local barn find stories?

[Kenneth G.]

Re: local barn find stories?

Donald,

not that i am not one to share but i will keep this one to myself for now! if i have any success i will let you know. by the way, it is in new york , quite a distance away from where your profile says you live. ahhhhhh, what vettes will make us do!

kenny#31871

[Kenneth G.]

Re: local barn find stories?

Donald,

not that i am not one to share but i will keep this one to myself for now! if i have any success i will let you know. by the way, it is in new york , quite a distance away from where your profile says you live. ahhhhhh, what vettes will make us do!

kenny#31871

[Justin B.]

Re: local barn find stories?

I have an awesome "barn car" story. Actually, it is a "Corvette in the Driveway under a cover" story. I knew about the car as many did. Because the driveway was fairly deep, all I knew about the car, as I passed by this residence daily, was that it was either a 58, 59, or 60. My stepdad remembered the car back in the 1960's as it was regurarly seen on the road and he swore that it was a 58'. I called this guy who was a local Dr. and he said that it was a 58' that he bought back in 63' while in medical school but it wasn't for sale. Everytime I called (once every 6 months) he said that he had to get off the phone because he was on call but still the car wasn't for sale. About 10 years passed and I drove by the house after a heavy storm and noticed that the cover had blown off. It looked like there were fuel injection emblems on it....at least something on the fenders were shiny. I couldn't resist the temptation any longer so I through my car in reverse, and pulled in the driveway. Besides, nobody was at home anyway. It did have the fuel injection emblems and I also noticed something else about the car that I had only seen in books. There were two large holes, one behind each of the front bumpers. They were the intake holes for the rear brake cooling ducts only on RPO 684 big brake cars. I held my breath, ran to the back wheel openings and sure enough, the rear body fiberglass air ducts! I found a genuine 58' big brake car. I quickly left the house and called him later that night. I asked if he would mind my coming over one day just to look at the car since I was restoring a 1960 and needed answers to a couple of questions that would help me with my restoration. He said that would be just fine. The next day I went over to his home equipped with a camera, a jack, and a flashlight. I saw and took pictures of the front and rear vented backing plates and drums, fast steering adaptor, heavy duty front swaybar, front and rear fiberglass air ducting, front and rear air scoops, rear five leaf springs, and the original T10 4spd. Next, I looked under the hood and in total disbelief saw that the car still had its original block, heads, low-script valve covers, fuel injection exhaust manifold, f.i. distributor, 107 f.i. coil, and radiator. The fuel injection unit and air cleaner was gone.
So, over the next few years I didn't sleep knowing that he could (possibly)sell the car to any stranger if they offered the right amount. I also heard that he had considered donating the car to a local college for them to auction off. Finally, I sold my 1960 and offered him a huge amount for the car. I called him daily (as he told me to) and after about a month he called me and told me to come get it.
I have taken hundreds of pictures of the car as it said in his driveway, as I cleaned it up, and as I dissassembled it just so no one can ever say that it isn't the real deal. There are a lot of fake cars out there and I have the photos, before and after, to prove this isn't one of them. I also showed the unrestored rolling chassis with its unrestored drivetrain at a regional NCRS event. Yes, there are still treasures out there. Just pursue them!!

[Justin B.]

Re: local barn find stories?

I have an awesome "barn car" story. Actually, it is a "Corvette in the Driveway under a cover" story. I knew about the car as many did. Because the driveway was fairly deep, all I knew about the car, as I passed by this residence daily, was that it was either a 58, 59, or 60. My stepdad remembered the car back in the 1960's as it was regurarly seen on the road and he swore that it was a 58'. I called this guy who was a local Dr. and he said that it was a 58' that he bought back in 63' while in medical school but it wasn't for sale. Everytime I called (once every 6 months) he said that he had to get off the phone because he was on call but still the car wasn't for sale. About 10 years passed and I drove by the house after a heavy storm and noticed that the cover had blown off. It looked like there were fuel injection emblems on it....at least something on the fenders were shiny. I couldn't resist the temptation any longer so I through my car in reverse, and pulled in the driveway. Besides, nobody was at home anyway. It did have the fuel injection emblems and I also noticed something else about the car that I had only seen in books. There were two large holes, one behind each of the front bumpers. They were the intake holes for the rear brake cooling ducts only on RPO 684 big brake cars. I held my breath, ran to the back wheel openings and sure enough, the rear body fiberglass air ducts! I found a genuine 58' big brake car. I quickly left the house and called him later that night. I asked if he would mind my coming over one day just to look at the car since I was restoring a 1960 and needed answers to a couple of questions that would help me with my restoration. He said that would be just fine. The next day I went over to his home equipped with a camera, a jack, and a flashlight. I saw and took pictures of the front and rear vented backing plates and drums, fast steering adaptor, heavy duty front swaybar, front and rear fiberglass air ducting, front and rear air scoops, rear five leaf springs, and the original T10 4spd. Next, I looked under the hood and in total disbelief saw that the car still had its original block, heads, low-script valve covers, fuel injection exhaust manifold, f.i. distributor, 107 f.i. coil, and radiator. The fuel injection unit and air cleaner was gone.
So, over the next few years I didn't sleep knowing that he could (possibly)sell the car to any stranger if they offered the right amount. I also heard that he had considered donating the car to a local college for them to auction off. Finally, I sold my 1960 and offered him a huge amount for the car. I called him daily (as he told me to) and after about a month he called me and told me to come get it.
I have taken hundreds of pictures of the car as it said in his driveway, as I cleaned it up, and as I dissassembled it just so no one can ever say that it isn't the real deal. There are a lot of fake cars out there and I have the photos, before and after, to prove this isn't one of them. I also showed the unrestored rolling chassis with its unrestored drivetrain at a regional NCRS event. Yes, there are still treasures out there. Just pursue them!!

[Kenneth G.]

Re: local barn find stories?

justin,

that is just the kind of story i like to hear. any chance of posting pictures? why exactlty didnt the owner want to sell it? as a doctor, i am sure he had enough money to restore it but just maybe not the time. the time frame of your find sounds similar to what happened with my local find............maybe i'll get lucky

[Kenneth G.]

Re: local barn find stories?

justin,

that is just the kind of story i like to hear. any chance of posting pictures? why exactlty didnt the owner want to sell it? as a doctor, i am sure he had enough money to restore it but just maybe not the time. the time frame of your find sounds similar to what happened with my local find............maybe i'll get lucky

[Justin B.]

Re: local barn find stories?

This guy (the Dr.) fortunetly was not mechanically inclined. He never "hod rodded" the car and always had it serviced at the local Chevy dealership. Updating the engine or adding performance parts was not his cup of tea. He had plans...or so he said...of restoring it one day and that's why he never wanted to sell it, along with other sentimental reasons. He finally decided that he most likely would never get to it. He also thought that maybe one day his kids would want it but after talking to them, well, they didn't care anything about it. He knew that it was fuel injected but had no idea what a big brake car even was!

[Justin B.]

Re: local barn find stories?

This guy (the Dr.) fortunetly was not mechanically inclined. He never "hod rodded" the car and always had it serviced at the local Chevy dealership. Updating the engine or adding performance parts was not his cup of tea. He had plans...or so he said...of restoring it one day and that's why he never wanted to sell it, along with other sentimental reasons. He finally decided that he most likely would never get to it. He also thought that maybe one day his kids would want it but after talking to them, well, they didn't care anything about it. He knew that it was fuel injected but had no idea what a big brake car even was!

[Roy B.]

Re: local barn find stories?

If any Corvette "needs" restoring that is a barn story or lets call it a garage story.

[Roy B.]

Re: local barn find stories?

If any Corvette "needs" restoring that is a barn story or lets call it a garage story.