Barn Find Hunter: 1,800 Cars in Rural California - Hagerty Media

Barn Find Hunter Tom Cotter has discovered more than his share of hidden gems over the years. But nearly 1,800 classic cars in one location? Now, that’s a real treasure trove. Needless to say, artist Tom Merkel’s Cuyama Historical Car Garden in northern California—“a memorial to the men of machines and the machines of men”—is unique. Tom Cotter, rattle-snake stick in hand, pokes around a bit and finds a 1960 Jaguar XK 150 coupe with an Oldsmobile engine up front.

Barn Find Hunter episode 17, presented by Shell and Quaker State, continues to Fontana, Calif., where Tom checks out a 1929 Ford Model A roadster and a 1965 Ford Falcon Futura, which he quickly discovers is a real “cat’s meow.”

Then it’s on to a junk yard, where vehicles (like a 1939 Ford pickup, 1957 Thunderbird, and 1972 Datsun 510) have been accumulating for more than six decades. Farther down the road, Tom wins over a suspicious property owner who agrees to show him his 1956 Ford pickup, 1964 Chevrolet El Camino, 1968 Mercury Cougar, 1966 Ford Galaxie, and 1972 Ford Gran Torino.