Barn Finds

Category: Our Projects

  • What’s Our 1952 Singer Worth?

    What’s Our 1952 Singer Worth?

    Our Singer A4D

    So we’ve had fun cruising around in our little Singer Hot Rod, but we just bought something that might be a bit more fitting for Barn Finds and we need to make room. Could we keep the Singer? Of course, but we’ve had our fun with it and would rather see it go to a new home where it will get the attention and use it deserves! When we bought it we had no clue what it might be worth, but we wanted to see it back on the road so we took a gamble. It isn’t like any other Singer we’ve ever seen (not that we’ve seen many), as it has an upgraded Volvo B18 engine and drivetrain! We could just throw it on eBay and see what it goes for, but we thought it would be more interesting to see what you guys think it might be worth first!

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  • Farewell To Our Volvo 122 Project

    Farewell To Our Volvo 122 Project

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    It was hard to do, but last week I said farewell to my 1964 Volvo 122. With two British cars in the garage and one of them in daily service, I have my hands full. And although I like to find cars that have been stored for many years, I don’t have the heart to let mine sit for too long. If I’m not working on or enjoying a car, it has to go! After getting the Volvo running we hadn’t done much with it, so I listed it locally and after entertaining numerous tire kickers, I ended up finding a buyer over in Washington. He had restored a couple of these in the past, so at least that provided some consolation. I would have liked to have gotten the car a little further along before cutting it loose, but at least it was left a little better than when we found it. Let’s just hope the new owner is gracious enough to send in an occasional progress update as this old Amazon returns to the road!

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  • My Spitfire’s Maiden Voyage

    My Spitfire’s Maiden Voyage

    My Triumph Spitfire

    Well guys after lots of late nights, countless parts runs, and more knuckle scars than I can count I finally was able to take my little Spitfire out for a short drive. When I say short, I mean down the street and back short, but it was a start! I still have plenty of issues to address and taking it out for a quick spin revealed a few new problems that will need fixing. Overall, it was just a blast to finally get behind the wheel of this project, even if it was for only 5 minutes! Those few minutes reminded me of what saving a barn find is all about, the reward of that first drive.

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  • Triumph Spitfire Update!

    Triumph Spitfire Update!

    Triumph Spitfire

    Well guys, I haven’t gotten around to doing an update on my 1978 Triumph Spitfire project and I realized it was time to give you guys some news. I bought this car a while back thinking it would be a fairly small project, but it has turned out to be a bit more work than originally expected. I quickly discovered that the motor was completely seized up. I was going to try to free it, but decided to just buy a running engine so I could get it back on the road and start enjoying the nice weather. So here is an update of what all has been done so far!

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  • Our Newest Project: 1954 Singer Hot Rod

    Our Newest Project: 1954 Singer Hot Rod

    1954 Singer garage find

    Yellow is my least favorite color, but for some reason we keep buying cars in the obnoxious hue. Our latest yellow acquisition is this 1954 Singer 4AD. There were only about 3,500 of these built, but for whatever reason I have already found two in my neck of the woods. The first one evaded me, but this one was meant to be. The seller inherited it from his father who had gotten it from his father. So, it had been in the family for a while. The grandfather was the one who built it into the little hot rod you see here, but the grandson has other interests besides old cars. They are headed to Alaska to work on a fishing boat and the proceeds from the sale will help them get there. They might be the wiser one here, but I bet Josh and I will end up having a lot more fun!

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  • 1972 Volvo 145E: Rally Wagon

    1972 Volvo 145E: Rally Wagon

    Rally Wagon

    UPDATE 3/14/14 – Well, the auction didn’t meet reserve and since I already purchased the MGB, I really need to get this one sold. So, to encourage a sale I have relisted it here on eBay with a BIN of $2k! That doesn’t include the center console, rally gauges, or fuel can, but seems like a great deal to me. Guess it should though because I paid almost double that…

    FROM 3/6/15 – The other day I mentioned that my 1972 Volvo 145 was for sale. I had a few bites, but no firm commitments so I have decided to auction it off. You can read the writeup I did the other about the car over on Credit Card Classics or continue reading to learn a few things I discovered about this wagon’s past. It seems like all the action happens right at the beginning so we are going to test out a 3 day auction. Find it here on eBay!

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  • 1971 MGB GT: Safety Fast!

    1971 MGB GT: Safety Fast!

    My 1971 MGB GT

    Some of you questioned the fire sale of my 145. Well, here’s the answer. This little beauty popped up on craigslist and I couldn’t resist. This 1971 MGB GT isn’t perfect, but it has had extensive work done to make it an excellent driver. The price was right too so I purchased it right then and there without any thought of my current storage and financial limitations. I figured I could move one of the Volvos along quickly. Well, that hasn’t exactly happened. A stubborn brake drum is holding the Amazon back and action is slow on the 145’s auction. So, hopefully I don’t have to dump this MG instead…

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  • It Runs Again: 1964 Volvo 122S

    It Runs Again: 1964 Volvo 122S

    It runs again

    So on Wednesday last week, we busily hurried to get everything done at the office so we could head to Jesse’s garage to work on the 1964 Volvo 122S that had made residence there since he purchased it a few months back. The Holidays and work had kept us from being able to invest much time into; in fact, we hadn’t done a single thing to it since cleaning it and pushing it into the garage. Finally, we were able to break away from work and put some much needed wrench time into it. And do we have some exciting news!

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  • Daily Driver Update: 1972 Volvo 145E

    Daily Driver Update: 1972 Volvo 145E

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    Using a classic car as your daily driver can be a challenge. Modern cars provide almost maintenance-free reliability, while older cars require constant vigilance. Gauges that display things like oil pressure become much important when they are not accompanied by flashing lights and beepers. Fluid levels must be checked on occasion and a missed oil change could be devastating. A lot more time and money must be spent to keep a classic humming, but there is just something satisfying about the whole experience. Sure, there are bad days, but hopefully the feeling of achievement you get after successfully diagnosing a problem is fulfilling enough to keep you going. Let’s just hope I can keep at it!

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  • Meet My Daily Driver: 1972 Volvo 145E

    Meet My Daily Driver: 1972 Volvo 145E

    1972-volvo-145

    Some of you already know, but for those who don’t, I just bought another Volvo! After dragging our Amazon project home the other day, I decided that I needed the wagon that we found while out hunting. The Miata had been fun, but I needed something with a little more hauling capacity. Newer cars were considered, but in the end I decided that a classic would be a better choice. I write about old cars everyday so why shouldn’t I also drive one to the office everyday too? My choice may not appeal to everyone, but I know that more than a few of you will approve. So, here it is – my new 1972 Volvo 145E!

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  • Introducing Our New Mustang Project Car

    Introducing Our New Mustang Project Car

    BF's Mustang Project

    Yesterday we hinted at a new project car that might be joining the Barn Finds fleet. Even with only a single photo of the fender, most of you were able to guess what it was. You know you are amongst real car guys when all they need to identify a car is a curve! Anyway, Josh and I picked her up last night and as you can now fully see, it is a 1964 1/2 Ford Mustang. It’s a little worse for wear, but we are excited to tear into it and hopefully save it from uncertain doom. (more…)

  • Sell Your Car On Barn Finds

    Sell Your Car On Barn Finds

    VW GTI boot

    Well, our project GTI just sold for $1,525! Not bad considering we picked it up for $400. In the end it had over 250 watchers and 4,000 page views. Although we did put a lot of time and money into it, we attribute the final selling price to the fact that it was viewed by all our readers. By featuring the car here on the site we were able to direct thousands of potential buyers to an eBay auction that would have otherwise only been viewed by a handful of people. Since it worked for us, we thought we should create a way for our readers to do the same for their cars when they decide to sell. We have thought about charging for write-ups in the past, but have always felt that it could become a conflict of interest. We want to feature cars that we like and find interesting, not ones that we are bribed into doing. (more…)

  • Our Project GTI Has Gotta Go!

    Our Project GTI Has Gotta Go!

    GTI Project

    Update 2/4/14 – Our project GTI has less than 24 hours to go and it looks like it is set to sell. We finished putting a few interior pieces back in, fixed some squeaks and took it out for what might be our last drive. We also added some photos of the underside to the gallery, so be sure to check those out!

    After hours of hard work, lots of buffing, and considerable tinkering, our project 1984 VW Rabbit GTI has got to go. It still needs a lot of work, but considering what it was like when we found it, we are proud of how far along it’s come along. It had been left for dead in a field after a catastrophic CV joint failure, but as of today it not only runs and drives but even cruises nicely on the highway. We have achieved our goal getting it back on the road, so the time has come to let another enthusiast take over. Find it here on eBay with bidding starting at $200! (more…)

  • GTI Project Update: Smooth Criminal

    GTI Project Update: Smooth Criminal

    gti-shifter

    Now that our Rabbit can move under its own power, it’s time to address some of the finer details. As we have mentioned, the shift pattern was so vague that you couldn’t tell which gear you were in most of the time. The twenty year old tires were also making us a little nervous and the noise caused by the three inch hole in the muffler was grating. Hopefully with a a few days of work we can turn this GTI into one smooth sounding and shifting criminal. (more…)

  • GTI Project Update: On the Road Again

    GTI Project Update: On the Road Again

    vw-rabbit-gti-project

    It has been almost a month since the last update on our 1984 Volkswagen GTI project, so we thought we had better bring everyone up to speed. We have been very busy cleaning, polishing, and wrenching on our little Rabbit and we are glad to say that it is now safe to take around the block. Well, at least we feel a little safer than we did on that first voyage. Here is a list of summary of the areas we have addressed so far… (more…)

  • Rabbit Rescue: First Drive Attempt

    Rabbit Rescue: First Drive Attempt

    gti-in-the-shop

    Before buying any car, you should always inspect it first. By doing a thorough inspection you will know what you are getting into and it will help with the negotiations later on. We inspected the GTI before handing over the cash, but we knew we would find more unseen issues. Since then we have been able to tear into the car and have done an assessment of what it is going to take to get this little Rabbit back on the road. (more…)

Barn Finds