This fabulous Aston Martin sat for decades in a ramshackle garage in Malibu California, and I was there when it was pulled out and taken away to auction
I, like so many other of my writer colleagues, am planning to do a “Barnfind” car book; hopefully packed full of stories and photos of great cars that were salted away, on purpose or otherwise, then discovered and rescued.
This amazing Cobra sat under a tarp, ignored for years, until it was rescued and recomissioned and yes that’s me driving it
I’ve become a little tired of the term “barnfind” and think of it now as a metaphor for cars that have been lost and found, no matter if its resting place was a barn, garage, “lean-to,” rooftop, garage, gas station, basement, or the bottom of the ocean or lake. All that matters to me is that some combination of the vehicle, its story, and the people involved are interesting or fun.
Movie producer Dino deLaurentiis once owned this now forlorn Ferrari 250 GTE
I’d love to include your great barnfind cars and stories. Please tell me the story about the car, where it was salted away, how it was found, and what’s happening with it now. I need at least one good quality, medium-to-high res jpg photo of it — most cellphone photos aren’t good enough unless it was taken with a really high quality smartphone, and shot in medium to high resolution. The best thing is to have at least one shot of the car all dirty and still in the barn (or other hiding place) and if the car’s been restored, a current shot of what it looks like now. More interesting photos are better than not enough.
If I use your story, I can’t pay you in dollars, but will pay you in books; an autographed copy for you, and a second copy for you to give away to a friend or the car’s original owner.
You can email me stories and photos via the website here: matt@mattstonecars.com.
This gorgeous Citroen SM sat in a Pasadena garage for nearly three decades before my friend Steward Reed rescued, detailed, and put this car back on the road
And please include your contact information, and some comment in the email that gives us permission to use the story and print the photo. That’s critical or I can’t do anything with it and you’ll be left out of the book. I retain the rights to edit copy as needed, and publish, or not, your story and photos.
This ’54 Mercury Monterey hardtop is my own personal barnfind story wish I had it now!
Please keep one thing in mind; not every old car sitting in a shed makes a great barn find story. Sometimes the car or story just aren’t compelling, or maybe the car is too far gone to be sensibly or economically restored. Not every good barnfind story has to be about a Ferrari or a Bugatti, but an intersting, historic or valuable car sure helps. So sometimes, it’s just a beat up old abandoned car and not a book worthy story, and I reserve the right to say thanks / no thanks to any submission that doesn’t raise my editorial pulse a little bit. But I thank you for participating no matter.
You can email me stories and photos via the website here:matt@mattstonecars.com.