Interesting cars hidden from the public that you are keeping an eye on...

I wanted to see if other people had a running list of cars they knew of that they have been keeping an eye on or are wanting to hopefully purchase someday. Cars that are potential barn finds/neat but that the owners aren't willing to get rid of. Has to be stuff that very few people know about. I'll start

1964 (I think) Amphicar - belongs to a friend's mom which I unfortunately lost touch of. The car is still at the same home but I haven't made an effort to reach out in 5 or so years. Unfortunately this one is starting to become one with the earth soon and is going to be unrestorable. It was his moms first car and she is unwilling to part with it. Too bad!

Sunbeam Tiger - Coworker's dad's car, all original and hasn't moved in 26 years. In a garage covered by a tarp and boxes of who knows what. Still working on this one.

1973 (i think) Porsche 911s - friend's dad's car. Also in a garage, covered by a tarp along with a kayak, remote controlled planes and other stuff. Probably hasn't moved since early 90s.

There are a few other finds over the years but show knows if they are still there.

Until a few years ago, I knew where an unmolested 289 Cobra was kept. Hadn't been driven in years, white w/ black interior, on Borranis. I still remember clearly the creeping excitement as it dawned on me what I was seeing, in person, in the half-light and litter of the otherwise empty parking garage.

I have been trying to buy a V16 marmon that is just disintegrating in a backyard for ~10 years now.

I still send the old lady who has it a holiday card and a box of candy. Seems like a cheap way to have her remember me when she goes to sell it.

I have a neighbor with an original 289 cobra that hasn't turned a wheel since the 80's. He took it apart to pull molds off for his replica bisiness and it never went back together. One I still hope to get is a Triumph Gloria that a family friend has. He bought it when he was in college and he is almost 80 now. It has spent most of the time since in his basement. I have provided some gentle encouragement over the years for him to sell it to me and I think he will one day.

wearymicrobe wrote: I have been trying to buy a V16 marmon that is just disintegrating in a backyard for ~10 years now. I still send the old lady who has it a holiday card and a box of candy. Seems like a cheap way to have her remember me when she goes to sell it.

I just had to google that- DAMN that is a sweet rig.

In reply to wearymicrobe: according to the author of "cobra in the barn" hand writtin letters are one of the most effective ways to zero in on those un-buyable gems.

pre-barn find car stash thread. . . love it.

lets see. . .not exactly hidden from public but there is an ex hill climber 914 that has been sitting at an old service station near me for over 10 years. wide body with gold bbs's and an air dam that you couldn't slide a snickers bar under without loosing a few peanuts. I went back to "check on it" last summer and it was still there. . . hard to see thanks to the weeds towering over its roofline. . .

too this day i have yet to see under the deck lid. . . . .

The gems in my world are mostly junk. I know of a couple of 911s, a truly horrible '29 Model A that I'd buy tomorrow if I could, an original owner / original paint '65 Mustang, a TR4 that's actually in a barn and the stripped Pantera that I've posted here in past. Oh, and I know a guy who has four 356s going bad outdoors. He has my number. And...a 356 Karmann coupe in a storage container.

I guess there are more than I thought.

I know where there are a couple of AMCs...one is a 69 AMX that was an AP car back in the day. The other is an IMSA Gremlin (not a Highball car, but of the same era).

2K4Kcsq wrote: In reply to wearymicrobe: according to the author of "cobra in the barn" hand writtin letters are one of the most effective ways to zero in on those un-buyable gems.

Its a grail car for me. It will haunt me when I get older I just know.

The "son", who is far to old for this sort on nonsense has told me to stop writing her as he wants to cut it apart and make a rat rod. Lucky he has no money or ambition or skill or any real redeeming qualities.

Hand to God if I go to jail and you see a rat rod made from a old Marmon the same day. That is what put me over the edge. .

wearymicrobe wrote: The "son", who is far to old for this sort on nonsense has told me to stop writing her as he wants to cut it apart and make a rat rod. Lucky he has no money or ambition or skill or any real redeeming qualities. Hand to God if I go to jail and you see a rat rod made from a old Marmon the same day. That is what put me over the edge. .

haha yeah those types crack me up, seems like every diamond in the rough has one person like that attached to it. the ones I can't stand are like "what car?? (looks over 8 or 9 heaps that litter the property) oh that one? no i'm gonna restore that one" and you know the only thing they are currently working on is the butt crack groove in their favorite couch spot.

All my customers

You wouldn't believe what's stashed in chicken barns out here.

The stuff sitting in fields and behind hedges isn't worth the trouble.

If that Marmon gets cut up, I'll be getting on a plane and bringing some guys with me.

There is an extremely dusty Ferrari Daytona parked in a garage down the street from me that has not seen the street since the 80's. Very, very occasionally the garage door will be open and you can see it sitting on four totally flat tires. It's a local topic of discussion. A small, handwritten sign in the window of the front door reads "Please do not ask about my car".

a dilapidated barn next to an uninhabited home a mile north of me has what appears to be a 40s era GMC COE. The barn door has half fallen off the hinges, and you can see in if its eraly morning and the light is right.

Kinda looks like its one of these:

Theres a 60's Olds cutlass thats been behind a radiator shop near the wifes office for about 5 years now. We carpool several days a week to conserve gas, so I see it several times a week. Foiled up windows and a chocked rear wheel leads me to believe its the owners and hes made it a fixture. It hasnt moved.

Lastly, a buy here/pay here lot near my house has what I think is a 1980s Volvo 262c Bertone coupe. Its poo brown, but otherwise straight. Ive never stopped in to look at it, but of the 3, its the only one Id really have legal access to take a closer look at. Its been ont he lot for about 2 years. I have no idea what the lot wants for it. Im hoping though that they keep it around for a little while longer ...so they get desperate enough to let me lowball the crap out of it, and theyll accept looks like a turd brown version of this

jimbob_racing wrote: There is an extremely dusty Ferrari Daytona parked in a garage down the street from me that has not seen the street since the 80's. Very, very occasionally the garage door will be open and you can see it sitting on four totally flat tires. It's a local topic of discussion. A small, handwritten sign in the window of the front door reads "Please do not ask about my car".

Once, in the middle of the state, a few friends and I were driving home from partying at a lake house when I spotted a '69 Mach 1 sitting in a field behind a liquor store. I saw it, wondered what the deal was but we kept on driving. My friends all noticed that I was troubled for not at least stopping and checking it out so eventually, we turned around and checked it out. Paint was faded, interior was a little taken apart but it had minimal rust and a lot of potential. I went into the liquor store and started talking to the owner. Guy was pretty cool until I asked if he would consider selling it. He asked, "who is asking?" and for some reason I said my dad restores old cars and sells them (he doesn't, he's a boat captain). The guy immediately says "not for sale, get out of my shop" and then didn't say another word. Incredibly awkward so we just talked out.

I don't know why I made up that story about my dad restoring cars but I still wonder what the guy would have said if I said something different.

Also, dont know if this counts since its not necessarily hidden, but I have been keeping my eyes on it...

Theres been an E36 on the side of the road for about 5 days now - Ive passed it on the way in and the way home each day. Dark grey metallic with mismatched oem beemer wheels. Got the orange sticker of doom applied last night by the state patrol...anyone know the rules regarding purchasing abandoned vehicles in Ohio?

Yes I have a list.

No I won't share it.

A Sterling kit car not far from us that hasn't moved in the 3+ years since we bought this house. Unknown year Chrysler TC by Maserati, same thing. (I know, I know.)