Customs My barn find! 1950 Ford sees first daylight since 1968.

You drive through a nice neighborhood, peering in backyards in your travels and always on the lookout for old cars stashed in a yard. It's human nature if you are into this whole crazy thing. When you run across a really run down house with no construction updates, overgrown landscaping, and a garage that dates the construction of the entire neighborhood, your creative juices start flowing about what "could" be in there. Usually? It's a few junk lawnmowers and some wild cats. But one time, just one time, it could be the car you have been looking for. Every neglected garage is a scratch off ticket, and if you are lucky in your lifetime, maybe one could be yours.

I just got my winning ticket. I have had a ton of shoeboxes in the past 10 years. I haven't kept one. I have been looking for an unmolested 50 tudor sedan to do all the mods to in my head, but never found "quite" the right car. The car is behind my house now.

It all started with an ad on craigslist. It was simple, to the point, and very very vague. This could be something. 1950 Ford 2 door...body rusting but not too bad, interior nice, stored indoors for 50 years. Three pics attatched showed a rather complete but car under what looked like decades of dust. "Contact for appointment to see vehicle." Whoever wrote that ad, did not own that car. That much I could ascertain.

So I figure what the hay, I was in no financial position to buy another car, but I always say "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take", and this was exactly what I was looking for.

Few days go by and leaving the gym one morning I get a random call, the dude selling the car. We discuss some details, and he has a pack of people coming that weekend. Asks me if I am interested, I say hey, why not. His weekeend was already booked but if someone fell through he'd call. Not much hope here.

So, that Saturday afternoon I get a call, guy backed out, can you be here in an hour? Sure. Grab the address, and he says as he gets off the phone "you can't miss the house". Pull up and he wasn't kidding. Galvanized gutters from I'd guess the 1940's falling off the house, no front stairs, way overgrown everything, and another noticible feature...no garage and no driveway.

He meets me outside, we hike in the back and behind mature shrubs almost completely camo'd from the street was an old rickety garage, with a shoebox!

I took a peek, saw what I could, motor seized, needs inner/outer rockers, looked like an absolute beating to get a trailer back there, so I thanked him for his time, made an offer and went on my way. I'd say I was about 5% confident I had the car. As someone who has sold a lot on craigslist from furniture to pool supplies, I know that people just do not show...so if anything made this deal happen, it would be the other people not showing.

Sure enough he calls me a few days later, we talked price a little, and the deal was done. He was nervous about me getting the car out, and although I have wedged my trailer into some impressively tight spots, I was too.

Here is my trusty ol diesel wedged inbetween trees and the house, I had literally a few inches of clearance to the house.



Here is the house, being cleaned out as it was sold. Really a standing relic from another time.



And here she is...my new shoebox. Peering out of the garage.





It was on 4 flats and my brother in law has my small compressor, so I brought two 4x4 posts and hoped for the best. They unlocked the wheels as soon as the car tipped on them, and believe it or not, winched up on the first try.





And here she is all loaded up and ready to go to her new home, this is the FIRST time it's seen daylight since 1968.




So, last night I got some time to wash it up, see what I was dealing with, to say the least I was very very impressed.























The car has 78k original miles, and is a flathead 8/3 speed overdrive car. The owner put it away in 1968 because of epilepsy, but from what I gather nothing was mechanically wrong with it. So, first order of business is put some trans fluid down the cylinders and try to unlock this flathead. Then brakes, battery, clean the tank out, and get it driveable. I pretty much have all the body mods planned already, but I am not going to rush the car. This weekend I am going to move my 51 Merc project way in the corner of the yard and tarp it up for another time. I feel bad, but it'll have to wait. This car will likely go to the grave with me.

 

Wow! That's in great shape! The years have been very kind to her. Congrats on finding your dream car.

 

where in Jesey did you find this gem....

 

Good for you.It looks very solid.The wait for a call that may or may not come is a real bitch ain' it?

 

That is next level badass. please dont cut it apart or change it other than get it running...and maybe a lowering

 

Great find and there are a few rust free gems in Jersey.

 

Really really cool!

Thanks for the good pics too - love seeing the car pulled from garage.

Is that a snake on the seat?

 

Nice looking car... I bet the seats are like new under those covers. All in one piece too, have fun with it.

Bob

 

It's a horse shoe that was hanging over the car in the garage since it was new. I asked if I could take it and he obliged. Felt they should stay together. Other thing is a Flamingos' record. I'm a big fan so he gave it to me.

 

Nice car! cool story too. I think most of us can relate

 

Sweet car congrats!

 

Thats a great ol car, the interior is amazing!

 

That's fantastic...every car I've seen pulled out of a garage / barn like that has had the upholstery shredded by vermin - absolutely amazing that yours isn't.

Bad Ass..

 

Looks like a great start.

 

That interior is impressive! Can't believe the mice or other critters didn't get to it. Nice car.

 

I saw that ad on Craigslist too and since I live in the same town, I wondered where the car was. From your pictures, I drive by that house almost every week and never even knew the place had a garage, let alone what was in it. Good luck with the car.

 

Great to read a well documented barn find / garage find with decent photo,s. Congratulations.

 

Great Find!

 

GREAT FIND !
Amazing what good condition everything appears..........

Good Luck With THE BUILD, Keep us Posted.

Smoke' , In tha' Smokies.....

 

Great score, dig that interior. X2 on getting it running and a lowering.

Engine and trunk pics please

 

another legend will now return to the roads of modern day America, yes!

 

I like the cold air induction between the hood and head lights...is this a turbo?

hahaha...jk...nice score, dude! Keep us posted...

 

Damn that's nice. Amazing that it sat in a dirt floored garage and isn't all rusted to hell, usually the car starts becoming a part of the earth after a while.

Don

 

Looks really good in the pics. I'd say you did FINE!

 

Nice score ! I would love something like that to start a project with ,congrats!! Ya gotta tease us a bit about future custom mods

 

That is just too cool! Great story and pix!

 

congrats! looks like a good one!

 

ya never know what you might stumble across with ads on craigslist, etc. right place at the right time. congrats

 

Damn, that thing is about as close to mint as it comes! You lucky Bastid.....
Chuck

 

That interior is bad ass ! Love the patterned seats !