Tell your story about a rare find that you bought...

[vettestr]

As a kid in HS I bought the car that I wish I had back more than all of others I have had over the years. From the brother of some GM hotshot I bought a 1969 Z/28 Camero. She had the dual four intake sitting on a 302 and all the other goodies. I wondered about a metal tag riveted on the firewall with something like (TransAm Assoc. and ####'s ). This was not a Trans Am it was a Camero ?? LIL. I saw a car very close to the options go off at Barret Jackson for over 100 times what I sold it for. I had the car for 6 years and sold it because my new wife complained I spent more time with that car than I did with her. In the end I got more mileage out of the car and should have kept it

[mrmustang]

Originally Posted by A-Snake

If anyone has a truly interesting "barn find" story it can be forwarded directly to Tom Cotter. There is no need to send it to 'Historybuff' first.
I can provide the contact information if needed.

Paying for stories is NOT something Mr. Cotter is interested in doing.

Tom Cotter has a new book out in this series. The new book is "The Hemi in the Barn" available on Amazon.com etc.

http://www.amazon.com/Hemi-Barn-Stor.../dp/0760327211

Excellent as I hate dealing with "brokers" who are trying to make a buck off of someone elses story and technical expertise and much prefer to deal directly with the author in question. This kind of post reminds me of the kids at school who wanted to copy my homework because they were to lazy to do it themselves.

Bill S.'

[trularin]

Bill makes a good point. I am a bit reluctant to give a bit of my life to someone who will get paid telling my story.

However, I did actually get to see a fabled $300.00 1963 corvette. As the guy told me and to paraphrase.

"I was down on my luck when my car died and I was looking over the want ads. I needed cheap transportation. I saw an ad for a 1963 Chevy for $300.00. I called thinking it was a rusted Michigan car. Some old woman answered and told me that her son purchased the car and then was drafted into the army. He got killed in Vietnam and the car had been sitting ever since. He husband had died and she was moving into a retirement home. She told me the car did not start. I agreed to go over and look at it. I thought it was going to be a Chevy like an Impala or Biscayne. When I got there and house was on it's down side with a for sale sign out front. I knocked and the old lady came to the door. She said it was in the garage. I went out and opened the door. There was junk and dust all over everything, it was clear the door had not been opened in at least twenty years. I pulled back a blanket in the back of the car and wiped the name plate. It said 'Corvette'. I looked around for the 1963 junk I expected. This was the only car in the garage. I shut the door and told the lady I would take the car. I also told her not to open the garage to anyone else and I would be back in half an hour. I came back and bought the car for $300.00"

I remember this story vividly as I stood looking at the cream colored Corvette at the job site we were checking on. I had jabbed him for telling a bull$h!t story, but when I saw the car, I was amazed.

True story.

[Bill Wells]

earlsflyincobra .....

wrong colors . thx. bill

[EarlsflyinCobra]

Hey Tru, you know theres a song about that story....................below is a quote from a fellow that suposedly served with Private Malone;

Some time ago I was listening to a country music station in my car when they played a song "Riding with Private Malone". The song is about a soldier who died in Vietnam and his mother sold his Corvette to the guy singing the song. A note in the glove compartment said he would be riding with the person who bought the car. The story ends with the singer being rescued from a crash by a soldier who disappears from the scene of the accident.

[DAVID GAGNARD]

Just thought of 2 more cars.........

1: last year while talking to a buddy (Ford nut also), he told me about a car in a local junkyard, he was not interested so he passed the info on to me.........well, it was a couple of weeks later before I could get there and sure enough it had been sold about 5 days earlier........

the car was an all original 67 Galaxie 7 litre with an automatic trans....the junk man told me it had around 60,000 miles on it and he did get it running after fiddling with it for about 30 minutes.... the story goes like this: it was a local car, original owner, the car had basically been parked for about 10 years, but the elderly owner would start it up about once a month or so and drive it around the block to keep things in decent working order...the old man died after a 6 month bout with cancer and his wife had died a few years before, the kids came by to take some things from the house before selling the home place and no one wanted that big old Ford car, so they called the local junk man and asked if he would come get it FOR FREE, he said yes and asked if they had the title to it, they did and along with the car he got the title...he then calls my buddy to offer him the car as he knows he likes old Fords, but he's into small block early 60 Fairlanes and passes on the info to me.....by the time I get there, it's gone.....

The junk mans specializes in chevys, told me "dem ole fords ain't worth nothing." he told me the car was all there, chrome side moldings and all, a little surface rust, but not bad, and one door had been slightly scraped as in maybe a sign post, but not really dented, just scraped...........Now for the kicker: he sold it for $800.00 and was glad to get that much for it................ I almost cried!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Car # 2: I'm sure half the population of the state knows about this one and have seen it and tried to buy it.....the story goes like this:

Back in 1965, this guy registers for the draft and gets a fairly low draft #, knowing he's going to Viet Nam, he goes and buys a 65 Vette,327-4 speed with all the goodies, figures he may not ever come back so he'll enjoy life for now.......he ends up going to Viet Nam and his mom pays off the car and parks it behind the house right next to the chicken coop and covers it up.... He comes back from his tour of duty and is crazy as a loon or worse, stays in the house all day drinking and smoking dope and basically does nothing..... sometime later on, his mom dies and he's all alone now which makes matters worse....he will not sell the car for any amount of money and just lets it sit....(the car has less than 10,000 miles on it) now it's the early 1970s and he decides to get it running and start driving it, well, the block has cracked wide open from one too many freezes, so he goes to the local GM dealer and orders a new replacement 327 block, but never does a thing with it, it's still sitting in the shed next to the chicken coop.....he once went to the local bank to get a loan but had nothing for collateral, the loan officer being a car guy offered him the loan if he would put up the Vette (by now in poor shape) for collateral, but he refused, saying he'd let it rot away before that would happen........last time I heard it's still sitting next to the now long rotten chicken coop in the back yard and he's still crazy as ever!!!!!!!!!!!!

David

[Tugboat]

In the 70's my best friend, who was a ford nut, told me that after we got off work on the night shift he needed me to follow him to a ford dealership on Forest Lane in Dallas Texas so that he could trade in his Pristine Olds 442 (that he hated) for a Mustang that wouldn't start the day before when he looked at it. He wanted me for my jumper cables, I told him he must be crazy since his olds was incredible. Well, you guessed it, a 1968 White/ w Blue strpes Shelby GT-500 w/ Paxton Supercharger. It had tons of things wrong with it. I think sticker was around $5,000.00 then. We did push start it from the lot. Johnny passed away last year in a car accident while driving his company car ( a dang saturn). At the funeral his brother had the casket w/shelby stripes. When he passed away he still had the 68, a 69, and 2 boss-302's one a show car, and a very rare (he had just purchased) Dan Gurney Torino/Galaxie whatever.. I told you he was a ford nut. My best memory is still of us with the salesman push starting the 500. Not my find but a Story I am proud to recall.

Larry Boatner

[trularin]

Never heard the song.

For all I know the guy I poured cement with was a complete BS artist and his whole story was a fab.

BUT, at the time, I was complete amazed and remember looking over the car thinking how I was never lucky and this guy had grabbed the gold.

[trularin]

The Dan Gurney was a Cyclone. They are sharp...especially with the big block in them.

[chipperb]

Was a senior in Highshool and went ar lookong (not buying) with my dad. Found a new GT350 at a Ford dealer in Cincy, OH. Dealer asked me if I wanted to drive it; I said yes!!! He allowed me to drive it around Eden Park in Cincy, that has a nice S curve around a small lake.

Went home this past 4th and ws riding around, and went near Eden Park: told my wife of the story as we drove that same S curve. Still sticks in my mind 40 years plus later.

Have a GT360 clone now as a result of that experince. cb

[BMK]

When I first built my '28 roadster I was a gas station when an elderly guy came up to me and you guessed it..



He said that he had, "..a few similiar cars in the back of his farm". "No use to him".... and he suggested that, "... I call out and have a look".

I could not get out there quick enough......





Found a '28 tourer and a utility/pickup that had been converted to a saw bench. After loading them the next day on my trailer, with him telling me he did not want any cash - '...just take them away' - he told me that he had a few parts in the garage/barn that he had taken off the cars.

Amazing all the little hard to get parts were there covered in dust.

I was just at the right place at the right time, in that garage/gas station and I took the time to talk to him. I often think,... how many other people had dismissed him when he told them that he had a couple of similar cars at his home. I was interested in his story and took the time to talk to him. After our brief discussion he told me what he had a home and invited me to call and take a look. "If they are any value you are welcome o them."

Guess we all live for that guy who walks up and says he has a Cobra in the barn/shed at his home that belonged to his father or brother...not likely to happen...

[Dwight]

This story is not about a car but a motor.
I have a friend who is a big block Ford guy from way back. Years ago he had a salesman at a Dodge dealer to call him and offer a Ford stationwagon with a 390 in it for $100. Doc bought the wagon and moved it to his dad's farm. Much later he noticed something different about the motor in the wagon. After a little research he found out that the motor was a 428. The vin tag on the stationwagon was a Q code which verified his hunch. It took me 6 months to talk him out of the motor. I bought the whole car and moved it to my shop where Coach and I pulled the motor. I took a lot of pics and made a computer file. One night I noticed a backward S on the rear of the block. I email a Ford buddy and he posted the pics on a FE site. They said it was the rarest of 428 blocks. The date code is 1967 Jan 20. This is the same motor that was used it the GT 500s. You know Ford, they had an order for a 428 in a wagon so they pulled one off the shelf and stuck it in.
Moral of the story, you never know what is inside a FE until you open her up. I've bought a few 390s that turned out to be 360s.
Dwight

[BMK]

Dwight

A great find. I have also heard similiar stories with people finding those Mexican small blocks.

[John S Peterson]

I think most "motor head" baby boomers had some kind of hot rod. The guys I hung around with had Z28's or Road Runners. I had a 63 1/2 Galaxie that back then was just a big fast car. My parents hated it, I always had to coast in the driveway because it was so loud, my dad used to say what kind of car doesn't have a radio or heater, it rode like crap, was lousy on dates and it was a good thing Ethel was only 30 cents a gallon. I think I paid 900 dollars for the car in 1970, lot of money when you're only making 1.35 an hour. They didn't call them "Lightweight Galaxie's" back then, It was just a funky white blistering fast galaxie fastback that had a bad reputation with AAA for abuse of their tow service, seems I was always blowing something up. Of course now all these cars are worth tons of money, but back then..........fast was cheap

[BMK]

Mmmm the next generation will have Jap buzz boxes with blow off valves and big boom box stereos.

They will not have to search garages or barns to find them but just listen for the sound of the OINZ OINZ OINZ from the stereos to locate the cars...