Barn Finds reader Joel L. writes: I came across a craigslist posting advertising an estate auction for a longtime collector. Lots of barn finds! Including an Austin-Healey 100. The auction is in Bellefontaine, OH, near Columbus. Thanks for the great find, Joel! There are actually a lot of classic vehicles in the auction, ranging from a 1941 Packard to a Saab and an Alfa. You can view the entire listing here at auctionzip.com and there’s a large photo gallery as well. The Austin-Healey is a 1955 100-4 and comes with a clear title, although a look under the hood shows an Opel (!) four-cylinder engine.
The cars were owned by John “Jack” Ziessler, in case anyone is familiar with the collection. While most of the pictures of the cars in the auction show outside storage, some of the cars were stored inside, like this relatively solid appearing 1967 Mustang, although according to the listing it does not have an engine.
I think this is a 1952 Hudson Hornet. I wonder what made this one special enough to be kept indoors? It certainly looks restorable, and it comes with a clear title as well. We have no way to tell if the missing components are included with the car, unless there’s a Barn Finds reader willing to visit the auction site? The preview is November 12th from 10 am to 2 pm.
And here’s one of the early post-war Packards, if I read the listing correctly it’s a 1948. It looks like there are some shiny bits on the engine, so perhaps this one has received some recent work. Apart from the hood, which may be behind the car in the picture, it looks quite complete, and while there’s certainly some rust, the metal doesn’t look completely perforated. I love the period spotlight as well, although the cost for rechroming that grille assembly might keep me from fully restoring this one.
Finally, for the unusual foreign car fans, here’s a 1967 Renault Caravelle. We’ve featured these unusual cars previously at Barn Finds and gotten some interesting responses. This one looks fairly solid at first glance, but of course you’d have to look closer. Let us know if you are interested in any of these cars and if you plan on attending the auction!
Now THAT’s a Barn Find!
Ol’ Jack Ziessler must have had strange tastes. With very few exceptions — well, the Austin-Healey, and what’s up with putting an Opel engine in it? — this looks like he wandered through a junkyard back in the ’70s and bought a bunch of random stuff.
Plenty of corrosion to go around, and of course plenty of dust. Aside from wondering “why” he gathered these rides together, I have to wonder if he ever did anything with any of them. I’m not seeing anything that rings my chimes.
yes a barn with a john deere parked in it, which would be my pick. nice finds.
Sooo.. google 67 renault sport, all you get is a bunch of a110’s…. hrm.. think theres an alpine hiding in there? Wish I was closer!
I, for one, would go great distances to see a “1953 Packard 120 Comet convertible” if it’s real…it would be a previously undocumented concept car or prototype! >_<
I DO LIKE Healys with the “shell” grill!
any BF readers planning to go?
They’ve mislabeled some of the cars. The Saab is a 96 with the V4 engine from 1968 or 1969. There’s a 1953 Studebaker Sunliner (the Raymond Loewy coupe) in very rusted condition, but looks to be all there. The Ford Sunliner is a 1957 and a mess. Most of the vehicles are in full-restoration-needed-condition. Of course, it’s northern Ohio and in the rust belt. All that said, Jack’s farm is my fantasy of the good life…lots of cars one loves in whatever condition they can be found in and all your own :-)