Our neighbor is trying to sell off some of the property between our houses... He has used the old barns for storing building supplies for about 50 years or so. I wandered over last night to chat a bit, and he grabs me to show me the "barn" that he wants to sell me (about an acre added to my property). Remember, the wife is just interested in knocking down anything standing and planting grass.

So the building is about 40' wide and about 120' long. We enter at the bottom of the hill. First room, a 1957 Studebaker station wagon in pretty decent shape. It still runs. A Corvair motor with some hopped up "performance heads" sitting on a motor stand (he sold the car). A 1977 4bolt main 350 that has never been in a car (spare for his son's dirt track car from 1977), just sitting there getting turned over with a wrench every year, rusty on the chrome, but still spotless. Couple old snowmobiles, and an old truck frame with a straight 6 mounted on it, looking spotless. He can't remember what the truck was, but he started ripping it apart back in 1970 or so and lost interest.

Room #2 has a 14000 lb lift, and about a 20' ceiling, along with random pieces and parts of cars scattered around the back wall.

Room #3 is a back-draft paint booth with a pair of 4' exhaust fans and filtered panels in the entry door for incoming air. He even put the fluorescent lights into the walls to make it look like "one of them high dollar places".

Room #4 (and this is where it gets good) has a 1978 Corvette... "some kind of special edition thing the dealer said..." Hmmm... Paint looks like a pace car, but it doesn't have the stickers on the side. Oh yeah, the dealer didn't have time to install them, so he just threw them in the back. Hmmm... I stick my head in the window... 9k on the odometer. Interior is good, under hood looks like a dusty showroom engine. "So how much of this stuff are you leaving behind when you sell...". "As much as I can leave behind, do you think those cars are worth anything?"... Moral conflict... Honesty winning over greed... What I wouldn't give to lose my conscience for a couple hours... "Yeah, they are probably worth a couple dimes..."

So I walk back home and tell my wife that I'll need to keep the barn, but she can have the other half acre. Oh yeah, and honey, I found you the *coolest* new car... a 1957 Studie station wagon to tow the camper around with. Didn't drop the little bomb about the Vette yet.

Wait until he cleans out barn #2. I know there are a pair of pristine Studie Avanti's in that one.

bill.

 

Bill, I'm no 78 expert, neither am I a Corvette expert but I thought that the 78 Anniversary edition was available in two tone without the pace car graphics although I could be wro, wroo, uh mistaken. My wife says I just can't bring myself to say that word.

I hope you get the Vette and the Studie. Firends of ours have 4 Studes (2 pickups and 2 sedans). Another has a all steel Golden Hawk,Pro Mod (6 1/2 second car).

I would love to have one of those Avantis.

Enjoy, Jim

 

You're neither wrong or mistaken.
The '78 Silver Anniversary model was a two-tone light silver over dark silver and had some specialemblems but no decals. It was just an option. I think the interior had some distinctive treatment also.

The Pace car was silver over black and the decals were shipped with the car uninstalled. There were only about 5,300 of them built, one per Chevy dealer at the time. Many people paid big-time ADP in the hope that the limited number would make them very valuable in a short time. It was like a frenzy at shark feeding time. About the only folks that made much money on them was the dealers and a few who bought and sold quickly.

 

Hi wrwalke, that is one great story, your wife is happy, she gets more room for the garden, and you get a bunch of new toys. You, my friend, live an enchanted life. Congratulations! PG

 

Lucky stiff...buy it! buy it! buy it!.....if you don't buy the barn you will disappoint us all. ask him if he has a tiller to throw in for you wife's garden and go for it.

Does the wagon have the 359? hemi in it? There's one in a salvage yard not to far from here, cool old land yacht.

I had an Avanti when I was 15. A friend of my dads gave it to me for cleaning out his barn and back yard. It was a great car, got my first of manyspeeding tickets in it before I even had my license.

 

Whoa! That's just amazing! I have been tryin' to get info on a '66 that's sittin' in a barn. Can't find the owner and it's drivin' me nuts. The barn looks like it'll fall down in a brisk wind, man I'd hate to see it fall on that '66. [&o]

 

Starship, Do you know who owns the property? Check with the county recorder of deeds. If he/she is not interested in the car and they are not the titled owner, there is a mechanism in most states for them to obtain a title as an abandoned vehicle. Then they can sell it to you with a title that they obtained through legal means.

 

The story I got, is that the owner passed away, and now everything belongs to his son, who lives somewhere back East. I havn't given up, I'll keep tryin' to find him.

 

find out his name... I'll sign the bill of sale for ya, too old for a title. Does $100.00 bucks sound good for '66 chevy? after all it doesn't run and needs some parts.......
.....That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

that reminds me of yet another story for "True Stories of..."

 

Make it $200, and you've got a deal. Will ya take my check?

So,.....that's 3 times you've made recentreference to "True stories of.."!
How about it Bro? I'm on the edge of my seat! [&:]