The Ford Barn

jim1932 · 06-04-2011, 04:23 PM

I would have made this a survey if I knew how. Just a fun question. Did you go hunting for the car you are working on? Or is it something that just showed up?

In my case, although the car belonged to my Uncle, and people knew I liked it, I was not actively looking for a restoration project. In fact I had assumed the car was long gone in California. Turned out my cousin had stored it at a neighbors and then decided he didn't want to deal with getting it to California. So almost two years after my Uncle passed I got a call out of the blue asking if I was interested. So I guess if you believe in that stuff, my Uncle found a way to steer the car to a permanent home with me.

So did you decide what you wanted and went out and got one? Or did it plop into your lap unexpectedly?

Kahuna · 06-04-2011, 04:57 PM

Like You, Jim, I have a 32 Tudor sedan. It kinda found me, as a fellow I know, knew of this car that had been purchased as a father/son project. When the kid saw the car, he said he'd rather have a Honda. It then was sold to me. Never expected to own one
Regards
Jim

Chris Nelson · 06-04-2011, 05:03 PM

My car found me. A friend in the restoration business decided to retire and did not know what to do with the rusty old 36 cabriolet that he had in the back lot. He knew I loved the 36 Fords so he contaced me. I looked at it and loved what it could become, not what it was. There was hardly enough to haul home. My wife thought I was nuts. Maybe she was correct, but it turned out better than I imagined, 10 years later. Now whenever it's nice outside, she wants to go for a ride in it.

28RPU · 06-04-2011, 05:27 PM

Mine must have found me and was persistent.It was on craigslist for a real good price so I called about it. I wanted to think it over but lost all the contact information when I decided I wanted it. Craigslist ad was deleted so I thought it was gone. But 6 months later it popped up again, even cheaper! I jumped on it this time. Drove all day and bought it before I could talk myself out of it. Karma I guess.

~~Walts37~~ · 06-04-2011, 05:45 PM

Mine found me with some help, my son in-law knew I was looking for a 40 ford coupe & seen this old pickup siting in a pasture wasting away. He told me about it & I rescued it. So much for the 40 coupe LoL
~~Walts37~~

nathanmac · 06-04-2011, 06:00 PM

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I'm lucky that mine found me too. I'd been looking for a 40 pickup for many years, but life and family etc etc had me put that on the backburner potentially for a long time. Most unrestored stuff is pretty well accounted for in this part of the world, so when my cousin sent through an email with pictures of a dismantled but mostly complete 41, my jaw nearly hit the keyboard. It hasn't been on the road since about the early 70's and is a mammoth job, but it's far better in my garage than not! Just had an email yesterday to confirm I'm now a member of the Early V8 club, so things are moving along now...

Mart · 06-04-2011, 06:16 PM

Sort of both really, you go looking for some, buy a couple, establish yourself as an old car guy, once you get known as an old car guy, if anything comes up that people don't know what to do with, they think, well, who is an old car guy round here. That's when things start finding you.

I bought my T Bird after a co-worker mentioned it to me because he knew I was interested in American cars.

I've had many cars, some found me, I hunted some of them down.

Some were bought with no more than a click of a button.

I find it easy to buy stuff, much harder to sell.

I like to keep em all.

Mart.

cmbrucew · 06-04-2011, 06:22 PM

I was getting gas in my F1 when a young fellow ask me if I kmew anyone who wanted
one like mine. He lived close, so I went to see, and bought it.
Hope to be driving it this summer.
Bruce

Milt K from Pa · 06-04-2011, 07:21 PM

Bruce,
I had to search for my '34 Roadster. Believe it or not, I went through the Early V8 roster and every member which had a '33 or '34 Roadster listed, "IN THE USA", received a call from me. Talked to a lot of great folks, some with multiple "projects", who didn't wish to sell "YET". I finally got a tip from one such member of a guy in New Jersey, who may sell one of his stock. He did sell and I'm now working on my '34 Roadster.
Milt K from Pa

Barry-ct · 06-04-2011, 07:48 PM

My truck saga was a little of both. It belonged to my best friend's father who drove it to work every day as a fireman. We rode it in many times as kids when he was building thier house. He was killed during a holdup at the 7-11 that I worked at for my father, and I was shot but survived. THe truck sat in a barn on the property along with another truck. THey became the property of my buddy's brother. He was always going to restore one of them, but never got to it. He and I worked together custom stair builders and I always knew the trucks were just sitting. I asked him what he was going to do with them and he said I could have them both. I had to force $300 on him as he didn't want anything for them. I brought both home in 1989 and have been putzing with the one his father drove ever since..........

Barry

50 F-1

IVT1 · 06-04-2011, 08:55 PM

a little of both for me,after I had to give up drag racing I started actively looking for a '41 coupe. Then one night a freind called from a local drive inn & ask if I was still looking for a "41 I said yes & he says you better get down here quick there's one for sale sure enough a '41 super deluxe coupe on a trailer for sale,the rest is history

Strick · 06-04-2011, 09:07 PM

Dad found my 53 Merc for me when I was 15. Still have it 25 years later.

FL&WVMIKE · 06-04-2011, 09:56 PM

My '34 Phaeton, in Avatar, found me. Im 1963, a fellow, who I went on coffee break with, every day, said that he needed money to send his son to college and was going to sell his phaeton for $600.00. He asked if I was interested. He liked the way I restored my '29 Roadster. I had to think about it for a couple of days. I am very happy that I decided to take it !
MIKE

felix37 · 06-04-2011, 10:50 PM

When I was a kid,My Dad and I restored a 38 standard 2 door sedan. We drove it to the very first "Back to the Fifties" and also to the NSRA nationals in 1974. My dad sold the car in 76 or 77 and I had always missed the car and the times I spent with him working on it. So in 2005 after returning home from a tour in Iraq,I decided to start looking for a 38 std,while not having any luck finding a 38,I did come across it's closest relative,a 37 2 dr. hump back sedan while surfing Ebay. As this 37 looked very close to the 38 and struck up a sense of nostalgia!, I decided to buy it! I'm not sure if I found it, or it found me? I'm just glad she's mine! Unfortunately my Dad passed away from cancer, 6 months before I got the car on the road, and so He never got a chance to ride in it! I now enjoy every ride! As many new memories are being made with my wife and kids in the 37'.

danliveshere · 06-05-2011, 04:42 AM

I searched for 2 years to find my 35 roadster. I overheard a conversation about it at the tender age of 16 in a town 500 miles from home. No names, no leads just the town. I found it at age 18 and purchased it a year later back in 1986.

coupe5w36 · 06-05-2011, 06:17 AM

I had a glass-bodied '32 roadster hi-boy when one of my mates told me his neighbour had purchased a rough but restorable '32 coupe. On this side of the world '32 coupes don't grow on trees, so I asked if I could have a look at it. Needless to say it wasn't a '32 but a '36. The owner was a past president of the Early Ford Club & a restorer (not a hot-rodder!) but agreed to let me have first option if it ever came up for sale. A month or so later the phone rang and the rest, as they say, is history!!

48-710 · 06-05-2011, 07:13 AM

I guess it found me.It was back in 1963,at the age of 11, when I went with my dad to pick up my first car. The only thing that I knew is that it was a '35 Ford. We were heading toward wheat country, so maybe, it was a ute or even a truck but I was hoping that it would be a coupe. To say that I was a little disappointed to see a black, one owner,unmolested roadster in the shed was an understatment. But boy, have trends changed a lot since then. I still have the roadster and it is currently under going a body off restoration

cuzncletus · 06-05-2011, 07:27 AM

My old car buddy at worked went to a 50th high school reunion. One of his calssmates knew he was into old cars and told him about two he had. My buddy wasn't interested, but knew I was hot for a 40 Ford. One of the cars was a 39 tudor. I called and went to see it the next day. It had been sitting since 1977 when someone had put a fresh motor in it. Surprisingly it fired right up and ran like a Rolex.
I was going to buy it, but the guy mentioned something about wanting an aluminum bass boat. I just happened to have a nice one sitting in my yard. We ended up trading and I hope both of us were happy with the deal. I know I've been happy but now I'm a lot poorer. Me and my car? Kismet.

CBoz · 06-05-2011, 08:01 AM

I definitely had to go find my Zephyr. In fact, the guy I eventually bought it from at first denied having it (he'd been hassled enough, I guess). My '66 Mustang, however, found me in 1982 and I still have her!

Gumpy · 06-05-2011, 11:16 AM

MY father in law Joe turned me on to 1940 fords in 1977 when I met his daughter....there was a white hot rod from the 50's sitting in the back yard...it had numerous coats of pearl lacquer on it....he had a 40 merc coupe sitting next to it...he said if u paint the 900 sq ft house its yours....I hand painted the house and got the car running,rebuilt the engine and that was my first hot rod experience...used to commute in it because i was too poor to buy anything else...ran good up and down freeway @70mph...the forty ford coupe just sat in the back yard and it took me another 20 years of bugging him and he sold it too me!! what a thrill to drive that 40!!

06-04-2011, 04:23 PM	#1
jim1932 Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Hancock, MA Posts: 2,781	Did you find your car or did it find you I would have made this a survey if I knew how. Just a fun question. Did you go hunting for the car you are working on? Or is it something that just showed up? In my case, although the car belonged to my Uncle, and people knew I liked it, I was not actively looking for a restoration project. In fact I had assumed the car was long gone in California. Turned out my cousin had stored it at a neighbors and then decided he didn't want to deal with getting it to California. So almost two years after my Uncle passed I got a call out of the blue asking if I was interested. So I guess if you believe in that stuff, my Uncle found a way to steer the car to a permanent home with me. So did you decide what you wanted and went out and got one? Or did it plop into your lap unexpectedly?

06-04-2011, 04:57 PM	#2
Kahuna Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: NorCal Posts: 2,617	Re: Did you find your car or did it find you Like You, Jim, I have a 32 Tudor sedan. It kinda found me, as a fellow I know, knew of this car that had been purchased as a father/son project. When the kid saw the car, he said he'd rather have a Honda. It then was sold to me. Never expected to own one Regards Jim

06-04-2011, 05:03 PM	#3
Chris Nelson Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Poulsbo, WA. Posts: 356	Re: Did you find your car or did it find you My car found me. A friend in the restoration business decided to retire and did not know what to do with the rusty old 36 cabriolet that he had in the back lot. He knew I loved the 36 Fords so he contaced me. I looked at it and loved what it could become, not what it was. There was hardly enough to haul home. My wife thought I was nuts. Maybe she was correct, but it turned out better than I imagined, 10 years later. Now whenever it's nice outside, she wants to go for a ride in it.

06-04-2011, 05:27 PM	#4
28RPU Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: South central Tenn Posts: 375	Re: Did you find your car or did it find you Mine must have found me and was persistent.It was on craigslist for a real good price so I called about it. I wanted to think it over but lost all the contact information when I decided I wanted it. Craigslist ad was deleted so I thought it was gone. But 6 months later it popped up again, even cheaper! I jumped on it this time. Drove all day and bought it before I could talk myself out of it. Karma I guess.

06-04-2011, 05:45 PM	#5
~~Walts37~~ Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Shell Knob Missouri Posts: 397	Re: Did you find your car or did it find you Mine found me with some help, my son in-law knew I was looking for a 40 ford coupe & seen this old pickup siting in a pasture wasting away. He told me about it & I rescued it. So much for the 40 coupe LoL ~~Walts37~~

06-04-2011, 06:00 PM	#6
nathanmac Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Invercargill, New Zealand Posts: 93	Re: Did you find your car or did it find you Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) I'm lucky that mine found me too. I'd been looking for a 40 pickup for many years, but life and family etc etc had me put that on the backburner potentially for a long time. Most unrestored stuff is pretty well accounted for in this part of the world, so when my cousin sent through an email with pictures of a dismantled but mostly complete 41, my jaw nearly hit the keyboard. It hasn't been on the road since about the early 70's and is a mammoth job, but it's far better in my garage than not! Just had an email yesterday to confirm I'm now a member of the Early V8 club, so things are moving along now...

06-04-2011, 06:16 PM	#7
Mart Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Solihull, England. Posts: 8,754	Re: Did you find your car or did it find you Sort of both really, you go looking for some, buy a couple, establish yourself as an old car guy, once you get known as an old car guy, if anything comes up that people don't know what to do with, they think, well, who is an old car guy round here. That's when things start finding you. I bought my T Bird after a co-worker mentioned it to me because he knew I was interested in American cars. I've had many cars, some found me, I hunted some of them down. Some were bought with no more than a click of a button. I find it easy to buy stuff, much harder to sell. I like to keep em all. Mart.

06-04-2011, 06:22 PM	#8
cmbrucew Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: North of sandy ago, CA. Posts: 2,064	Re: Did you find your car or did it find you I was getting gas in my F1 when a young fellow ask me if I kmew anyone who wanted one like mine. He lived close, so I went to see, and bought it. Hope to be driving it this summer. Bruce

06-04-2011, 07:21 PM	#9
Milt K from Pa Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Pittsburgh Pa. Area Posts: 272	Re: Did you find your car or did it find you Bruce, I had to search for my '34 Roadster. Believe it or not, I went through the Early V8 roster and every member which had a '33 or '34 Roadster listed, "IN THE USA", received a call from me. Talked to a lot of great folks, some with multiple "projects", who didn't wish to sell "YET". I finally got a tip from one such member of a guy in New Jersey, who may sell one of his stock. He did sell and I'm now working on my '34 Roadster. Milt K from Pa

06-04-2011, 07:48 PM	#10
Barry-ct Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Newington, Connecticut Posts: 1,374	Re: Did you find your car or did it find you My truck saga was a little of both. It belonged to my best friend's father who drove it to work every day as a fireman. We rode it in many times as kids when he was building thier house. He was killed during a holdup at the 7-11 that I worked at for my father, and I was shot but survived. THe truck sat in a barn on the property along with another truck. THey became the property of my buddy's brother. He was always going to restore one of them, but never got to it. He and I worked together custom stair builders and I always knew the trucks were just sitting. I asked him what he was going to do with them and he said I could have them both. I had to force $300 on him as he didn't want anything for them. I brought both home in 1989 and have been putzing with the one his father drove ever since.......... Barry 50 F-1

06-04-2011, 08:55 PM	#11
IVT1 Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mobile,Al. Posts: 146	Re: Did you find your car or did it find you a little of both for me,after I had to give up drag racing I started actively looking for a '41 coupe. Then one night a freind called from a local drive inn & ask if I was still looking for a "41 I said yes & he says you better get down here quick there's one for sale sure enough a '41 super deluxe coupe on a trailer for sale,the rest is history __________________ Go hard, or Go home

06-04-2011, 09:07 PM	#12
Strick Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Marietta, GA Posts: 1,099	Re: Did you find your car or did it find you Dad found my 53 Merc for me when I was 15. Still have it 25 years later.

06-04-2011, 10:50 PM	#14
felix37 Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Chattanooga, TN Posts: 1,093	Re: Did you find your car or did it find you When I was a kid,My Dad and I restored a 38 standard 2 door sedan. We drove it to the very first "Back to the Fifties" and also to the NSRA nationals in 1974. My dad sold the car in 76 or 77 and I had always missed the car and the times I spent with him working on it. So in 2005 after returning home from a tour in Iraq,I decided to start looking for a 38 std,while not having any luck finding a 38,I did come across it's closest relative,a 37 2 dr. hump back sedan while surfing Ebay. As this 37 looked very close to the 38 and struck up a sense of nostalgia!, I decided to buy it! I'm not sure if I found it, or it found me? I'm just glad she's mine! Unfortunately my Dad passed away from cancer, 6 months before I got the car on the road, and so He never got a chance to ride in it! I now enjoy every ride! As many new memories are being made with my wife and kids in the 37'.

06-05-2011, 04:42 AM	#15
danliveshere Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Cairns , Australia Posts: 746	Re: Did you find your car or did it find you I searched for 2 years to find my 35 roadster. I overheard a conversation about it at the tender age of 16 in a town 500 miles from home. No names, no leads just the town. I found it at age 18 and purchased it a year later back in 1986.

06-05-2011, 06:17 AM	#16
coupe5w36 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Bayswater Australia Posts: 163	Re: Did you find your car or did it find you I had a glass-bodied '32 roadster hi-boy when one of my mates told me his neighbour had purchased a rough but restorable '32 coupe. On this side of the world '32 coupes don't grow on trees, so I asked if I could have a look at it. Needless to say it wasn't a '32 but a '36. The owner was a past president of the Early Ford Club & a restorer (not a hot-rodder!) but agreed to let me have first option if it ever came up for sale. A month or so later the phone rang and the rest, as they say, is history!!

06-05-2011, 07:13 AM	#17
48-710 Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mildura ,Australia Posts: 163	Re: Did you find your car or did it find you I guess it found me.It was back in 1963,at the age of 11, when I went with my dad to pick up my first car. The only thing that I knew is that it was a '35 Ford. We were heading toward wheat country, so maybe, it was a ute or even a truck but I was hoping that it would be a coupe. To say that I was a little disappointed to see a black, one owner,unmolested roadster in the shed was an understatment. But boy, have trends changed a lot since then. I still have the roadster and it is currently under going a body off restoration

06-05-2011, 07:27 AM	#18
cuzncletus Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Sevierville, Tenn. Posts: 391	Re: Did you find your car or did it find you My old car buddy at worked went to a 50th high school reunion. One of his calssmates knew he was into old cars and told him about two he had. My buddy wasn't interested, but knew I was hot for a 40 Ford. One of the cars was a 39 tudor. I called and went to see it the next day. It had been sitting since 1977 when someone had put a fresh motor in it. Surprisingly it fired right up and ran like a Rolex. I was going to buy it, but the guy mentioned something about wanting an aluminum bass boat. I just happened to have a nice one sitting in my yard. We ended up trading and I hope both of us were happy with the deal. I know I've been happy but now I'm a lot poorer. Me and my car? Kismet.

06-05-2011, 08:01 AM	#19
CBoz Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Chapel Hill, NC Posts: 94	Re: Did you find your car or did it find you I definitely had to go find my Zephyr. In fact, the guy I eventually bought it from at first denied having it (he'd been hassled enough, I guess). My '66 Mustang, however, found me in 1982 and I still have her!

06-05-2011, 11:16 AM	#20
Gumpy Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Sf bay area Posts: 1,464	Re: Did you find your car or did it find you MY father in law Joe turned me on to 1940 fords in 1977 when I met his daughter....there was a white hot rod from the 50's sitting in the back yard...it had numerous coats of pearl lacquer on it....he had a 40 merc coupe sitting next to it...he said if u paint the 900 sq ft house its yours....I hand painted the house and got the car running,rebuilt the engine and that was my first hot rod experience...used to commute in it because i was too poor to buy anything else...ran good up and down freeway @70mph...the forty ford coupe just sat in the back yard and it took me another 20 years of bugging him and he sold it too me!! what a thrill to drive that 40!!