Look at what just got pulled out of the barn! The owner of this 1958 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider mentions that they drove it in the mid-nineties, but parked in the barn sometime after that. Unfortunately, it’s a long ways from being drivable now. It needs completely restored, but looks like a good place to start if you want one of Italy’s finest classic sports cars. The biggest problem I can see here though is the seller’s starting bid here on eBay. They mention a few other Alfa Romeos they may be willing to sell though…
It looks like that car has been sitting in a barn with an open front and dirt floors, so plan for the worst. The seller does mention that the jacking points are solid and that the body is not as rusty as most barn found Alfas. I’d agree on that last point, but I still dont see the seller getting any bids without lowering their starting to bid to something more realistic for a project.
The silky smooth twin cam engine is frozen solid. The seller has put oil in the cylinders and thinks it will break free soon. I wouldn’t count on that though. You should be able to get a runner for not much more, so unless they throw in a couple of those other cars they mention.
A quick search of the Detroit craigslist revealed that they do indeed have a bunch of other cars. Unfortunately, they have the same optimistic pricing. It looks like they are just fishing around to see if they can find a collector who is interested in the whole lot. For a single project, this probably isn’t a place you want to go, but it’s fun to look.
Here’s a pile of rust with an engine! These cars have been in this barn for over 20 years, but it looks like it didn’t do them any favors.
And more dusty delights. The seller mentions that this one is “covered in dust and doo doo. Wash it then see…” Yeah, you might not like what you see after doing that.
Another one. Did someone cut out the grill? It’s a shame these were all stashed away and left to rot, but hopefully someone will be able to bring at least a few of them back to life?
This one is claimed to be a very early car. The green corrosion on the chrome make it look kind of eerie!
And this could be the gem of the whole collection. This 1958 Giulietta Veloce appears to be in really good condition and the seller’s description reveals their true intentions. They were young when they bought all of these, but now they are old and want to get as much money as they possibly can. They are hoping to get worldwide coverage and find a buyer for the whole lot. They even threaten that they will put them on eBay with a six figure asking price if that doesn’t happen soon! Well, we don’t like threats, but we have decided to fulfill their coverage demand anyway. Now, any takers?
https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/alfa-romeo/giulietta/1891123.html
Way overpriced
Vintage car abuse at a very high level.
27k as starting bid?
You’ve got a better shot of seeing Rex Reed Jr
Alfa’s bring big money but it will take a lots to get any of these back on the road
Is HAHAHA to harharharsh an assessment? 😂
How could someone let a collection like this lay in the dirt?
What? You think it’s ok to let highly sought after vehicles and parts sit in the dirt, or are you heck bent on thumbing down every post I make. Get a life, pal.
Howard he’s that guy that gets on the elevator and hits all the buttons so you can visit every floor because he thinks he’s funny. This happens to me all the time on comments that I make that are neutral. As you know not all of them are. I’d ignore it the guy got his wish he got under your skin. There’s always guys like this in every crowd.
He bought them back when they were worth next to nothing and treated them that way. Now he thinks he’s sitting on a gold mine. They were all probably half decent cars when the were pushed into the cave of car death, just how sum guys operate.
Is HAHAHA to harsh an assessment? 😂
It needs to be completely restored. I think that’s how one of those sentences should read. Hey, I could be wrong.
fyi these are in benton charter township, michigan which is a suburb of benton harbor or st joseph not detroit. this is much closer to downtown chicago (~90minutes) than downtown detroit (~2hrs40mins)
still overpriced but just sayin’
Jesse, that building in the background in picture 3 looks familiar. It really reminds me of a Craigslist ad showing lots of British cars (and othermakes?) that Barnfinds featured a little while ago. Just cannot find it in the categories.
That’s very optimistic pricing. Maybe his wife said sell them or else. He can then tell her he tried,but no takers
This is “Barn Finds” not “Open Carport Finds”……..Too bad for these poor cars.
The engines are an easy fix as they all have removable pistons and sleeves. All the engine parts are available as is all the chrome trim. Some of is is very pricy but you can get it. I think most if not all of these cars could be saved and if some one is very mercenary in their heart they could make a good income restoring a few of them.
I have done a couple myself and the bodies are really very simple in many ways and most places where you might need to make patch panels are simple curves so it is not that difficult to do. To sell them all you need to is drive them to the fanciest shopping center or financial district you can find and I can tell you with experience you will end up with business cards under your wipers or tucked into the drivers seat.
Why does it always seem like the person who has ownership of these Alfa’s,should be the last person ever to be their caretaker. They have done no justice to any of the car’s, he just saw the potential for big dollar profits. Those that are truly interested are going to pay big bucks for rust buckets. Seeing these in this condition absolutely makes me sick. The owner should be embarrassed. There is NO reason for this,except greed. Well good luck Mr. Seller,I hope you live happy the rest of your days.
I guess the idea of pricing the car at way more than it’s worth is supposed to generate interest. At the sheer outrageousness of the price if nothing else.
I dunno if it works or not. I guess if he gets a serious offer, then it works. But this is going to need a LOT of restoration
Initially I thought 29g’s for the whole pile? No Problem. For those interested in geography Potttersville is southeast of Grand Rapids. Class dismissed!
I bet someone bought an old building with a bunch of junk cars in it. Did he mention titles anywhere?
I’d actually be more interested if the price were lower I see the possibility of restoration here the way I see it is its not the rarity that makes a car worth something but the Time and money you put in to take care of the car you own my personal opinion the only way these cars are worth anything is if some one puts money into restoring them
Sorry to say, but I think the seller has been asleep at the switch. Decently restored Alfa Spiders like this were bringing as much as $50K at top auctions a couple of years ago, but prices have cooled.
This car needs lots of metalwork, mechanical work, and every kind of other work, plus lots of parts. You can’t get there from here with the starting price at $28K.
The seller seems to think that he’s in the driver’s seat with his collection of cars, but other than maybe the white Veloce on CL, it looks like nobody has been in the driver’s seat of any of them in the last few decades.
Most of the cars are even much worse than the first red one due to the poor care and storage the cars have been subjected to. His attitude tells me to stay away and not waste my time, even if I wanted to buy a bunch of badly neglected Alfas all at once.
I fully agree with you on that in mint condition or restored yes they are worth a lot
Do sellers understand that their attitude tells us everything we need to know? As Dolphin said, and I agree, that alone pushes me away from projects.
I’m out for win-win in this life, relationships not transactions. People like this wouldn’t know a good relationship if it smacked them in the chin with a shovel!
Pass. Wait another 5-10 years and buy from the estate or his children for half or less. Or they go to scrap and the market stays strong cause it wasn’t flooded with a bunch of cars.
Jensen GT in the background of the first e-Bay picture. Only 511 made!
Cynical, lazy and mercenary. I’m actually annoyed that this was brought to my attention via Twitter. Now going to forget that I even saw it and hope that this person has to end up giving the whole lot away for nothing. What a vile, greedy wretch.
I have seen these cars in person, and a few of them would be relatively easy restoration projects. I tried a couple of times to buy the white Veloce for good money, but unfortunately the seller wants double the value for everything. He is a very interesting guy, fun to talk to, has a lot of cool cars that might have been worth what he thinks they are if he had just parked them in better buildings.
I wondered if this lot would ever come to light.
What you see here is but the tip of the iceberg. While the emphasis here is on the Alpha, I can tell you with a relative certainty that most of what I think is an approximately 40 car collection is of British origin, not Italian. The highest representation is Triumph, with TR3 being the apparent favorite.
How do I know this? Even at my age, I still recall things which have astounded me. Last February, the chiefs at BF were asking for help with growing the site, by soliciting submissions from potential writers to join the team. I thought that sounded like fun, so I did a quick search for interesting/vintage cars. What I found, and used as the basis for my attempt at climbing aboard the good ship Barn Finds was a Craigslist ad for the entire lot of cars owned by the seller of this one. Package deal.
Crazy, yes? It was, and is. What can be seen in the background of a couple of shots in the eBay auction is only a representative sample. If Britalian would elaborate on what he has seen, it might go something like this:
A few cars sitting randomly outside, totally exposed. Note the TR4 with wire wheels in the background of the photo of the propped open trunk.
Many more cars in two or three long shed-style wooden buildings, backed in towards the closed side, with the fronts of the vehicles aimed out, as though they were waiting for the chance to fire up and roll out en masse’. Dozens?
Several cars in much nicer situations, stored out of the elements, in actual fully enclosed environments.
A couple of cars obviously mid-restoration, partially assembled, and appearing to have undergone a total strip-down before being put back together with new or lovingly refurbished parts. Nice shop facility, BTW.
A couple of cars which are completed, and ready for anything, be it show, sale, or preferably, a nice spirited drive down twisty country roads.
Obviously, I did not land a spot with our favorite cars discovery site. That’s ok, I’m not sitting still. I do recall musing as to whether a buyer might be able to just buy not only the cars, but the entirety of the real estate where they reside, waiting….
Ok what I say that was so horrible
@Alan (Michigan) — Yes this is a predominantly English collection. There are about a dozen MGA’s coupes and roadsters, a few rusted out TR250 Triumphs, a couple of TR4’s, a Rover P5 sedan, a Ford Cortina estate, a few TR3’s, a Jensen GT, a few TR6’s, a Hillman Minx convertible in nice shape, a Triumph spit 6 spitfire, a TR8, and others I’m sure I am forgetting.
The Giuliettas have unfortunately been sitting in an open barn with many rodents making homes in them. The red 750 spiders and the black 101 spider are probably recent cars once you get them cleaned up and they are dry except for the very corrosive mouse urine… the white veloce has incorrect seats but appears correct otherwise and is solid, likely restored 20 years ago. It is in a barn that used to be nice, but huge tree limbs crashed through the roof after an ice storm years ago, and now it rains in there. He keeps the cars covered, but there is a lot of moisture in there.
Says he wants $185K for all the Alfas… I’m sure if you showed up with a Million dollars you could have all of the cars and the property too.
Ad ended a few hours ago, no sale.
Dear Sir/Madam just curious if you ever did any follow up on the above, including the TR’s and Frogeye in the same barn, i.e. what happened in the end..?? Many thanks Gordon McGeachy, Hertfordshire, England