History Looking for cars in barns stories!

Here's mine, sorry no pic's ( you will see why) but I will get some and edit later:

My father worked for our local Chevy dealership in the 50's, in between flight school and chasing girls. He's a Hot Rod guy, not so much bolting flashy wheels on cars, but sourcing bigger caddy motors for his smaller fords, changing diff gears and drag racing the locals out by the lake. As a saleman at the dealership he hears about the " Newly designed Corvette for 1956" and absolutely has to have one. he works it out with the Owner (who's son I eventually started to work for in 1992 at the same Dealership) and he orders a 1956 vette 265 single 4bbl 3 spd. Venetian red on red with a white canvas top and the optional hard top (delivered much later, or forgot to order-the story points blame in a couple different areas lol). He enjoys for a year, king of the dealership etc and then has to sell it after meeting my Mom in 57. They marry and I was born in 68.

Speed up to 1983. Dad has been a pilot for the US Forrest Service and now for a large Corporation flying a Lear 35. He is sent to school in AZ for the new LearJet the company is purchasing and when driving to the plant he spots the front end of an early Vette tucked next to the used car "shack" at a local pot lot. Being a car guy, he pulls in to check out the car. The Vette is the same color, CA plates, no top and all faded, glass cracked and fiberglass broken along the drivers side and front end. No grille, headlight rings etc. As he approaches he sees a sticker on the dash just next to the dash mounted rear view mirror, the same sticker he put on the car back in 1956! It's the car and he has to own it. After some negotiations he flys home with the title and a story. At this time he and my mom are on the rocks and I'm a Sophomore in High School. My brother and I get wind that in a Hail Mary plan, the parents are going to try to step away from their jobs, buy a ton of mechanical parts and both of them fly in the same commercial plane to AZ to slep in the same hotel and get the car running well enough to ROMANANCE each other to the Pacific coast and take thier time driving it home to the Northwest remembering the simple times in 1956 when they fell in love in the same car. She flew home 2 days into it, left dad with a tool box , a 56 vette and a bunch of parts and moved out of the house. My brother and I saw Dad about a week later, in the car and in our driveway. It gets mothballed for 2 years during the divorce.

I turn 18 and Dad says, "here are the keys to the Vette" and I immediately tear into the 42,242 mile car with a fever! Several of Dad's buddies, my friends and family come over on weekends and after school helping with different projects and the restoration is rolling along. We decide that the mechanicals are first, order O.E.M. interior and send all of the stainless and chrome out to be re-done. Body work gets done, paint, new glass installed and all of the door cards assembled, seats assembled and waiting for carpet. A few speed bumps along the way with Dad and the " remember I gave you that car" speach everytime I screwed something up in life. I finally get tired of the " I gave you that car" and I GAVE IT BACK! I'm a free post teen and found my own car ( 1964 SS Chevelle).

I don't talk to Dad much over the next 25 years. I move to the next state, start a family etc and have my own thing going on, forgetting about the car, but remembering the story and the lesson. I meet up with Dad and he says " remember Charlie" , yes I do and Dad wants me to drive 600 miles with my car trailer to help with moving his Estate and helping clean up Charlies barn. I show up dad asks to back the car trailer up to the door and he opens it...the car is sitting there and he says " are you old enough now to not be so hot headed "? We argue for a little bit and I load it up after helping with some other stuff and head home to finish the car.

I get home and start assesing where we had stopped 25+ years ago, unpacking boxes, laying out parts and jump into the parts catalouges to order disc brakes, and a tilt column so I can start driving it when assembled ( I'm 6'4" and 250 lbs.) as I want it to be comfortable and and safe for my wife to drive too. Dad shows up a week later and asks " what the hell is this shit for? Your not putting a tilt column, modifying the foam in the seat so you can fit in that car...it's original!" ??? The same conversation starts up as it did 25+ years ago and I rent a storage unit under his name here and send him on his way. Today, the car still sits 90% done, in the same storage facility for the last 5 years waiting. My Dad and I are working on our relationship. My Brother and the rest of the family wrote the jerk off long ago, theres more to " The Dad story" but this is about a car, in barn etc. Someday, probobly when he is gone, I will finish the car and give it to my daughter. I won't have to modify the seat or column as she is much smaller

 

God, I wish I could screw a 91 year old woman out of a valuable car for the price of a couple six packs of Budweiser. God, are you listening? God? Hello?

 

anything since Dec 2011 ?

 

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TTT for more barn finds!

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