A YouTube personality recently captured a major discovery in Pennsylvania of a collection of American muscle and hot rods that hasn’t seen the light of day in years. Matt Murray, who runs the YouTube channel Iron Trap Garage, got wind of the collection and decided to check it out, stumbling across a super cool stash in the process. This is the work of one man who recently passed away, but not before amassing a truly special collection of vehicles – many of which come with “as found” photos when the longtime owner added them to his warehouse of dusty dreams. Find the full story here on MSN Autos.
This 1955 Ford Thunderbird is a vehicle the owner found in the late 80s, and it looks very complete despite being driven into the barn in 1986 and parked ever since. While every one of these cars will need total restoration, the photos that show them pre-storage seem to showcase certainly driver-quality cars, if not slightly better. The Thunderbird is parked next to a Corvette that also looks easily restorable, if not particularly valuable. The article notes all of the cars will be headed to auction in batches starting this April.
Pictures like this abound, showing once-grand cars sitting under debris and dust and still wearing license plates that tell of a past when regular use was not out of the question. The collection is almost entirely American in origin, with the exception of a few air-cooled Beetles scattered around. The photos in the original MSN story also show a mixture of ordinary family sedans, big luxury coupes like this Continental, and some very cool period hot rods that look like they were high-caliber examples when built. The article notes that many of the cars were seemingly enjoyed for a while and then parked.
One of the starts of the show is certainly this 1954 Corvette, said to be one of just 100 examples painted Sportsman Red that year. The car has lost its original six-cylinder with a small block residing in its place, but many years of indoor storage has kept it in better shape than other project-grade examples left outside. Overall, there’s something here for everyone and seems to reflect the owner’s preference for simply driving what appealed to him rather than building a collection to achieve a certain value or scale. We need more collectors like that, who drive what they want rather than what the market dictates we should.
Well this is interesting, I’ll admit. I did watch the video; after seeing it, I’m not sure what to think. The guy was a collector, yes; but given the amount of stuff all around the vehicles, maybe he should more appropriately be called a hoarder. It’s almost like the person who has the stash of formerly-driven cars on the back 40, only this person had the means to put the stash indoors.
The cars are all over the board, some with collector value, some not. It’s good that the cars have been inside, but they have had no care. Some have been sitting for decades. The narrator of the video is optimistic about what it will take to get these cars into reasonable condition. I hope we get updates after the cars are auctioned this year.
I do like the late model Ranchero, it seems one of the better vehicles.
Sometimes a junked-up looking garage is actually an appropriate means of hiding a collector car.
My garage (its bigger than a two car garage) has been broken into twice, but neither my 1929 Packard 640 nor my 1931 Hudson boattail have been touched. I believe its because no one really knows I store them there and it used to look like I had just a pile of crap stacked to the ceiling.
I removed most of the crap after I had installed security cameras as well a sprinkler system. However, it still looks like a crap-heap near the passage door.
What’s the difference between hoarding and collecting? Presentation.
Yes, Iron Trap getting some love!
Seconded. That kid Matt has some skills on him.
This is ‘neat’, but now someone just turned $50,000 into $20,000.
Since this is an estate the executor/heir(s) should just fire sale this in one big auction and clear out the property. Don’t waste one’s time trying to make as much as possible on individual sales.
I bet the cleared property (with this ‘garage’ building) will probably worth 10x+ all those cars and parts put together.
Collectors like this are such irrational actors. Often times more money than sense.
These situations are cool to gawk at though.
The original owner of the property passed in 2018. I’m guessing after all this time they settled on the estate and finally preceding with the sale of everything.
I saw a few minutes of the IronTrap video, but it was too depressing. Not the condition of the cars so much, but that Mr. Schroll would just accumulate mountains of stuff and let it rot. It was like watching the closing scene of, “Citizen Kane,” and someone added a peppy soundtrack.
RIP, Mr. Schroll.
Seems like collecting turned to hoarding. Corvair looks like a 1961, if it’s a station wagon I’d be interested. Can’t see more than the front end.
I see a couple of items I would like. The ’36 Ford pickup was the first thing that caught my attention and the ’54 Corvette was right in there too, although I would rather have a ’53.
250k when everything is sold
Yeah, terrible. I’m sorry, this is nothing more than hoarding, “this is my stuff, dag nabit, and come heck or high water, it’s not going anywhere”, and here it sits. It’s selfish, really, just leaving it for someone else to sort out when they’re gone. I guess you want to find this stuff, it’s not going to be in a glass case, this is much more like it, and for the adventurous, this is where the deals are and how they’re found.
Apparently the recently deceased didn’t believe that you can’t take it with you….. unless you’re a Pharaoh. They never learn.
Share in p.a.is the auction going to be held, address please
He who dies with the most JUNK is still DEAD!
I am sure the owner was a legend in his own mind believing this collection of vehicles made him/her a somebody in their local community.
To bad most folks consider HOARDERS to be NUTS or WEIRD at the very least!
From the intro… “he took care of them his whole entire life”. Umm, right.
Any Hudsons, Nashes, Packards or Studebakers in there?
Yep, I started to watch the video but he lost me when he made that statement. He bought ’em, drove ’em for a short time, then parked ’em with no further thought given.
I gave up after hearing too many other “pie in the sky” statements.
Rodent Heaven
The original mouse pad lol.
I could never understand why people store stuff on top of valuable automobiles.
Unsure re: the 1954 Corvette and it’s original color. There appears to be red overspray on the headlight assembly. Born red or white?
Having recently completed the liquidation of a 1953-54 Corvette C1 collection for a widow, consisting of thousands of parts in disarray, I appreciate the challenge of sorting through, identifying, and inventorying this collection. Its problematic from the standpoint that to liquidate individual pieces would take a lifetime for the private collector or beneficiaries of the estate, resulting in choosing the better option of selling it as a lot to someone who professionally markets the genre of this collection. Very fun to do, analogous to a treasure hunt (yes many items are buried under others) but difficult dealing with the dust, rodent debris, establishing a collective value, and moving it to provide some sense of order. Quite the challenge and will be overwhelming to the uninitiated.
took care of his cars???ya right–these people should shame themselfs and i hope they don’t reproduce. anyone who has junk so disorganized as this takes care of nothing-although he did have some good taste. really sad to look at a mess like this
Maybe the guy just liked his stuff, cmon now theres not enough hours in a day to do all the things that have to be done,let alone restore everything, Maybe he didn’t plan on dying yet, or maybe instead of a 401k this guy kept these cars to turn intp cash should things get tight. We all cant be Jay Leno
I think this looks like Sanford and Son place of business ?
Maybe Jimmy Hoffa’s body will be found here ? 😂
$20,000 that’s $200 a car? If all the cars were scraped it would bring more than that. Each car will bring $1,000 minimum to several thousand the family will make out well. Who cares if he was a hoarder. This is called barn finds so everyone who goes on here is looking for cars that have been sitting for years untouched with dust and dirt covering them.
I’m with Rick and Jeff. Jeez Louise, why spend so much effort criticizing someone who accumulated – hoarded – stuff we’re all looking for just because he “marched to a different drummer.” At least he didn’t leave it outside like so many others have.
I would be interested in seeing where the naysayers keep their treasures. Assuming, of course, they have any. Maybe they are just jealous?
What gets me about the whole thing is there is not one completed, restored, or “cream puff” in the lot, except for the polaroids the guy was showing. Like the picture of the red corvette sitting on the front lawn, and look at it now. Seems he was one of those guys who had so much stuff that when he started fixing things he never finished them and moved on to the next purchase. And who would know where to find all the stuff he took off these complete cars, what a shame!
like to no were its going to be auctioned and when.