Barn Find Hunter

Did the British invade Colorado? We didn’t think so, but in the latest episode Tom Cotter discovers British armored recon vehicles along with Land Rovers baking in the suburban Denver sun. But it doesn’t end there – racks and racks of MG parts await the British car enthusiast. Which is all just primer for a lead that yields a sports car connected to Augie Pabst Jr.

Barn finds in suburban Detroit? Tom Cotter managed to find some in an “automotive Disneyland:” from a 1914 Princess and an aluminum-bodied, air-cooled 1920 Franklin to a one-owner (who still owns it) 1956 Ford Crown Victoria. The most impressive find of the show? Discovered in a storage unit, is a one-of-one factory hot rod station wagon, authorized by then-Ford president Lee Iacocca himself. Too bad this one’s already found a new home...

Tom Cotter’s drive through Arizona yields several rare cars and trucks—and upholstery. In a yard near Lake Havasu, Cotter discovers a 1950 Ford Marmon-Herrington 4WD truck and hundreds of yards of cloth for automotive interiors, in the back of a weathered delivery van. Later, he uncovers an extremely clean ’63 Lincoln Continental convertible living under a tarp, and close to a Super Marauder-powered 1964 Mercury Colony Park wagon. There are also old Hondas, a Corvair Corsa, and a Lotus Formula Ford featured. And Cotter finishes the episode with tips on how he finds relics when he’s traveling.

Bouncing east, Tom Cotter hits South Carolina and debuts a new ride, discovered in a previous episode. He left his 1939 Ford Woodie Wagon at home and cruises around the Palmetto State in his 428-cid V-8-equipped 1967 Ford Country Squire. This time around, Cotter’s search yields a bounty of convertibles in one location, a one-owner Plymouth ‘Cuda 340 in another, and a shop full of Chevy's with a few Big-Block Chevelles.

Just another day on the road for Barn Find Hunter Tom Cotter, finding million-dollar projects. They only made 85 of these, and it needs a full restoration but it seems like most of the parts are there. Can you guess what it is? In a nearby shop, Cotter discovers a ’41 Lincoln Continental, equipped with a Flathead V-12, and a 1950 Plymouth Suburban two-door, both California survivors. Talking with Shelby, the owner, Cotter learns of Dwayne Bower who describes himself as a guy who “doesn’t collect cars, but has never sold one.” And he isn’t interested in selling his ’57 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz, Jaguar XK120, 1974 Plymouth Roadrunner GTX, the tow truck featured in The Fate of the Furious (aka Fast and the Furious 8), or any other cars now, either. Cotter arrived in SoCal on a viewer’s tip about the million-dollar find without having any plans. It shows how much you can find just by chatting and listening to locals’ suggestions.

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.

Follow along as Tom Cotter pulls the tarp off a forgotten 1954 Chevy C1 Corvette and its numbers-matching Blue Flame Six engine. American classics abound in this episode of “Barn Find Hunter,” with a rare 1970 Buick GS Stage 1 convertible, big-block El Camino, and 1960 Chevy Impala convertible with a 348-cid V-8 and four-speed transmission. For European car fans, Tom doesn't disappoint as he discovers a warehouse of dusty Italian sports cars, including a Zagato-bodied Abarth Double Bubble, Fiat-Abarth 750 Record Monza, ASA 1000 GT "baby Ferrari," and more. Scroll down for a complete list of cars found in this episode.

Tom Cotter's never-ending search for forgotten classic cars continues in the northeastern U.S., where the beautiful barns of Vermont and New Hampshire provide a few surprises. He starts with a 1936 Ford Pickup truck towing a vintage wooden speed boat before moving on to a nicely-aged 1935 Ford Phaeton. Then he comes upon a true New England classic, a Ford Model A snowmobile. Later, Tom and his 1939 Ford Woodie Wagon find a friendly Vermont woman, who reveals a 1967 Plymouth Barracuda convertible that has been in her family for 30 years. To top off this episode, Tom uncovers a gorgeous, unrestored Sunbeam Alpine with a well-documented SCCA racing history, which includes a close encounter with famed race car driver Don Yenko.

Barn Find Hunter Tom Cotter has been hunting cars since he was 12 and has discovered more than his share of hidden gems. So when he says, “This is what dreams are made of,” you can take it to the bank. In BFH, episode 20, presented by Shell and Quaker State, Tom heads to South Carolina and gets more than he bargained for. First, he admires the remains of a rare 1953 Woodill Wildfire, one of approximately 300 built by Dodge and Willys dealer Blanchard Robert “Woody” Woodill in Downey, Calif. Tom checks out a 1967 Porsche 912 and a 1947 Cadillac Fleetwood 60 Special when things get a little wild—literally. After driving to North Carolina to visit old friend Steve Davis, a former member of Dale Jarrett’s NASCAR team, Tom strolls through a car-filled building that Steve claims “is longer than a football field.” He isn’t kidding. Tom also admires a barn full of Jaguars—from an XK140 roadster to an XKE 2+2—and inspects a 1932 Chevrolet moonshine car, complete with a bullet hole in the rear window.

Searching through New Hampshire, Tom Cotter digs up everything from off-beat Volkswagens to a fabulous warehouse of odds and ends that spans the classic spectrum. This episode of “Barn Find Hunter” kicks off with Tom peeling back the cover on an unrestored 1967 Jaguar E-Type roadster, which the owner took for a 100-mph joy ride before he was old enough to get a license. Tom discovers that New England is teeming VW Beetles and buses, but not before he strikes bowtie gold in a warehouse hiding a 1961 Chevrolet Impala SS bubbletop, 1956 Nomad drag racer, and 1966 Nova SS…with Corvette parts lurking underneath.

We left our viewers hanging at the end of the last episode of The Barn Find Hunter, but classic car aficionado and host Tom Cotter is back and ready to reveal one of the show’s most significant finds so far. In this episode, Tom uses bolt cutters to open the door of a trailer and pulls back a car cover to reveal a 1972 De Tomaso Pantera L that hasn’t seen sunlight in three decades. The rare Italian sports car (with a Ford 351 engine) was in the midst of restoration/modification before being locked away. Its claim to fame, in addition to its divine looks, is that it competed in the 1980 U.S. Express, a 2500-mile cross-country race from New York to California. You’ll want to know the judge’s reaction after it was pulled over for speeding in Texas.

A barn-find Ferrari is about as good as it gets. In this episode, Barn Find Hunter Tom Cotter pulls the cover off a gorgeous unrestored 1957 Ferrari 250 GT Ellena that has been sitting for over 40 years. This amazingly complete V-12 Ferrari was brought over from Switzerland in the 1970s by the current owner’s father, who was in the business of buying and selling cars, motorcycles, and airplanes he imported from Europe. Follow along as Tom goes through the details of this beautiful grand tourer, which is complete with an original factory tool kit and the oft-overlooked genuine European cigarette butts in the hand-etched ash tray.

Searching in the heart of North Carolina’s NASCAR country, automotive author and Barn Find Hunter Tom Cotter ventures into a garage full of cars and is hit with a lightning bolt. Parked before him is a silver 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/2, covered in decades of dust and spider webs. The Italian Sleeping Beauty has only 13,000 miles on the clock and, Tom soon realizes, is one of only a handful that were built with an alloy body. It just can’t get any better than this, Tom reasons, and then—miraculously—along comes a 1967 Shelby Cobra 427.

In this episode of Barn Find Hunter, Tom Cotter returns to the scene of his latest, greatest find: a garage in suburban Charlotte, North Carolina, housing five forgotten cars. Among them are a 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/2 Long-nose Alloy coupe and a 1967 Shelby Cobra 427. The uninhabited house and garage have been condemned by the local municipality and are scheduled for demolition soon, so the cars need to be moved to a secure location. With no local towing companies willing to take on the risk of moving such valuable cars, Tom and his friends set out to transport this amazing stash to a warehouse where they’ll reside until being offered at Gooding & Company’s Amelia Island Auction on March 9, 2018.

Barn Find Hunter extraordinaire Tom Cotter is in southern California again to further his endless search for forgotten classics. A local bookstore owner gives Tom a tip about a woman whose car-loving husband recently passed away. Tom soon discovers that this man’s interest in cars knew no international boundaries as he finds a Citroën, Datsun, Buick, and Ferrari all under one roof.

Win some, lose some. One week you uncover millions worth of dusty treasures, another you get a firmly slammed door in your face, as Tom Cotter knows all too well after decades of hunting for old cars. In this episode of Barn Find Hunter, Tom is rebuffed left and right by grumpy car guys and their neighbors, until he eventually lands in a yard full of classic Swedish wagons. And after peeking in a few garage windows on the same property, he happens upon a curious British car in a sea of boxy Volvos.

You can never have too much Cobra, right? Yes, Tom’s at it again with more Shelby goodness, this time at the behest of Cobra guru Lynn Park. Once inside the heavenly garage, we get a look at an original 289 Cobra—affectionately dubbed “Dirtbag”—which Lynn liberated from a 20-year backyard parking spot under nothing but a blue tarp. Then it’s on to Cobra race cars, unique builds, and much more.

You watched Tom Cotter discover them. Then you got to see him help relocate them. Now it’s time for the barn-find 427 Shelby Cobra and Ferrari 275 GTB/2 long-nose alloy coupe to cross the auction block. In this episode of Barn Find Hunter, Tom heads to Florida to attend Gooding & Company’s Amelia Island auction in hopes of witnessing these two rare cars go for big money. Will they meet reserve and find new homes? Do barn finds still have a special allure on such a stage? Follow along as we see how the story ends for these exceptional cars.

Finding old Fords, Chevys and other American iron in backyards, barns, and garages isn’t hard to do in Michigan, a state that’s been the crucible for generations of car enthusiasts. Discovering old, dusty European cars in the Mitten State isn’t nearly as common. So when Barn Find Hunter Tom Cotter met David Korwin and his stash of ragtag Alfa Romeos, he was both excited and intrigued.

“You oughta go see Denny,” was the advice Tom Cotter kept hearing as he scoured northern Michigan’s countryside for forgotten classics. Fortunately, we know a few people in these parts and soon located this “Denny” of local lore. Tom was not disappointed. What started with two small garages holding a Buick Riviera, a Ford Falcon, and some Impalas, ended with two huge pole barns filled with cars. And Denny is ready to sell—for the right price.