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50 Shades of Rust: Barn Finds You Wish You'd Discovered
101 barn-find tales sure to entice any car collector. In recent years, the quest to find and restore forgotten automotive gems has generated a cult-like following - a very large cult-like following. So large, in fact, that the subject of automotive archaeology has inspired an entire genre of television programs, including Counting Cars , Desert Car Kings , Chasing Classic Cars , One of a Kind , What's My Car Worth? , and numerous others. Author Tom Cotter is at the forefront of this movement with his In the Barn series, a line of books that inspired many of the above-mentioned television programs. 50 Shades of Rust collects 90-plus of the all-time best barn-find stories. Each story is accompanied by photographs from the scenes of the finds, creating a heavily illustrated book unlike any barn-find book yet published.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published September 15, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 2, 2021
"For all of the pain rust can cause, though, it can also tell the car collector a human story about the lives of the people who drove the car, where they lived, what they did, and what their particular brand of life was like." -- from the foreword 'Rust Never Sleeps,' by master car restorer Wayne Carini
I'm unfamiliar with the TV series The Barn Find Hunter, but I imagine that its host Tom Cotter has designed this book to be a little bit like binge-watching his show. Over 90 vehicles are profiled here (mostly American and European sports cars from the 40's to the 60's, along with the occasional stock car, muscle car and even some motorcycles as well), and the majority of them were actually found - in wildly varying conditions - quietly parked in the barns, sheds, detached garages, or even just covered with strands of ivy in the backyards of properties all over the U.S. Most stories and anecdotes are just two succinct pages in length, and include two of more color photographs of the cars. A few of the notable segments include the locating an actual 'Day One' Ford Mustang (it was purchased on the inaugural sales day for the 'Pony car' during its heralded debut back in April 1964), 'Grandma Betty' and her 1968 Chevy Camaro (a senior citizen from Southern California who just loved owning / driving a fast piece of machinery - a true-life "Little Old Lady from Pasadena'!), and the discovery of the actual Apollo 5000 GT that was used as Herbie the Love Bug's racing nemesis in the beloved Disney film from 1969. This was some nice light reading in the best sense of the term.
I'm unfamiliar with the TV series The Barn Find Hunter, but I imagine that its host Tom Cotter has designed this book to be a little bit like binge-watching his show. Over 90 vehicles are profiled here (mostly American and European sports cars from the 40's to the 60's, along with the occasional stock car, muscle car and even some motorcycles as well), and the majority of them were actually found - in wildly varying conditions - quietly parked in the barns, sheds, detached garages, or even just covered with strands of ivy in the backyards of properties all over the U.S. Most stories and anecdotes are just two succinct pages in length, and include two of more color photographs of the cars. A few of the notable segments include the locating an actual 'Day One' Ford Mustang (it was purchased on the inaugural sales day for the 'Pony car' during its heralded debut back in April 1964), 'Grandma Betty' and her 1968 Chevy Camaro (a senior citizen from Southern California who just loved owning / driving a fast piece of machinery - a true-life "Little Old Lady from Pasadena'!), and the discovery of the actual Apollo 5000 GT that was used as Herbie the Love Bug's racing nemesis in the beloved Disney film from 1969. This was some nice light reading in the best sense of the term.
May 21, 2020
You may think that a "barn find" is what's left on the floor of the horse's stall after it goes out to the pasture. But to old car fans, it means a vehicle that has been left in storage, untouched, for many years. A lot of people spend their time looking for barn finds. Some even make a living out of it. Many dream of finding a diamond in the rough and bringing it into the light of day or restoring it to its former glory. Bless them. Some hope to turn a quick dollar at the expense of an elderly widow who doesn't know what she's got. Screw them.
Anyway, this is a book of stories about barn finds and how they were discovered. Each story is about a page long and could be even shorter: Guy hears about a car, talks to owner who doesn't want to sell but eventually does, car is a basket case*, guy hopes to restore it some day. Really, that's about it. Multiply it by 90, and there's your book.
The writing is lifeless, as if the author doesn't find it very interesting, either.
* A "basket case" is a vehicle in extremely poor condition: Frame disintegrating, body rusted, interior rotted, missing parts, or severe collision damage. The term comes from the practice of medicine, where... well, never mind.
Anyway, this is a book of stories about barn finds and how they were discovered. Each story is about a page long and could be even shorter: Guy hears about a car, talks to owner who doesn't want to sell but eventually does, car is a basket case*, guy hopes to restore it some day. Really, that's about it. Multiply it by 90, and there's your book.
The writing is lifeless, as if the author doesn't find it very interesting, either.
* A "basket case" is a vehicle in extremely poor condition: Frame disintegrating, body rusted, interior rotted, missing parts, or severe collision damage. The term comes from the practice of medicine, where... well, never mind.
July 3, 2015
This book a find in itself
Take a look around and you find yourself wondering what automotive treasures lurk out in abandoned barns. Ninety some stories here tell you here that the age of treasure hunting is not over. Unfortunately , some finds in this book do not result in a running vehicle, and some others that run will not be restored. Still, every story has at least two photos, most in color. Even a casual enthusiast should enjoy this book.
Take a look around and you find yourself wondering what automotive treasures lurk out in abandoned barns. Ninety some stories here tell you here that the age of treasure hunting is not over. Unfortunately , some finds in this book do not result in a running vehicle, and some others that run will not be restored. Still, every story has at least two photos, most in color. Even a casual enthusiast should enjoy this book.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews