Barn Find Hunter

Tom wrangles a herd of first-gen Ford Broncos outside a remote town in Alaska. As Tim, the owner of the vehicles, shows Tom around, it’s apparent that his love of classic SUVs doesn’t start and end with Ford’s iconic two-door 4x4.

Another day, another amazing barn find for Tom Cotter. In this episode of Barn Find Hunter, Tom meets Robert, the owner of an Art Deco-style Buick dealership built in 1946. Inside the weathered building lies a treasure trove of unique classics, including but not limited to a Jaguar XKE, Lamborghini Espada, De Tomaso Mangusta, and more Crosleys than you’ve ever seen in one place.

Hidden behind a lush tree line, off a well-traveled road, lies a collection of cars that has flown under Tom Cotter’s radar for years. Among the stash is a pair of desirable K5 Chevy Blazers and an early-model De Tomaso Pantera. But the real gem is hidden inside a warehouse, buried in the corner, under a couple decades’ worth pile of dust and junk.

Tom Cotter travels to North Pole, Alaska, where he meets Terry and Preston, a father/son team of muscle-car enthusiasts and fellow barn-find hunters. Just like Tom, Terry and Preston spend their weekends driving around looking for hidden treasures in nearby towns. In their endeavors, they have uncovered many rare and desirable muscle cars, but none as important as a 1969 Trans Am Ram Air III that once belonged to Jim Wangers, the man behind the original Pontiac GTO. Follow along as Tom takes you on a tour of Terry and Preston’s barn-find collection.

In this episode of “Barn Find Hunter,” Tom Cotter meets Willie Vinton, curator and manager of the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum, in Fairbanks, Alaska. Willie invites Tom to his airplane hangar, where he keeps several cars. One of them happens to be particularly rare—a 1947 Mercury 1-ton pickup. But Tom is in for an even rarer treat. On the opposite side of the airport, hidden away in a warehouse, sits a 1957 Chevy sedan delivery—with windows. Sit back and enjoy the ride as Tom dives into the details of these two uncommon beasts.

Tom finds himself in North Pole, Alaska, where he meets John, an eclectic car guy with all sorts of fun stuff. You’d never guess a stash like this– that includes several Ford hot rods and some very interesting Studebakers–could exist in a remote town in Alaska. But after many years of collecting these vehicles, John seems more than ready to part with most of them... for the right price, of course.

In this episode of "Barn Find Hunter," ride along with Tom Cotter and experience a rare glimpse into his process of barn finding. He's in Le Claire, Iowa, (hometown of the American Pickers) in search of cars the Pickers haven't gotten their hands on yet. Tom finds a few things here and there, but his persistence at one particular location pays off in the form of a plethora of classic Pontiacs and Fords, some of which are looking for new homes.

In this episode of “Barn Find Hunter,” Tom reunites with his 1939 Ford Woodie Wagon and is en route to St. George, UT. With no connections or leads in mind Tom is expecting a challenge, but after two strikes he finally hits a home run and finds an eclectic collection in a dusty old storage unit.

In this episode of "Barn Find Hunter," Tom follows a Facebook lead to an old Chicken farm that harbors a few desirable muscle cars.

Tom always says, “You need to drive a classic to find a classic.” Why? It’s a perfect icebreaker for someone to approach you or for you to approach them. In this episode, after Tom comes up empty-handed all morning, the woodie prevails. A gentleman approaches Tom, curious about the woodie and gives him a lead, which leads to another, and another and another. It turned out to be a prosperous day of barn-find hunting.

While in St. George, Utah, Tom Cotter learns of a junkyard with hundreds of solid old cars, where the owner never sold anything and never allowed anyone inside. In classic Barn Find Hunter fashion, Tom makes a few phone calls and sweet-talks his way into Blake’s Auto Salvage. It is indeed a veritable fortress of forgotten cars. Many are only good for parts, but among them Tom finds an R-code Torino, a vintage White 706 tour bus from Yellowstone, and a low-mile Lincoln Continental Mk III.

More finds in Alaska! Tom starts out deep in the woods in North Pole, AK, where he meets Robbie and gets a tour of his massive personal junkyard filled with all sorts of American iron from the 50s and 60s... Fords, Chevys, Lincolns, Cadillacs, Buicks and more. Next, it's onto another Alaskan Ford Bronco enthusiast . Tom then bushwhacks his way to a rotary-powered Mazda RX-4 that's been with its original owner its entire life.

In this episode of "Barn Find Hunter," Tom teams up with Davin Reckow, from our "Redline Rebuild" series, to unearth a large collection of forgotten classics. This find didn't come easy. After a fair amount of investigative work, Tom finally locates the owner, who allows us to roam the property in search of treasure. Why is Davin along for the ride? Watch until the end and you may find a clue.

If Tom Cross hadn’t produced a can of rubbing compound and a shop rag 18 months ago, this episode wouldn't exist. In this episode of "Barn Find Hunter," Tom Cotter gets to carry out his childhood dream by reviving a desert junkyard car. Follow along as Tom walks you through the restoration process of a 1962 Ford Country Sedan he found

It's day one of the road trip from Midland, Texas, to McPherson, Kansas, and Tom has already struck gold. Hidden just outside of Lubbock, TX, lies a yard chock-full of desirable muscle cars that normally would make Tom go wild. But in this case they were all overshadowed by a particular orange Pontiac. Follow along as Tom checks another rare and desirable car off his barn find bucket list with the discovery of a GTO Judge.

It's day two of our 700-mile road trip to McPherson, KS, and Tom stops in a small town along the way to see what he can dig up. Lo and behold, Tom strikes gold. Tucked away in a dark corner of an old gas station lies a 1940's Pontiac Streamliner disguised in cobwebs and dust. Tune in as Tom shows you just how rare this beast is.

It's the home stretch of our road trip from Midland, TX to McPherson, KS, and it has been an action packed adventure of hunting down old cars. We've heard the story of our 1962 Ford Country Sedan and how it came to be . Next, we found a Pontiac GTO Judge and a '57 Chevy Bel Air convertible . In the most recent episode Tom proved what you can dig up when you embed yourself into a small town . In this episode, Tom takes you through what are known as "The Sheds" which sit across the road from McPherson College where all the students rent out a stalls and work on their project cars. Follow along as Tom walks through what he considers to be "Automotive Woodstock".