[C2] How many C2s
Popular Reply
Jun 15, 2021, 06:59 PM
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,270
Likes: 623
From: Jackson California
2023 C2 of the Year Finalist - Modified
I think one of the reasons is the current values. A lot of cars I’ve inquired about over the years were not for sale “ever”. As some of these folks retire or pass they or the family find out what the cost needed to restore has given them sticker shock. Remember a lot of these have been sitting for years and when they are told that just the paint work will cost triple what they paid for the car they freak out a little. Then when someone offers to buy the car at a price the owner might have thought the car was worth restored, they decide that “never” has come and it’s time to move on. Just my random thoughts here as my recent purchase of a 63’ SWC fit these parameters pretty close.
Chris
Chris
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,270
Likes: 623
From: Jackson California
2023 C2 of the Year Finalist - Modified
I think one of the reasons is the current values. A lot of cars I’ve inquired about over the years were not for sale “ever”. As some of these folks retire or pass they or the family find out what the cost needed to restore has given them sticker shock. Remember a lot of these have been sitting for years and when they are told that just the paint work will cost triple what they paid for the car they freak out a little. Then when someone offers to buy the car at a price the owner might have thought the car was worth restored, they decide that “never” has come and it’s time to move on. Just my random thoughts here as my recent purchase of a 63’ SWC fit these parameters pretty close.
Chris
Chris
1967 Pedal Car Champion
Joined: Mar 2020
Posts: 9,130
Likes: 4,243
From: US-PNW
I find the term "barn find" to be completely subjective in length and "found" condition. 5-10 years sitting in someone's driveway is not a barn find; neither is 20 years in someone's garage. It's got to be a car that has been largely forgotten by the owner and family, amid a whole bunch of other neglected and forgotten items.
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 1,313
Likes: 512
From: Carmel CA
Wow, do people really live to be in their 70's? I am about to turn 75 and I drive my 65 and my 67 every week. I also drive my other cars and ride my old motorcycles. I must have missed the memo.
Doc
Doc
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,765
Likes: 1,507
From: Willis, tx
My "barn find" sat in a dry garage since 1971. It changed hands several time through inheritance, and each time the new owner had plans to restore the car. When I bought the car two years ago, the owner, a finally realized without the time, knowledge, and skills to restore the car himself he would have 100K in a 60K car.
I bought the car for 35K, there is zero labor cost, and I still have over 50K in it now. The previous owner saw the car for the first time yesterday since he sold it to me. We are both pleased, he got a fair price and is happy to see it back road, and I love the car.
This "barn find" has a happy ending, I suspect most don't.
I bought the car for 35K, there is zero labor cost, and I still have over 50K in it now. The previous owner saw the car for the first time yesterday since he sold it to me. We are both pleased, he got a fair price and is happy to see it back road, and I love the car.
This "barn find" has a happy ending, I suspect most don't.
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“Barn find” created a buzz and became featured in countless car restoration shows. With popularity comes fame. Now every old car that sat for a while is a barn find. Kind of like facial tissue is called Kleenex, even though that is actually a brand of facial tissue. Barn find has more mystique. “Rotting in field find” not so much. Plus, barn find brings more money than rotting in field find even though both may have originated in the same place. Like everything else, buyer beware.