a truly great car that is ridiculously under priced.

 

It has however greatly increased the price of dirty old nothing special cars that have been poorly stored for decades.

 

Yes there are still a few cars out there you might stumble across and get a deal (often related to the much more valuable property being sold ,  so the value of the car is an insignificant factor,  when they are selling an old run down building with land worth over a million dollars to a developer. )

 

As I tell most people that think this or that is a smoking deal,  often a close friend of the owner or someone that has done work for the owner ends up with it,  or an immediate friend before it ever gets to market.   The last barn find I bought 10 years ago,  was relayed to me through a friend.  Never hit the market and even when I sold it, it never hit the market. 

 

With values of 99% of cars just a few clicks away it's just not happening with much frequency like I'm sure it did,  pre internet days.

 

I remember a guy walking up to me at a gas station and offering me his mom's 53 Buick ragtop as I was driving my old convertible at the time.   Today I doubt that happens much.   (oh I did buy it)   It was a barn find. Well had been in the barn once until it fell down.   But pretty much all original.

A couple of times recently this has happened in my area. Both times it involved 1960's Morgan's.  A car I would really like to own one day. Both times the listers were son's of elderly people and were not ignorant of their parents Morgan's ,just did not want to keep them. Both were listed locally on the local British FB page and one at least on marketplace . At what was a reasonable price considering they had both been sitting at least 10 years as the owners got too old to use them. In the one case the son had become a successful professional , and a car person. But his vintage machine of choice had become 1960's and 70's Porsche's , way upmarket from his fathers tattered old Morgan.

So far from ready to drive, really a complete mechanical go through would be prudent.

 Inboxes went wild in both cases, and the bids started coming in hot and heavy. Both cars ended up selling for very , very strong prices, close to double the original ask and at least full retail plus some.

People just get irrational about this " barn find " , long term storage stuff. I did it myself 40 years ago when it made sense, you know, a $3000 - $4000 MGA { when tidied up and sorted mechanically } dusty and neglected that needs at the very least a complete brake system and who knows what else for say $750  and the seller will lend a hand loading it on to your trailer. But why would you pay 85 - 90 % of what a running , driving example goes for for a car that needs $5000.00 worth of parts , 3 -6 months of spare time attention, and may have something more serious lurking that took it off the road in the first place ? I just don't get it.

Edited April 14 by 1912Staver (see edit history)

[TAKerry]

I have worked on hundreds if not thousands of houses over the last 40+ years. A lot of them have been older homes, some very old. I have been looking for that holy grail for all of these years but yet I have still come up empty handed. Only time I ever came close, there was a newer pole barn in the back yard. Owner had died and we were doing some repairs so the house could be sold. Me being nosey and always on the lookout for cars, peered into the window of the barn. Lo and behold there was something under a cover. At that point I decided to go in and check it out. It was a Buick Grand National, not perfect but in really good condition. I am not a Buick guy but I do know what these cars are. I called the realtor right away and told her if the estate was selling the car to put me first in line. The reply was, the car was the only thing the son wanted. Everything else was being sold.

[alsancle]

I have one barn find to my name and it was more my dad than me.   Supposed to be a Duesenberg and just lucky it wasn't a Buick which is what it is 90% of the time.   It sat undistributed for 50 years with a tree blocking the door.  Owner refused to let anyone in the barn.

[auburnseeker]

The last Barn Find I had was this 39 Buick convertible.  First shot is of it in the garage it had been parked for the last 10 years.  Last pic was in my shop after I had it delivered,  Original upholstery,  most paint and floor mat.  Someone replaced the steering wheel years ago.

 

 

[alsancle]

My dad had another one,  but it was a garage find and it was back in 1963.  The car had only been in the garage 10/12 years from the early 1950s.

 

 

[auburnseeker]

The barn finds that were around in the 1950's must have been insane. 

[alsancle]

26 minutes ago, auburnseeker said:

The barn finds that were around in the 1950's must have been insane. 

Greatest Barn Find of all time is the Bird Estate.  Wallis Bird was a loaded sportsman who bought a new awesome car every year, barely drove it and then put it in his huge carriage house at his estate Farnsworth on Long Island.   He died in a plane crash in 1941 and all the cars sat on blocks until 1962 when they were sold off.   3 Duesenbergs,  the craziest SS Mercedes you ever saw,  Bugatti 35,  Hispano with an awesome Rollston body, Isotta, etc.

I dare anybody to find anything better.  

 

[Shootey]

For Buick and woodie buffs, there was also a 1940 Buick Estate Wagon in the Bird auction. Last I checked it was residing in a museum/showroom in Sarasota FL. It was always and still is in a fine preserved state. 

[ABear]

3 hours ago, Tom Boehm said:

Every so often a first time poster asks a ridiculous question that I suspect is only intended to get everyone wound up.

I suspect the OP is a "picker" looking for valuable rare cars loaded with vintage dust that they can low ball on and then flip at a high price. Sort of like the highly obnoxious TV show American pickers.

 

Yeah, don't believe or think everything you see on TV is real, it is over produced "made for TV reality show" and every deal made, the outcome was predetermined before filming for the audiences benefit.  IE "staged".

[60FlatTop]

My preference is post wars cars. I have noticed that the number of them available from all sources seems it be increasing annually.

[kar3516]

In Texas, Oklahoma and the mid-continent most of the big pre-war classic “barn finds” were at city mansions that were torn down in the relentless growth of the 40s, 50s, and 60s in and near downtown areas.  Also many ranches requiring trucks and pickups more than country estates or summer homes.  So barn finds tend to be more pedestrian modest cars.  To me a “barn find” is any desirable car generally removed from public knowledge and “found” off market or under marketed.  I bought a highly desirable car the day after Hershey last year resulting from a picture and phone number on a small placard attached to the back of a Subaru in a Hershey parking space.  Same family ownership since 1973.  52,xxx miles.  Owner had a very fair price on it and I was thrilled to get it.  Original engine now running great.  All parts not on the car when I bought it were included.  It’s a “barn find” to me.

 

 

Edited April 14 by kar3516 (see edit history)

[TAKerry]

2018-09-24_09-46-08 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr

2018-09-24_09-45-24 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr

Heres my 79 I am currently restoring as a barn find.  Although I was the one that put it there! It was temp. storage at a friends while I was finishing up my barn.

[mechanician]

I got the sense he was looking for big fish stories…

 

There were some whales, but long ago.

[1912Staver]

I personally don't get too excited over later TA's. But that barn is something I would sell my soul for.

Edited April 14 by 1912Staver (see edit history)

[auburnseeker]

I would have been thrilled to find that Packard. 

 

Most cars I knew of were market plus priced cars that needed an undiscolsed amount of work to get on the road.  After having to rebuild a few engines  and brakes on everything as well as tires for cars that just needed a tune up,  I started realizing you really need to buy non running cars at atleast some kind of a discount to absorb some of the cost of the repairs and the unknowns.   Seems even the ready to go cars I have bought all needed mechanical work.   Even my latest A needs the brakes going through.  Pedal feels fine and it stops well,  but I see one brake looks like it dragged and when I put the new Park brake lever in,  Even with the cables backed all the way off,  something is dragging in that wheel.  My guess is a stuck or sticky piston as it's been converted to hydraulic.  One of the reasons I wanted an A in the first place was so I didn't have to worry about doing a brake job on it if it had been sitting because of contaminated fluid. 

[auburnseeker]

2 hours ago, alsancle said:

Greatest Barn Find of all time is the Bird Estate.  Wallis Bird was a loaded sportsman who bought a new awesome car every year, barely drove it and then put it in his huge carriage house at his estate Farnsworth on Long Island.   He died in a plane crash in 1941 and all the cars sat on blocks until 1962 when they were sold off.   3 Duesenbergs,  the craziest SS Mercedes you ever saw,  Bugatti 35,  Hispano with an awesome Rollston body, Isotta, etc.

Just look at all those real survivors that were then most likely fully restored.  That's probably the real shame.

 

I knew of a 31 Packard Roadster that was local.  Tree over a foot in Diameter in front of the door. I tried to get it along with everyone else,  then one day a guy swings by my shop and says you are never going to guess what I just bought,   ARGH!!!  So much for that one.

 

There is nothing I know of now.   Especially nothing rare or prewar.  I imagine there may be a few around but they are really hidden. 

 

I was suppose to go look at a bunch with my Grandfather in the early 2000's but he never got around to taking me and he's now long gone.  He wasn't a car guy so it was low on his priority list.  With all the publicity behind barn finds I'm sure whatever they were and where I think they might have been,  I'm sure they are ling gone or not for sale,  Whatever they were. 

 

 

[Laughing Coyote]

Being in the Southwest there aren't many barns around. The car finds can be in someone's back yard covered with a blue tarp and a mean dog. Usually in the not so nice parts of town in the more run down hoods. Seen a bunch of cars and trucks when I'm out and about running errands.