There are literally thousands of car collector’s form all over the world who are proudly displaying vehicles from periods of times past, present and even some predicting what the future will hold in the way of personal transportation.

 

Collectors run the gamut from Jay Leno, and the late William “Bill” Fisk Harrah who’s collections are worth millions, to the neighbor down the road who proudly displays his single labor of love at the weekly cruise night. There are those who’s collection only cover certain periods, or just a specific year. Some only collect certain vehicles, perhaps the Corvette Mustang, Duesenberg, Packard, Cord, or Cadillac. But no matter what their area of interest is they all have one thing in common, their collections are either open for the public to come and visit, or they take their show on the road for all to see.

 

Consider Edward Leedskalnin, who at the tender age of sixteen, and after being jilted by the love of his life, emigrated to the U.S. where he spent the next twenty eight years building the Coral Castle near Homestead Florida. Now he was unique, and worthy of mention. And even though admission today is more than the ten cents Edward originally asked as a donation, nevertheless, his collection of coral is open to the public.

 

This is where my story begins. Not with Edward Leedskalnin and his collection of coral, in two barns, two barns hidden away from the public. Hidden so well that they were the stuff of myth, and lore. One of the barns located in Portugal, even had its steel doors welded shut to keep the prying eyes of those who might happen to stumble upon it from seeing what was concealed inside. I don’t know about you, but with my inquisitive nature that would make me more than a little curious. Another “Area 51” perhaps? Alien space vehicles or bodies preserved for future study? Close, just not alien. The barn in Portugal houses 180 vehicles, and as many body styles. The second barn is located in South Australia, in the Adelaide area. The Aussie find on the other hand totaled almost 300 vehicles.

 

Let’s start with the Barn in Portugal, which is located somewhere near Sintra, the world map shows it close to Lisbon. The owner on the other hand is not as easy to identify, furthermore he has remained as elusive as the truth behind why the vehicles were stored, and locked away. One piece of lore has it that, a man from New York (No mention or trace of his name.) wanting to be penny-wise with his retirement funds, purchased a farm that had been abandoned for some fifteen years for the back taxes owed on it, and included in  the deal was the locked barn. A more plausible story tells a different scenario that says, the man that owned (And again no mention of his name) the property was an auto dealer in the 1970’s and 1980’s. When he found a car he liked, he put it in the barn for the future, who knows what? He continued this process until the barn was full, then simply closed the doors for the last time, and welded them shut. The door’s were once again opened (No conclusive date.) to allow a photographer (Also for reasons unknown.) to document the inventory inside. His photos along with the ensuing stories that cropped up, and a list of what had been found inside finally made its way to the internet. I have included a few of the photos, and only a partial listing of the treasure inside. This must have been as it was when Howard Carter reopened King Tuts Tomb after it had been sealed for over 3000 years.

 

The following as I said is only a partial listing, as a complete list would take up more space than this article allows. However I have included several links to the complete list, and many more photos.

 

Portuguese Barn Find List

Alfa GTV

Alfa 1900 SS

Alfa Bertone

Alfa Giuiletta

Alfa Giulietta Sprint

Alfa Giulia Sprint Special - Alfa Sud 1.5

Austin A30

Austin A40 Somerset 

Austin Healey Sprite

Austin Mini Cooper

Austin Mini Cooper S

BMW 2002

BMW 1800

BMW 501 V8 Sedan

BMW Isetta

Bristol 404 Saloon

Chrysler CD

Citroën Traction Avant

Datsun 240Z

DKW 1000SP

Fiat Cabriolet

Fiat Topolino

Fiat 500

Fiat 508 Balilla

Ford Cortina

Ford Taunus

Hillman Californian

Lancia Aurelia B20 2+2

Lancia Aurelia B24

Lancia Appia

Lancia Flaminia Zagato

Lancia Flaminia Coupe

Lotus Elan DHC

Lotus Elan FHC

Lotus Elan +2

Lotus Europa

Lotus Super 7 Series IV

MG Midget

MG Magnette Matra  Djet

Maxwell

Mini Moke

Nash Metropolitan

Opel GT

Opel Rekord

Porsche 356B

Porsche 356C

Peugeot 202

Peugeot 404 Cabriolet

Peugeot 505 Cabriolet

Renault Dauphin

Rover P5 Saloon

Rover P6

Saab 93

Simca Coupe de Ville

Singer Gazelle 

Abarth 1300 Scorpione

 

Alright Mates, now let’s travel down under to the land of Kangaroos, Koala Bears, and another 297 cars. Yep; you read it right, and all stored on a farm in various sheds, as well as scattered in the paddocks. I wasn’t unable to find information on the owner of the Aussie site, but never the less the collection is impressive to say the least, with vehicles dating from the 1930’s right up to the 1980’s. Name a vehicle whether from America or Europe, and you’re apt to find it in the list. Coupes, convertibles, sedans, even a few trucks. If you like the corrugated roofs, there are a few of them as well. The list seems endless, the contents of which would be the envy of any serious collector. Furthermore; it will be a shame if these discoveries don’t make it into a collection somewhere. After all they found their way into the barns and fields.

 

 You have to wonder what their intentions were. Did they simply buy them one at a time, drive them until they quit running, and then park them until the price of scrap metal went up? I really doubt that scenario. But since no one has been able to locate the owners, either in Portugal or Australia, I guess we will never have the answer. We will just have to settle for the fact that a couple of photographers were fortunate enough to gain entrance to do their thing, and share the results with the world.

 

As in the Portuguese find, here is a partial listing of the vehicles, and a few of the photos. If you follow the links I have provided throughout the article, you can view the entire list and numerous photos. 

 

Aussie Barn Find List

1975 Alfa Romeo Alfetta sedan

1976 Alfetta GTV coupe

1980 Giulietta sedan

1983 33 sedan

1967 Audi 90

1947 Austin A40 sedan

1949 A90 sedan

1949 A70 sedan

1949 A70 sedan

1951 A30 sedan

1951 A40 sedan

1950s A90 sedan

1957 Lancer sedan

1957 A95 sedan

1959 A99 sedan

1958 A40 sedan

1961 A60 sedan

1961 A60 sedan

1961 Freeway sedan

1961 A60 sedan

1961 A60 station wagon

1961 1100 sedan

1966 1800 sedan

1970 Kimberley sedan

1962 BMW 3200 CS coupe

1971 2000 sedan

1974 728 sedan

1983 635 CSi coupe

1979 733i

1973 Citroen DS 23 sedan

1974 CX 2200 sedan

1978 CX 2400 sedan

1950s Daimler unknown sedan

1946 Fiat 500 sedan

1955 1100 sedan

1966 124 coupe

1965 850 coupe

1971 130 sedan

1971 130 coupe

1908 Model T Ford home built racer

1950 Consul sedan

1939 Prefect sedan

1956 Zodiac sedan

1950 Zephyr sedan

1960 Anglia station wagon

1956 Zephyr sedan

1962 Cortina sedan

1966 Zodiac sedan

1974 Cortina sedan

1977 Falcon sedan

1977 LTD sedan

1977 Capri hatch

 

And the list goes on. Unfortunately for me, as the list grows I discover more cars that number among the first vehicles I owned as a teenager. Ah; there is nostalgia in them thar barns. 

 

By J. Francis

J.Francis is an ex Army Combat Pilot turned fulltime writer. He presntly has three novels in the works about his days as a military pilot. 

He has been a car enthusiast ever since he can remember. He has built several jacked up off road trucks with his boys. He still can be seen at the cruise nights when time can be found to get out.

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Comments(1):

1. barn finds

   would of been nice if the links and pictures the author mentioned were actualy in the article

   Saturday, November 07, 2009 Vitale