, 13 hours ago 17 Comments

Last Mini to Leave the Factory

long-lost-mini-clubman-in-tunnel

Reader Callum C. shared this interesting find with us. While it looks like a wrecked basket case, this Mini Clubman has quite the interesting story behind it. During World War II, British Leyland constructed a series of tunnels below its Longbridge factory to keep production safe from bombing. This Mini was used to drive around the factory, but was abandoned in one of the tunnels after an accident. In 2012, it was exhumed from its tomb making it the last Mini to leave the factory. It is now being auctioned off on July 27th at the Silverstone Classic Sale. Read more »

, , 3 days ago 11 Comments

The Father & Son Hunting Team

Corvette in the Barn

Don and Keith Isley have the perfect father-and-son hobby: searching for old cars. The two have developed an eye for seeing cars that are virtually invisible to most enthusiasts. Take the Corvette that appears above. It was discovered by son Keith as the family was driving home to Greensboro, North Carolina, from a vacation in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, four or five years ago. Read more »

, , 8 days ago 44 Comments

Overgrown 1959 Lincoln Continental

overgrown-1959-lincoln-continental

While remodeling a home in Altamonte Springs, Florida reader Ray M. discovered this 1959 Lincoln Continental convertible hiding in the backyard of a nearby abandoned home. Having always dreamt of restoring a part of automotive history, Ray knew he needed to save it. He set about buying the car right away, but kept hitting road blocks. After some digging, he was able to locate the previous owner’s son, who put him in contact with their sister. He was then able to strike a deal with her and soon it was on its way to its new home. Ray hasn’t ever restored a car before and is in need of some advice on how to go about restoring this Lincoln. Read more »

, , 10 days ago 17 Comments

Stumbling upon an SCCA Champion

Alpine as found

Steve Silverstein is a Sunbeam collector. Unlike most Sunbeam collectors, who seek out only the very desirable Ford V-8-powered Tigers, Silverstein truly appreciates the Tiger’s less-powerful sibling, the Alpine. Alpine Series IVs were powered by 1600-cc four-cylinder engines that produced eighty-seven horsepower, and they were capable sports cars in their day. So capable, in fact, that the manufacturer, Rootes Group, decided to field some factory-backed entries in amateur sports car races during the 1960s against some very formidable competition from both MG and Triumph. As it turned out, the entries were surprisingly successful. Read more »

, 17 days ago 13 Comments

The Robber Baron’s Bugatti Boondoggle

John Shakespeare collection

The 1964 Shakespeare-Schlumpf transaction is the grandest used-car deal in recorded history. After Volkswagen AG took over control of Bugatti in 1998, executives at the peoples’ car company thought it might be nice to own one of the six Type 41 Royales that Ettore Bugatti created as “the car for kings.” Purchasing a Royale Coupe de Ville cost VW an estimated $17 million, a shrewd investment given the estimated worth of Royales today. But contrast VW’s deal to one Fritz Schlumpf—in his day, the most ruthless carmonger on Earth—pulled off in 1964: $85,000 for one Park Ward Royale limousine and twenty-nine other Bugattis extracted from a dusty barn near St. Louis, freight to France included. Read more »

, , 24 days ago 30 Comments

Leno’s Black Shadow

Vincent 253A

Built in Stevenage, England, in the 1950s, the 1,000cc Vincent V-Twin was billed as “The World’s Fastest Standard Motorcycle.” Expensive, exotic, loud, and very fast, with a shiny black stove-enameled engine, two into-one faired exhausts, dual Amal carburetors, four sets of finned brake drums, knock-off wheels, and a 150-mile-per-hour Smiths speedometer, the Black Shadow was, and still is, the stuff of legends. Singer-songwriter Richard Thompson sang about a Vincent in his song “1952 Vincent Black Lightning” and a contemporary rock band goes by the name “The Vincent Black Shadow.” Read more »

, 30 days ago 64 Comments

Reader Find: 1968 Ford Torino GT

fenced-in-1968-ford-torino-gt

Reader Steve L. recently found this 1968 Ford Torino GT in this Oklahoma City yard, where it had been parked for the past 33 years. The women who owned it had a fence put up around it to protect it and over the years it sunk into the ground. After buying it, he was able to drag it from its resting place and discovered how solid it really was. Read more »

, , , 31 days ago 17 Comments

A Propane Gas Delivery Man’s Discovery

Barn Find Cobra

Electric company meter-readers, landscapers, and other deliverymen possibly have the best opportunity to discover vehicles “just out of view” from car collectors. After all, they can venture onto properties, look behind bushes, and peer into barns. The story of Cobra CSX2149 begins this way, when a propane gas delivery driver looked into a customer’s remote barn near Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1993. Read more »

, , 38 days ago 20 Comments

The MG in the Barn

MG in the Barn

We should all be grateful to the mothers in our lives. They put up with our endless babel about automobiles and some even love us enough to come along for a ride. Obviously, mothers do much more than this everyday. So, show some gratitude whether it is your own mom, the mother of your children, or someone that has helped you along the way. Today we want to honor one special woman who loves her family and her cars. So, enjoy this quick read from Tom Cotter and then get back to the women in your life: Read more »

, , 42 days ago 44 Comments

Reader Find: 1968 Pontiac Firebird

1968-Pontiac-Firebird-barn-find

You never know when you might stumble upon a barn find. Paul C. just made this unexpected discovery in Southern Ohio. “My buddy and I were at his girlfriend’s house feeding her horses. He told me his her dad had an old car in a barn and I quickly went to see it! This car is a factory 4-speed and looks to have the original 400. It has been setting since 1975. I’m trying to see if the car could be bought right now. WISH ME LUCK!” Read more »

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