JEC_31

Last summer I was sorely tempted by a local one that popped up on e-bay, a dead '78 auto sitting in a cow pasture. Red exterior faded, rusted, dented, and mismatched. Pascha interior ripped to shreds and filthy. The cows did not mind it.



Quite true. When 928's become the fashionable flavor of the month amongst the well-heeled collecting set, and restoring them is actually profitable, then there will be 928 barn finds.



I work with a guy who bought a 1959 Harley that had been sitting in a barn since 1960. It had a little over 300 miles on it when the owner laid it down on a backroad and narrowly escaped death - that's why he quit riding. So it collected a thick coating of bird poop for 40 years before my friend buys it for $300.

My friend trailered it home, washed off the bird poop, and called a guy he knows up in Alberta. The conversation was brief, as the guy hung up and immediately drove to Michigan with a trailer and some cash. He shows up in the middle of the night and after a brief inspection of the bike (and the serial #s), hands over...







...





....







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$30,000 US






Not only that, but reportedly the Alberta guy is not done restoring it (too many projects), and expects to make a profit when he sells it.

It's like Antiques Roadshow sometimes.

michael j wright

Found mine in a pasture next to a barn, does that count! hadn't been driven in about five or six years. I still think I paid to much (2k) but the guy I got it from said I ripped him off - Ha. 2-3k latter I have a car I could have paid 4k for and I still need to do a lot of work.

H2

In that case, perhaps my "barn finds" wouldn't qualify. Model A '28 Ford Pickup, actually in a barn (sitting 21 years); a '32 Plymouth Coupe sunk in mud in a pasture (about 30 years); a '38 Plymouth coupe (oogly!) found under a tarp behind a barn (16 years); '40 Chev coupe in an old garage (8 years); MGA with blown engine in a garage (5 years); '32 Chev. coupe under a tarp behind a house (8 years); '36 Plymouth in a barn (? years); and on and on. AND I LOST MONEY ON EVERY ONE OF THE RESTORATIONS AND SUBSEQUENT SALES if I had counted my labor.....but those losses were nowhere near what the 928s often command. But they were all fun drivers...just not as fun as the 928. If a car was too far gone to take back to stock, I made street rods. The 928 has all the luxury of a fine GT; the performance of a hot street rod; but handling that street rods could only dream of.

I'm doin' fine, Heinrich. Thanks for checking. As long as I can drag myself from the computer/rennlist to the dinner table and back, I'll do well. But I'm really getting anxious to install the new alum. radiator in the '88S4. Also, the sun roof quit working. I'm shooting for March.

My S4 is not a "barn find" but it was involved in a small wreck and sat for a few years before being (very well) repaired and repainted. Hence the low mileage.

H2

inactiveuser1228

Mine sat in a garage for twelve years before I got it.

H2

Some feel that 928s that sit for long periods of time deteriorate faster than those driven daily. I don't fully agree. I feel that the trade-off for a low mile car can make the stored car a better long-term deal because wearing metal and interior parts are relatively expensive to replace while the "soft parts" can be replaced pretty easily (still not cheap though). The exception for this for me is a car that has been stored outdoors unprotected (rain and sun) or driven on bad salty roads.

Of course there are exceptions to every situation.

Frankly, I replace most rubber parts and belts on any 928 I buy. Also, I replace the water pump, all the rollers under the belt covers, front main bearing seal, cam seals (if weeping), and most hoses, CV joint covers, vacuum line connectors and, as needed, the plastic vacuum hose, the inner ignition switch, reseat the dash bulbs, clean and all ground points, check for all leaks and deal with them (such as PS, oil pan, etc.

Is being this **** a waste? I don't think so if one plans on keeping the car a long time and doesn't want some aged simple part to give out while on a long trip.

H2

JHowell37

The idea of a barn find is a car that is highly desirable, inexpensive, and in good condition under the dust and bird ****. A barn find is a deal too good to be true for old cars. The basic premise is that you get the vehicle from an unknowing owner who has lost interest for almost nothing and then you get it up and running for minimal investment. It's a fantasy that seldom exists. It doesn't exist because a barn in the midwest, with a dirt floor, rodents, and rain/snow is a horrible environment to store much of anything. We may want to call some of our cars "barn finds" but in reality, most were simply derelict junk that we put back together.

928autobahndreamer

Ahhh, but it is such beautiful, well engineered junk.