Dan Hampton

Every Saturday, we have a small group of people who meet at the Muscle Car Museum in Winona, Mn. At this juncture, it amounts to about five enthusiasts with varied backgrounds in both cars and occupations. It is our "cars and coffee" day and the subject matter varies from Allards to Bizzarinis, punctuated with discussions of everything American from MoPars to "Swiss Cheese" Pontiacs to Ford 406 "B' Codes. There is a lot going on for everyone.

Last weekend, a couple of the guys who are big Jaguar fans and limited collectors, attended the get-together. One of them has been an E-Type enthusiast since college. So much so, that he and a friend started a Jaguar repair shop when they were in school. This was in the late '60s. He eventually went over to the dark side and became an attorney, but he offered up some interesting thoughts on Jag owners that seem somewhat akin to what you might find with Corvette owners.

He said owning the shop made you quite aware that there are three types of Jaguar owners. The biggest Achilles Heel at the time was the short life cycle of E-Type throw out bearings (25,000 miles) tops. He said it was a very under-engineered component that required an entire engine/trans removal to replace it. In 1969, it was an expensive fix. The car by itself was not that expensive at the time.

So, regarding the "three flavors" of Jag owners, he said this:

1) There were people who could afford to buy them and, also, afford to fix them, no matter the issue.
2) There were people who could barely afford to buy them but had enough mechanical wherewithal to maintain and repair them.
3) There were people who could barely afford to buy them and could not afford to fix them and had no mechanical talent in which to do so.

He said the last group was the most vulnerable. Often hearing of what it would cost to replace the aforementioned TO bearing, they would try and sell the car to him or take it home and let it sit until they could afford the repair.

That got me thinking of the Barn Find Corvettes that surface on the Forum. You really have to wonder if many of those people weren't subject to the same conditions found in group 3. You have o wonder how many BB Corvettes were purchased, blown up, and put away for lack of funds, with the intent of repairing it or restoring it at another date. Days turn into weeks; weeks turn into years. Prices to restore and replace parts continue to increase and the project never gets off the ground. The car becomes a conversation piece but it never sees the light of day.

68hemi

What you say is likely true in many cases. Ego gets in the way of people admitting that.

Nowhere Man

I know for two of dads 67 they where parked because the owner got tired of putting brake calipers on the car. This was the early to mid 80’s

TC233

I would just like to know how these cars stay hidden for all this time and how you get on the list to be called when an owner who has his car in a barn, wants to sell

Uncle Pasko 73

That is exactly why mine was sitting in a barn (literally) when I found it... the guy couldn't get the brakes to stop leaking so gave up and parked it.

68hemi

The 1968 Hemi Charger R/T I bought 20 years ago had bee parked in a pole barn in PA. For years because they could no longer get the brake caliper repair kits for it.

Vette60

Yep, I think that is very true. We were sorta at that point with the '60. It was my Dad's everyday driver for much of the '60s and then was driven less and less as family life took over until it sat from the early 80s to the early 90s. Luckily, it was in a dry garage with a cover and no crap was allowed to get piled all over it. The repair list started with a leaking cylinder, and a bad fuel bump and then the list snowballed.

Finally, between my Mom and us kids pestering him, we got it running again - much of which was out of pocket expenses because we didn't have the wherewithal or skills to do it all ourselves...I thank my late Great-Uncle for providing much of the funds that were used for the project.

That being said, that's almost 30 years ago and the Vette is running strong. I'm determined never to let that lapse in enjoyment happen again.

Greg

Well thought out post Dan, and pretty accurate, I'd say.
I have purchased many project Corvettes over the years and with 99% of them the story starts: "We parked it when the brakes went bad....."

Dan Hampton

Those responses bring back one particular memory that is really on point. Back in the late '70s, I owned an auto parts store (absentee owner). I clearly remember a customer asking for the price on disc brakes for his mid-year. At that time, I don't remember if any of the jobbers even had them available in the secondary market due to lack of cores. There were specialty jobbers but I think you had to send them in for a rebuild and have them upgraded to stainless. I did some checking outside of what our warehouse could supply and they ran close to $100.00 a wheel, perhaps $125. That may not appear to be a lot of money, but I remember making around $13,000 a year teaching at a small private college back then. Net of taxes that was more than half my paycheck. Had I owned a mid-year at the time, I might have tossed into a barn, myself...

elwood13

I agree on the brakes. That why my brother parked his. Unfortunately it got used as a storage shelf. I’m not sure if it was just being unable to afford to repair everything as time took its toll or his disease of hoarding would not let it go.

Railroadman

My '64 spent 1 year with the original owner, then was bought by the GF, who was later the wife, then ex-wife of the guy who owned it until his death in 2016. At least that's my understanding from the family, she bought it but it was always "his". Anyway, he drove it from 1965 until it had some issues, then bought a '94 C-4 and parked the '64 in a garage, former gas station, which is where I bought it 2 years after his passing. People could, and did, drive right by the place for years and had no idea what was in there. If he had not died, it would almost certainly till be sitting there today.

Funny thing was after we loaded it up and were saying goodbye to the sellers, some guy drove by, pulled a U-turn and pulled in. Seems he was a Vette owner, (I think maybe a flipper) wanted to know where it came from, how much they wanted, etc. He was just beside himself that he never knew it was in there. He was quite deflated to hear it had just been sold. Even tho the cash had changed hands and the paperwork was signed over, we decided it was time to be on our way.

road pilot

Barn find equals a lot of work.

kellsdad

When I was in the market for a mid-year in the late 70s, I took a look at a disc brake car. The owner offered to let me drive it but cautioned that it pulled hard on braking because one of the calipers was capped off due to leaking. I passed. ...... I think there may be another factor in barn finds. I think its hard for many people in the latter stages of life to accept that they are not going to be healthier or richer next year than they are today. Selling a car because you know you will never be up to the task of getting it up and running would be to admit your own mortality. And many people would rather not think about that.

watson

I know of three C2's sitting in garages that have not seen sun light in more than ten years. One is a 63 SWC just a block from my house. The car is completely unmolested. It sat for 10 years before the owner pulled it out and took it to a local Corvette shop to get it running. He then picked it up and put back in the same garage for another 20 years. When I ask him about it, he says that he is planning to take off the front bumper, move the headlights down to the grill area, and cut out the wheel openings for bigger tires. I told him that I would shoot him if he did that. That may explain why the car is still in the garage. The other two are owners who have seen too many TV auctions and they honestly believe that their cars are made of solid gold. I suspect that all three cars will still be in the garages when those guys die.

Doc