Exotic Vintage Barn Finds Stashed Away In Old Buick Dealership

By Elizabeth Puckett Jan 17, 2019

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By Elizabeth Puckett Jan 17, 2019

An inconspicuous former Buick dealership is hiding an astonishing collection of exotic Italian supercars, British sports cars and American muscle

Built in 1941, this former Buick dealership in the US Mid-West has for decades been home to hidden classic car treasures, nested away from prying eyes. Tom Cotter, host of Barn Find Hunter, jumped in to explore the stash after a tip-off. The curved-front building could not have been a more appropriate storage ground for the types of cars that would be discovered inside.

Constructed during a time when America was preparing to enter WWII, the building was an active Buick dealership from 1941 through to some time around 1990, when they moved to a location in another Iowa town. Upon entrance, the front end of the building looks like a sea of papers and random office materials, thrown everywhere and piled high.

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["Exotic vintage barn finds stashed away in old Buick dealership"]

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It doesn’t take long to find a 1968 DeTomaso Mangusta camouflaged in the mess, under a set of car covers in what appears to be the former showroom of the dealership. The low-production Pantera predecessor is sadly missing its powertrain and drivetrain, but does appear to be in excellent shape.

Moving deeper into the building, a variety of other cars including a Jaguar E-type, MGC GT, and Facel Vega that all look like they’ve been preserved in a time capsule for all these years.

A 1965 Imperial convertible gets special attention by the host, which is understandable considering how hard it would be to ignore this massive 413 cubic inch engine equipped car. There's also a Toyota R16-powered Austin-Healey Bugeye Sprite, and an MG TD, a car that owner Robert has loved since he was a teenager.

A beautiful representation from the French market is the 1957 Facel Vegas FVS with Mopar V8, and then it's onto the Italian MGC and Lamborghini Espada, which sports a V12 engine and looks like it might still be road-worthy.

A 1963 Jaguar Type-E is the last of the cars in the main area given a look, before the bodyshop area reveals a Willys Jeepster and Crosleys, before making the final stop at the Imperial fire-up to show off that Mopar V8 growl.

What the future holds for this collection isn't discussed by the owner of the hoard, but it’s one heck of a barn find, so hopefully there’s something special in-store for this eclectic bunch.