The US has had a pretty fantastic motoring history, with classic American cars making their way all across the world. While many have by now either been fixed up and modified or have been sitting in scrapyards for the last few decades, there are a few which can still be found abandoned in barns.
While barn finds are pretty commonplace in Europe – mostly because people were hiding away their vehicles and valuables due to war – they are not as common in the US. This doesn’t mean they don’t occur but are just not as frequent. That being said, there have been some pretty amazing barn finds in America which made international headlines – finds such as the first Shelby Daytona, the original Ford Mustang Bullitt, and the huge collection of 50 cars discovered in New York.
So, while it seems that barn finds occur almost every week in places such as Europe, the US has also had its fair share of rediscovered vehicles. With that, here are the ten sickest American car barn finds discovered in the US.
10 Shelby Cobra Daytona, California
The original Shelby Cobra Daytona has quite an interesting story. It was built and initially used for testing, eventually being raced at the endurance races of Daytona and Le Mans. It was then sold to a businessman in the late 1960s. It was again sold on to another businessman in the 1970s, who had it modified for road-legal use, which he drove around Los Angeles.
The car disappeared in the 1970s without a trace. Decades later, it was found in a storage lock-up, buried in old newspapers and other junk, before being bought by a museum, which lightly restored it to its original race spec and is now a permanent exhibit for the world to see.
9 Dodge Charger Daytona, Alabama
The Dodge Charger Daytona was only built for the 1969 model year due to its relative unpopularity. However, today, the car has become quite valuable, with both unrestored and perfect condition examples easily selling for hundreds of thousands of Dollars.
The story with this one is that it was bought by a judge in 1969 and sold in 1974 before being left in a barn to decay. The vehicle was rediscovered a few decades later and was put on auction in its ‘barn find’ state as restoring it would cost a ton of money since many of the parts need to be completely replaced.
8 Cadillac High Top MM Volunteer Ambulance, Pennsylvania
In 2021, some barn find hunters were rummaging through a property in Pennsylvania when they came across a barn in between some trees. When they opened it, there was a rare Cadillac High Top Ambulance parked underneath some overgrowth. Interestingly, the barn in which they found the car collapsed soon after the car was extracted, saving it from quite a lot of damage.
The finders gave the Caddy a quick wash, which revealed that the paint was in pretty good condition. The Ambulance was purchased by the Virginia Fire Museum and has begun restoration work. The museum has stated that they want it as a permanent addition to their collection.
7 Pontiac Trans Am 400, Alaska
There is not usually much going on in the snowy state of Alaska, but recently, a pretty great barn find was discovered. The Barn Find Hunters got a tip and flew to Alaska, met up with some similar aficionados there, and after some searching, found their prize.
In a storage shed, they found some old newspapers and vintage magazines, but under the car cover was a relatively rare 1969 Pontiac Trans Am Ram Air III, which had the big block 400 engine. It was in good condition and has since been taken back to a Pontiac restorer to get it back to factory condition.
6 50 American Cars, Pennsylvania
In 2018, a car collector by the name of Larry Schroll passed away and left a huge number of vehicles in his family’s care – and by “large amount,” we mean more than 50 spread across two locations. Many of the vehicles are so old that they immediately qualify for Pennsylvania’s Vintage Registration status – an honor reserved for some of the oldest cars on the road.
Among the cars were an original 1965 Ford Mustang which had nearly every option equipped, a 1954 Chevrolet Corvette which had a V8 swap, and some classic 1930s and 1940s Fords that could easily be turned into hotrods. Schroll kept a meticulous record of his cars and the barn find hunter was surprised and impressed with many of the cars’ conditions.
5 Shelby Cobra 427, North Carolina
Coming across a Shelby Cobra 427 in real life is a fantastic experience but finding one in a garage is even better. Making it even better is that alongside the Cobra was an equally rare Ferrari 275, both of which have been sitting in a barn for the last 27 years. When barn find hunters got to the location, the cars were found in among some other vintage artifacts from the 1960s and 1970s. The best thing about the cars? Both had less than 20,000 miles on their odometers.
At first, the current owner didn’t want to sell, but when the insurance and appraising company, Hagerty, came along and valued the cars at nearly $4 million combined, they decided to sell them almost immediately. Both cars are now on their way to being properly restored.
4 C2 Chevy Corvette, California
In 2021, some amateur barn find hunters from the Dieseled Drago Garage in California came across a C2 Corvette which had been sitting in a storage unit for the last few decades. Upon some further investigation, the owners of the channel found out that the car had been purchased new, driven around for 4 years, and then left for almost exactly 50 years.
The previous owner has also – for whatever reason – swapped out the 7.0-liter V8 with a smaller 4.6-liter. The YouTube channel bought the car and is intending to restore it to its original state, with either an original engine or something appropriate for the era.
3 One Owner Pontiac GTO, Kentucky
Out in Kentucky, there is an amazing barn find. A family bought a brand new 1967 Pontiac GTO Convertible and has kept it for more than 55 years. It was driven around a bit, judging by the 41,000 miles on the odometer, but was then parked for a few decades.
The car was then purchased by the current seller a few months ago who had the intention of restoring it but has since decided to rather just sell it. The GTO in particular has the 400 engine which is mated to the optional Hurst ‘His & Hers’ shifter – quite an awesome combination.
2 Cadillac DeVille, California
Few cars are as recognizable as a 1959 Cadillac DeVille. The DeVille – and its Eldorado sibling – had the largest rear fins ever put on a production car, with the 1959 models being the peak of the trend. One of these cars was found in California and appeared in an advertisement.
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It had been sitting for a few decades – quite evident thanks to the condition of the bodywork – but it is still a pretty great find. DeVilles and Eldorados have now become quite sought-after cars that make for excellent restoration projects – if one has the money for it as these types of Caddys have risen in value a lot. Regardless, a 1959 Caddy is still one of the sickest American car barn finds.
1 Bullitt Mustang ‘Hero Car’, New York
The Mustang Bullitt is one of the most famous Mustangs ever to exist. It has one of the most iconic chase scenes in any film, speeding along the streets of San Francisco, tailing an equally iconic Dodge Charger R/T. The ‘hero car’ – the version used for the close-up shots and used outside the chase scenes – was sold to a man in New York after filming had finished. As ‘movie cars’ weren’t all that desirable back then, he got it at a low price.
The owner of the car kept it for decades and intended to restore it, but never got around to actually doing it. Steve McQueen himself even offered to buy the car back at one point but was refused – a story in itself. The owner’s son found out about the enormous value of the car and got help to keep it a secret until eventually revealing the car at the 2018 Detroit Auto Show alongside the 2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt
