Barn finds are the stuff of any rev-heads dreams, but for most they are just that; a dream. For some however, dreams of uncovering a timeless classic hidden away in a barn or shed have come to fruition, with many not quite understanding the goldmine they possess until the car has long outlived its ‘best-before’ date. In this week’s blog, we’ll take a quick look at four incredible barn finds that have been uncovered across Australia over the last decade.
1956 FJ Special
Found in Essendon back in 2010 this beautiful example with original paint bears a proud 43,067 miles on the odometer. A Southern Motors sold car it has it’s original leads, original owner’s manual and receipts still with the car. It was a one owner car and obviously was used very sparingly. It has some light battle scars such as some panel scrapes from a brush with a steel gate and some speckling in the paint but this all only adds to the character of this very original car. It’s current custodian purchased the car from the original owner’s son and continues to maintain it so as to keep it’s history intact.
1968 HK Monaro
The original owner of this Monaro had stored it in his shed for the first 24 years of its life, and upon purchase by its current owner it spent a further 25 odd years under wraps. For the first 49 years of this car’s life it had seen very little action, and it wasn’t until the current owner’s brother got in his ear about fixing it up to make a trip to Summernats 2016 that there was any real plans to get this car back on the road. With only a dash of oil and tank of fuel added, the Monaro fired into life and with only a couple more updates this classic Monaro was on its way to Summernats! From then on, despite its exterior appearance, the iconic Monaro has been a picture of perfect reliability, regularly hitting the road for a leisurely cruise.
1977 LX A9X Hatchback
Purchased when the collector/owner recognised the investment potential of the A9X in the mid-90’s, the Torana was then stored on blocks under his house and used very sparingly throughout the next 17 years. Back in 2011, the Flamenco Red Torana was found still dormant under the late collector’s house and listed for auction with no reserve. While it was expected the Torana would fetch in the vicinity of $80,000-$120,000, the room was shocked to see bidding rise to an astounding $149,000! With only 99,000 original kilometres, this barn find was described as being in immaculate condition, and likely to be one of the best kept, unrestored A9X’s in the country! The question is what’s she worth now?
1971 XY GTHO Phase 3
This blue oval barn find currently resides in the Gosford Classic Car Museum, it was purchased recently by the museum in the back blocks of WA. It was a one owner vehicle and all travel was notated by the owner in a log book and all receipts also kept. Sold new by Lynas Motors the local Ford dealer, it has not been driven since 1982. It is 1 of only 18 XY GTHO’s produced in the factory Nugget Gold metallic paint. It currently sports a set of Bathurst Globes on it’s feet and has not even been started yet by the museum. A guess at value would lead you to think it would push seven figures but in the current market it is very difficult to say with such a rare well documented example…
Do you have a classic car living in your shed? Head over to the Rare Spares Facebook page and let us know all about your classic car!
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to drive an iconic American muscle car? Back in May 1966, Hertz New York took that same wondrous thought and made it a reality with the “Rent-A-Racer” program. This genius idea gave every day people the ability to rent a street legal track spec Shelby GT-350 for only $17 per day ($70 per week) plus an additional 0.17c per mile.
Apart from the colour scheme, the 1966 Ford Shelby GT-350 was mechanically no different from the Ford Shelby GT-350H with the H simply stating for “Hertz”. The Hertz version was released in the incredibly popular gold stripes on black paintwork compared to the standard Shelby with white with blue stripes plus a few other optional variations. The 1966 Shelby delivered 306hp under foot (a 35hp increase from standard high performance mustangs with 271hp) plus a few other go fast bits such as high rise manifold, a big four barrel carby, 11 inch Kelsey-Hayes disc brakes to help pull up the extra horsepower, wider tyres to aid the muscle car physique, front sway bar for stiffness and a full set of Koni’s at all four corners.
50 years on Hertz is once again offering the performance thoroughbred to the world. This year the iconic Ford Shelby GT Mustang has been released with the “H” attached to selected Hertz outlets. So if you’re flying around America, you are able to enquire about the Hertz Adrenaline Collection of cars and you will soon have the option to rent a 2016 Ford Shelby GT-H Mustang. Although the $17 per day price point may have taken a slight increase, the newer edition has some major increases to merit the cost, improvements in drivability, aesthetics and power will be the main updates for the new halo car.
There were 1000 Mustangs produced for Hertz in 1966, while it’s unsure at this point how many are to be produced for the 2016 release, it’s sure to be limited, so early bookings will no doubt be a necessity if you want the chance to realise your dream of driving one of the most iconic & prestigious American muscle cars ever to grace the black top.
What did you think of the Rent-a-Racer idea? Did the car look the part or fail to impress? Head over to the Rare Spares Facebook page and let us know in the comments!
It is only now that we are beginning to recover from Summernats 27’!
As official Summernats sponsors, Rare Spares have been working up to the event for months, with a strong marketing and promotions campaign that really delivered.
Two major promotions were run for Summernats, one to win a ride with burnout master Peter Gray at the event, and the other to win an ultimate motorsport experience to Clipsal 500 with flights, accommodation and ticketing included.
Both competitions were well-received and the vibe at Summernats was fantastic. The Rare Spares stand was bustling with competition entrants and people enquiring about the large range of Rare Spares products on display. As at every Nats’ a large number of staff were in attendance and couldn’t be missed with us all wearing bright Rare Spares shirts.
The Peter Gray competition winner, Danny had a blast, saying “It was wild. It was something that you can’t really describe; it was like thunder in your whole body.”
The 2014 Rare Spares Legend award was also awarded to the late John Taverna, and accepted by his partner on his behalf.
John Taverna was a street machine and drag racing legend in Australia and will be sorely missed by everyone in the street machine world and Rare Spares.
The prestigious Summernats Grand Champion award for 2014, a coveted prize only a select few will ever win was awarded to Henry Parry with his 1961 FB Holden.
If you have any great stories to share with us from Summernats, e-mail them through to Amy at arayner@rsp.net.au
