I get to thinking sometimes that I’ve been around so long that I’ve seen everything. Nothing new under the sun, nothing can surprise me. Occasionally, I am proven wrong about that. Rarely is it as spectacular as this. If you’ve been in the old car hobby for many years, decades maybe, you might get to thinking that you’ve seen it all. Thanks goes to Blindmarc for the tip!
But you have not seen it all, and as evidence to support that position, allow me to present Exhibit A: One 1950 Chevrolet COE truck, coupled to a car carrier trailer which is loaded up and complete with not one, but four, rusty 1956 Chevy passenger cars.
The seller’s ad appears here on ebay. His opinion is that this setup would be great for drawing attention to a business, or as an ultimate expression of yard art. That is unassailable fact.
But there’s much more to it than that. Four rusty cars and a truck and trailer? Maybe to those eggheads at the county planning and zoning commission. To the true dyed-in-the-wool motor head, this is a heavenly, car spotter’s bliss. A non-rolling automotive Mecca, if you will. It would stop traffic and cause accidents. If there were a way to drag this mess to a car show, after awhile all the shiny-car owners would give up and go home in despair. They’d close their hoods, start their chrome-laden engines, idle slowly off the parking lot and drive away as the crowd surrounded….this.
Rusty treasure. The seller says they’re all non-restorable and have no titles, but frankly, who cares? Is there a title for the Parthenon? The Taj Mahal? The Statue of Liberty?
I often joke about “aggravating my neighbors” by bringing home some obnoxious new-old car. Clearly, this is the Holy Grail. If I could park it on my street in front of my house, even for just a day, they would then know who they were dealing with. Someone who has attained the status of least a demigod. They would surround me on their hands and knees and worship the ground I walk on and the lawn I park my cars on. They would throw small loaves of bread at my feet. I’m not entirely sure why about that last part.
But back to reality. The seller’s $15,000 asking price is not enough. He has already lived the dream, and has recognized his obligation to now share the blessing with the rest of mankind.
The seller says the cars are complete with engines, transmissions and some trim parts, but are in rough condition. There are two four-door sedans, one two-door sedan Bel Air, and one four-door hardtop Bel Air. These details don’t matter, only the feeling of Zen that I get when I see it does.
This beautiful, rusted offering is located in Wilson, North Carolina. The tip for the write-up came from Barn Finds faithful reader Troy W, to whom I am eternally grateful.
Get the trailer and COE mechanically in working order but leave the appearance as is, and every carshow you show up at you’re the behemoth to beat!
Absolutely the best strategy. Get’er running. You could win trophy award for most camera shots and biggest crowd. Move over rat rods, you’ve got serious competition.
No doubt the coolest thing I’ll see on line this week!
Yepp…… Very cool. I agree, get the truck and trailer working and go from there, a good long term project like a old bus
Best Barn Find ever!!!! Only way it could be better IMHO is if it were loaded with rusty ’57 Chevs (or Porsche 356s).
At 15000 K your paying 2500 for each car 2500 for the trailer and 2500 for the truck .That is crazy .
Price is up there, but where are you going to find something like this?
Have never seen anything like this. What a sight. Like a ghost town where there are rocking chairs on front porches. Or an old closed down hospital.
http://opacity.us/locations
Thank you!
Finally, this is what the vintage car hobby has gotten down to, and I find it refreshing!
We saw this last week, right?
Somewhere else ;)
oops!
Coming soon to a theater near you: “Dual II” . A demented rusty car hauler full of manical ’56 Chevie’s terrorizes the animated town full of classic cars from “Cars II”. ToMater saves the town by removing the cargo from the trailer one by one, then wins a reverse tug of war with the COE.
Absolutely the best. I felt no one h had this same dream as I I would love to have the truck and trailer for 2-2500. Have always wanted to have one of these of any make and haul my cars to a show Thanks for finding this one. I have always wanted a vintage hearse for my last ride. There is a Funeral Service in my town that offers this service but with a Model T Ford Hearse only, but it is cool
I’m wondering how much it would cost just to get truck and trailer road worthy to get this thing home as it would cost a small fortune to have it all transported. But if I still lived at my country home I would have had a perfect spot for it and everyone on the highway would have slowed just to gawk at it. Very Cool !!!
What else is there? I see at least a Corvair hiding behind the COE and maybe a BMW 2002? Looks like there may be more. $15K does seem strong for the whole lot particularly because getting it moved will cost a pretty penny. The Bel Airs might be worth restoring, particularly the hardtop, but they’re in awfully poor shape. Getting the cars off the trailer will be an interesting effort. I’d forklift the upper 2 and hope that I had enough liquid wrench to get the upper rear of the trailer to rise up sufficient to get the other 2 out. But wouldn’t it be a treat to see the COE and trailer restored!
Look up Ed Everett on Facebook he is helping the owner clear his inventory.
There’s a bunch of cars there…everything fro vw rabbits diesles to a 55 Chrysler Windsor Delux but AL most everything is in rough shape, but you better hurry, they are cleaning the place out fast. Email me (all as one word) hearse Jr @ Yahoo.com
Take out all the spaces and make it one word.
Bill
I think that this would be perfect as the zombie “night of the living dead” creation at the car show.
My driveway is big enough but I want to stay married.
But if you DIDN’T want to remain married…
Ditto to KO. This is a sight for sore eyes indeed; a sight that belongs in a museum.
NEWS FLASH: March 6, 1956; A truck load of new Chevrolets has gone missing. GM and a Chevrolet dealer have launched a nationwide search.
Update: March 14,2016; The truck has been found. Film at 11.
Hi Ed, best comment yet. I was thinking the same thing. Clearly, the cars are way too rusty to just be sitting out there, but wouldn’t that be something. Here’s a scenario. Driver owed someone money, they followed him while he was driving the truck, hijacked him, hid the truck, and was never heard from again. WOW, this thing writes itself!!!
That’s what I was thinking too, Ed. Clearly, the whole rig, and assorted cars, are stolen. The lack of ownership to titles is the clincher. Moreover, not a soul in their right mind would let four 56 Chevs rot out on a car hauler for six decades without
there being some sort of ownership problem attached to the serial numbers on the drivetrains, and body parts. It is obvious that the seller is aware of the serial numbers being traced back to a theft report and an insurance claim. I, for one, would not touch this Barn Find with a ten foot pole.
Bob
Nothing is stolen. I will get vin numbers and post on ebay by Wednesday. There are still around 500 cars at the “farm”
His dad bought and drove this truck and trailer from Anchor Motor Frieght. They ran a used car business here in Wilson NC. The chevys were put on the trailer around 2000. Him and his brother did this for fun.
I wrote that as a joke. I don’t think there is anything sinister going on here.
Van Der Brink Auctions could 15K in a heartbeat, using Ed P’s story.
Quite possibly the best BF ever. I couldn’t have written this up any better
Ahh it’s just great the way it is but I don’t think anyone with half a brain is going to buy this tank for 15g or any amount of money and then try to haul everything home. I dig it!
That’s the thing about art. It usually only appeals to the artist, and this is no exception. While it is pretty cool, it would be neater if Ed’s story was true. THAT would be something. Just to move this would require a different power unit, I suppose this trailer would roll, but the cars are pretty shot, and the truck is almost a goner. Great piece, Marty. What a cool site.
A related story, kind of, I was reading a classic truck mag a few years ago, someone found an abandoned dump truck operation in upstate NY, somewhere, and the trucks were from the 30’s, still parked in an overgrown garage. They figure the owner died in WW2, and no one ever did anything with the trucks. Wow!
Would love to know the real background.
This is the best thing ever.
I can’t help but to think…..If the Chevy hauler failed….what about what it was hauling??
Thank you for posting this !
I love seeing all the comments and the article was Great ! I’m helping a friend move some old parts cars. We are not parting out any just selling while cars at this time.
Thank you, Ed Everett Wilson NC
I know these folks personally. They are some of the nicest folks you’ll ever meet. They live about forty miles from my home. Their father, Grover was a great person who bought and sold cars for many years. He had possibly close to two hundred cars/trucks at one time. After his passing his two sons were keeping them until the state wanted some of the land the vehicles were sitting on for a new highway. The sons have sold almost everything now. I have a picture of the hauler and cars that was autographed by them.
twilight zone stuff! wheres rod, and his now illegal cigarette?
This is the ultimate piece of yard art; an honest to goodness gearhead couldn’t go wrong with something like this. I’d love to have it adorn my yard. But then, there’s this persistant ‘what if?’ question keeps rolling through my mind. What if, I had lots of time and money? Could I really let something like that sit out in the yard and rust away? I guess it’s my nature to want to see something long neglected put back to its original condition. I would’ve been only 3 when the pristine version of this scene happened–for real. I don’t remember ’56 cars when they were new but I remember being with Dad when he got his ’57 Olds, and Grandpa when he got his pink (salmon) and black ’57 Buick. I do remember a carrier loaded with new ’59 Chevy cars and pickups parked at the local agency.
To all of the writers that kept complaining about the cars on “Barn Finds” being average Auto trader stuff and blah, blah blah- THIS big chunk of steel ought to carry you through a few dozen dull cars for a few months! This is awesome and the price is fair too. The initial article is well written and yes- someone could write a hell of a story about this and how it got there. Hell, I just might…
“It was a dark, stormy night in November of 1955. Clyde rowed the car transporter through the gears as he made his way on the slick, twisting mountain road, dragging on a cigarette and listening to Johnny Cash on the radio. The four brand new 1956 Chevrolets jostled and creaked as the trailer bounced along, glistening in the subdued light of the quarter moon. Clyde double clutched and geared down as he noticed a sign ahead, barely visible…”Detour, Bridge Out”…..
Perfect!
I`d say you aced it, Fred; nice job!
Hmmm, I don’t know. Those broken tail lights put me off. The rest will just polish out!
“If I could park it on my street in front of my house, even for just a day, they would then know who they were dealing with.”
This sums it up perfectly!
I hope someone buys it soon because the way the rust is devouring the 4 cars, there won’t be any metal left in 12 months
Outstanding article, and the comments are over the top today! Thanks to all. Marty, if it helps, I will bring the small loaves of bread.
Feature prop in next X-Files season….Molder and Scully are abducted and wake up in a house on the Kansas prairie. They walk outside, and there it is……the hauler that time forgot. Molder opens the door of the COE and behold, the key is in the switch. No time to unload the cars! Scully jumps in and down the gravel road they go at a breakneck speed…..at least 40 mph. They drive all night (I did mention all of this is in the black of night?) until just before dawn, a mysterious saucer-shaped disc is coming at them head-on! …fade to black…..
This hauler is cool, but how about an Arizona ’38 Studebaker K25 car hauler.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4022/4271451470_91dcde9e0d.jpg
This beauty along with a hundred other trucks is at the King Gold Mine/Ghost town in Jerome, Az. I particularly love the hammered roof look. Nothing at the mine is for sale and some are in incredible shape. If ya’ll love old trucks, google King google mine and enjoy. timbo
This hauler is cool, but how about an Arizona ’38 Studebaker K25 car hauler.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4022/4271451470_91dcde9e0d.jpg
This beauty along with a hundred other trucks is at the King Gold Mine/Ghost town in Jerome, Az. I particularly love the hammered roof look. Nothing at the mine is for sale (yet) and some are in incredible shape. If ya’ll love old trucks, google King gold mine and enjoy. timbo
Wow! Thanks timbo, Not in the market now but I do like to look. Thanks, Mike.
The only thing, that would make this more cool, for me, is if those were ’59 Fords, up there. Regardless, looks like I’ve a great new desktop image, for the next few days!
That trailer with the ’59 Fords was found in the ditch dead, along with the Fords.
I can’t help wondering. Does anyone know of the history of multi car transporters? When was the earliest one introduced to the roads? I’ve never come across one earlier than the mid 40’s;
A big lowboy could easily handle the trailer with the cars, a smaller one for the tractor, not a huge deal. Maybe a Rotator to load everything, but probably not necessary.
Isn’t that tractor what they called a ‘Cannonball’?
The COE truck with all the 56 Chevy on it was part of the Lombard Chevrolet auction those 56 Chevys had zero miles on them picture a Cameo pick up with 5 mile on the odometer going for a million. The story behind it is amazing on Lombard Chevrolet see the video on YouTube you won’t believe it.
A correction on the comment I just made COE truck with all the 56 Chevys the dealership name was Lambrecht Chevrolet auction on You Tube if you have a chance watch it amazes you.
Sorry Stan. You are wrong. I am the person who posted this Car hauler on the internet. I am the one who sold this to Keystone Museum in Virginia.
Stanward Von Diederichs you’re talking about the Lambrecht Chevrolet Auction that took place in Pierce Nebraska.
It is now at the “Keystone Tractor Museum. Colonial Heights, VA”
Just saw this at Keystone today, which is only about a mile and a half from my house. I recognized the setup right away but wonder, how did they move this as a unit without the entire works crumbling or breaking apart?