The wildest finds from Tom Cotter’s walk through two brothers’ inherited collection - Hagerty Media
In the hunt for classic metal, the Barn Find Hunter feels that no distance is too far to travel. This might explain why he happily hops in a pickup and motors eight hours to visit a pair of brothers who inherited a shop—and a big helping of interesting cars.
Right from the start, Andrew and Dennis humor Tom and his seemingly insatiable love for the oddball cars. That is to say, they help him uncover what is likely the weirdest car in the group, then they tease him. Tom spots the unusual vehicle on his first walk by, and he immediately impresses the brothers by guessing exactly what small bits are poking out from under the canvas. Dennis and Andrew help Tom clear away a stack of metal from atop the Crosley chassis, which is fitted with a custom body. The Jeep grille is merged to a Ford hood, which covers a V-8 60 flathead from an early Ford.
The remaining cars on the property are a mix of vintage and full-on old vehicles. A restored Ford Model T give Tom flashbacks to his cross-country trip in a similar car before one of the more impressive cars is revealed. A 1962 Thunderbird seems to be languishing under a carport, but upon closer inspection it appears to be quite a catch. The interior is quite nice, and the paint is claimed to be original; it would be a great cruiser.
A Buick Grand National sits in an open barn, which honestly seems like a sad spot for one of Buick’s greatest gifts to the gearhead community. It starts and runs on cue, however, and has rolled almost 30,000 miles in the last handful of years, which is better than it sitting in the open shed collecting dust. Andrew mentions he’d take $20,000 for it, which is right in line with its average #4 condition value.
All of these cars were amassed by a single man over the course of a lifetime, and even the truck that started it all remains on the property: a Model T pickup that is languishing in a shed. Tom points out on a similar truck with a composite body construction that’s composed of wood beneath its metal exterior. Pre-war classics like this are full of interesting bits of trivia.
Perhaps it’s time to seek out that old car in your neighborhood, talk to the owner, and see what you can learn—it might just the tip of the iceberg.
