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Petrolheads : Have a look in your barn


cooperlola
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Jesus Christ Almighty.  Is that what he says?  He bought a farm and found that lot?  It beggars belief.  Mixed condition but a most look in good nick under the layer of dust.  Is this for real? [:'(] [:-))] [:D]

The page loaded fine, by the way - no delays.

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[quote user="TWINKLE"]

[quote user="Just Katie "]Wow what a find.  Sorry Cassis, you wasnt shouting, I just got a bit excited that was all[:$][/quote]

You are excited about old cars?  Your husband's away working again is he?

[/quote]

No my husband is here.  And yes, I love ALL cars.  Some more than my husband[:D]

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Wow, nostalgia city... I wouldn't mind a few of those, in fact I have owned or driven many of them in the past. If that dark blue Mini Cooper Mk1 wasn't LHD, I'd be convinced that was the one I owned (and it still holds a sprint course record as far as I know).

The Nash Metropolitan was only a special bodied Austin A40, in fact Austin made its own version in the 50s, that was even rarer.

I'd be happy if anybody found a good Renault 4CV in their barn, that was my first real car, and with an engine from a Dauphine in it (it only weighed 10cwt) it really flew. In fact it could have given the Mk1 Mini Cooper that followed it a run for its money, at least in a straight line or on a tight course where you could take advantage of the inherent oversteer of the rear engine/swing axle combination.

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Will .....  you have jogged my memory with your post..........Renault Dauphine was the most scary car I have ever driven ......roll over at the drop of a hat..........I remember a mini cab firm started up in London with the things ....cant remember the name.... they had a fleet of purple ones telephone number Welbec 4440 ....a bean tin on wheels . my first car was a Triumph Mayflower....  did not see one of them in the barn.
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Yes Frederick, they did have a propensity to do that - if they hadn't rusted away first. The rear suspension was the problem, you could tuck a rear wheel underneath in the same way that Triumph Heralds and early Spitfires did, only with the Renault it was a bit more terminal because all the weight was in the rear. The Gordini version had different springs and was a big improvement, though you still had to drve it properly. The 4CV (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_4CV), although the same basic layout, worked much better because it was lighter, which made the suspension relatively stiffer, and was a real one-wheel-in-each-corner design. It meant there were plenty of scrap Dauphines, whose engines fitted in the 4CV with little modification, and this meant a power increase from 17 to 32bhp - which although still modest was not bad at all in something that weighed not a lot more than half a ton.

I remember the Mayflower, really nice cars for their day. Conceived as a sort of mini-Rolls Royce if I recall correctly, but at an affordable price. 

Back to the barn in Portugal, although far from the most exotic, the 2-stroke Saab, MG Midget and Hillman Californian (Imp coupe) hold the fondest memories, behind the Mk1 Mini Cooper. From the exotica, for me it would be the Alfa Giulia SS any day. I remember that was something special even in the 1960s, when my late father used to do RHD conversions on things like that and the original Ford Mustangs.

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All these cars !.... Was all this scrolling down ever going to end....

I wonder if this place is anything to do with what I had heard sometime last weekend on FranceInter in one of their news bulletins.

This particular well off chap in Lisbon was not in good health and his doctors advised him to make his will etc... As he had no relatives to leave his wealth and chattels to, he went to his solicitor and with him as a witness, he opened the Lisbon phonebook and plonked his finger at random. Whichever name was under it at the time, that person was to receive a percent of his wealth free of all the usual incumbrance. This way some 70 random names were fortunate enough to collect something.....

Some very lucky sods in the world..... 

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  • 2 years later...

There is an email going around with a twist to this story.

A recently retired New York man wanted to use his retirement funds wisely so decided to buy a home and a few acres in Portugal. The modest farmhouse had been vacant for 15 years; the owner and wife both had died, and there were no heirs. The estate was being sold to pay back taxes. There had been several lookers, but the large barn had steel doors, and they had been welded shut. No one wanted to go to the extra expense to see what was in the barn, and it wasn’t complimentary to the property anyway... so, no one made an offer on the place.

The New York gentleman bought it as is, paying just over half of the property’s worth; he moved in and set about to access the barn...curiosity was killing him. So, he and his wife bought a generator and a couple of grinders...and cut through the welds.

What was in the barn...?

http://www.intuh.net/barnfinds/index.htm

http://www.snopes.com/photos/automobiles/barnfind.asp

Amazing? Total value of all vehicles...over $35 Million! The man and his wife had full title to the complete lot of vehicles. They’re having a great retirement!


 

Nice story, and just the kind of unexpected discovery we all like to here about, especially us cash-strapped guys here at DA. But, is it true? Unfortunately not. The pictures are real...the collection of cars was indeed stored in the barn. But the "fortunate discovery" scenario is completely fictitious. Tom Cotter of Sports Car Market magazine, like many of us, found the story too amazing to be true so decided to investigate.

The truth is that the owner of the barn and the cars was a car dealer in the 1970s and 80s. He collected the cars over the years and once the barn was full he sealed it shut. However, he recently contracted a photographer to document the collection and somehow the story, and photos, made the web and developed a life of their own.

So, not quite such an amazing story. Still, an amazing collection though.

sorry to dig up an old thread .........the email only just got to me today [Www]

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I had seen this a couple or three years ago and the myth debunked; but you can still fantasize and live in hope (my house came with a perfectly good and still running deux cent quatre with only 50K on the clock). Wouldn't it be good though to have so many you could just dole out a few to friends[:D] (and the lemons to not such good friends[Www])

 

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