Tag: Barn Find Hunter

Prototype Mustang built for Henry Ford II: See what makes it so UNIQUE | Barn Find Hunter – Hagerty Media

Prototype Mustang built for Henry Ford II: See what makes it so UNIQUE | Barn Find Hunter – Hagerty Media

Advertisements

Tom Cotter has shifted gears for the latest episode of Barn Find Hunter, leaving dusty sheds and rusty sheetmetal in favor of a tour of Detroit landmarks and some noteworthy cars that were designed, engineered, and built in and around the Motor City. His first vehicular deep dive is a look into the history of a very special 1965 Mustang that was built for and owned by Henry Ford II.

The car in question has been owned by Art Cairo, a longtime Ford employee who bought the unique pony car 45 years ago for just $500. Cairo had the car restored and replaced any rotted sheetmetal with new-old stock that he went to great length and expense to track down, making sure that this piece of history is still all Ford.

Cairo shows Tom some of the unique details that set this coupe apart from the millions of other Mustangs built in the ’60s. Perhaps most apparent is the leather interior, which wasn’t offered on early Mustangs. The door jamb also reveals chrome door strikers and a nicely finished seam where the jamb meets the quarter panel rather than a clear overlap and spot welds.

There are also several less-obvious, telltale signs that this wasn’t a run-of-the-mill pony car. For example, the back of the instrument cluster has “Henry Ford’s car” hand-written in marker and there’s a scatter shield bolted to the transmission tunnel. Under the hood is a high-performance K-code 289-cubic-inch V-8 that was not available on early 1965 Mustangs.

This car is just the first of many that Tom will highlight on his special trip through Detroit, so make sure to subscribe to Hagerty’s YouTube channel so you don’t miss any of the hidden gems of Motor City history.

Tom Cotter Interview @CarsYeah

Advertisements

Tom Cotter

Inspiring Automotive Enthusiasts™

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Listen To Tom by Clicking on the Red Arrow Above or Visit iTunes

Tom Cotter has been a car-crazy guy his entire life. After selling his company in 2000 he bought himself a 289 Cobra and drove across the United States with his pal Peter Egan. Yes, that Peter Egan. His car collection grew and he wrote his first book, Homan-Moody, The Legendary Team. Then he wrote a series of six books on barn-finds including The Cobra in The Barn, The HemiThe VincentThe Corvette, and The Harley in The Barn. His latest book, 50 Shades of Rust was just released. He’s written biographies, been a contributing Editor of Road & Track magazine for 12 years and writes for the New York Times. He’s the former Co-Chairman of the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance and teaches public relations at Belmont Abbey College. His latest build is a ’32 Ford Hi Boy Roadster that he’s dreamed about since he was 15 years old.

SHOW SPONSOR

NOCO Genius Boost Jump Start  – Here.

SUCCESS QUOTE

“Don’t be afraid to take chances.”

CAREER CHALLENGE

Tom had a very secure job at Charlotte Motor Speedway. A position most would say was a destination career. Listen to find out what happened when Tom took a huge chance and decided to leave and start his own company.

AH-HA MOMENTS

When his boss sat him down and asked Tom where he saw himself in five years he said ‘Running my own business.” Not the answer a boss usually wants to hear. Listen and find out how Tom made that happen. Then there’s another ah-ha moment that includes a Cunningham he found in a barn…

FIRST SPECIAL CAR

A 1939 Ford Deluxe Woodie – You won’t want to miss the story about this car.

BEST AUTOMOTIVE ADVICE

Buy from your heart, not from your wallet.

BOOK SUGGESTION

A Higher Call – Adam Makos

PARTING ADVICE 

“Effort equals results.” – Roger Penske

HOW TO FIND TOM

 Tom Cotter’s Books

TOM’S BOOKS

50 Shades of Rust

Holman-Moody: The Legendary Race Team

The Cobra In The Barn

The Vincent In The Barn

The Harley In The Barn

The Corvette In The Barn

The Hemi In The Barn

Lost And Found: More Great Barn Finds

Rockin’ Garages

TV Tommy Ivo Drag Racing

HELPING CARS YEAH GROW

You can help promote Cars Yeah interviews. Please go to iTunes and post a comment. Every little bit helps and we will greatly appreciate your support.

Tom Cotter: Inside the Mind of That Barn Find Hunter Car Guy – Al Pearce @Autoweek

Advertisements

Popular author and YouTube star has found his niche in the car world.

Some years back, during a Morning Edition segment on National Public Radio, a 100-year-old veteran gave the world his secret to a long and fulfilling life. That secret? “The same things that excited me as a 14-year-old still excite me today.”

In the case of 66-year-old Long Island native Tom Cotter, that means cars.

New cars. Old cars. Racing cars. Touring cars. Restored cars. Need-to-be restored cars. Two-seaters. Woodies. Classic hot rods. Stunning barn finds. Grocery-getters. Everything from the stock Pinto he drove on his honeymoon 44 years ago to an iconic Cunningham C-3 and the 1964 Corvette he races just for fun.

“I’m a one-trick pony, and it’s all about cars.”

“I’ve been a car guy almost from birth,” says Cotter, a runner and even a marathoner (he’s done most of the world’s major runs at least once) now living in Davidson, North Carolina. “I’ve hunted once, fished maybe three times, and never played golf. I’m a one-trick pony, and it’s all about cars. They’ve always fascinated me, always made an impression, even when I was just a little kid. I get as excited about a cool car now as I did when I was 14.”

In one form or fashion for most of their lives, Cotter and his wife, Pat, and their son, 29-year-old Brian, have pushed, pulled, towed, hauled and occasionally driven cars to the garage beside their home. Cotter left college after two years, hoping to become the next Bob Sharp, the famous Connecticut-based championship sports car racer/team owner/businessman. When that didn’t work out, he ran a repair shop, sold auto parts, sold furniture (?!), and spent several years working with motorsports marketing pioneer Dick Bauer. That led to a 1985-1989 gig with Humpy Wheeler at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where Cotter’s “pass in the grass” promotion—even though there was no pass—remains legendary.

Read on

LOW MILEAGE Buick Grand National press car and barn full of cars | Barn Find Hunter – Ep. 106

Advertisements

In the previous episode of “Barn Find Hunter,” Tom made friends with a Gentleman named, Cliff Wilson who owned a Dodge Polara 500. As usual, Tom asked the question, “Do you know of any old cars around?” Sure enough, Cliff pointed to a location down the road to a man who restores Case Tractors and also has a barn full of cars. The fun doesn’t stop there! Tom then hears about a local who has an all-original low-mileage 1984 Buick Grand National that was a press car in Detroit during the early ’80s.

Devastating LOSS for Classic Car Community: Rare restoration shop burns | Barn Find Hunter – Ep. 107

Advertisements

In episode 76 of “Barn Find Hunter,” Tom visited Mike Nickels Woody restoration shop and was fortunate enough to see all the patterns, equipment, and projects he was working on. Since then, Mike suffered a devastating fire that brought his everyday life to a screeching halt. Ride along as Tom and Mike walk you through what exactly happened.

Donate here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/mike-nicke…

Article here on Hagerty

Even after a fire destroyed his Michigan workshop, this renowned woody wagon restorer isn’t quitting

Barn Find Hunter uncovers a cadre of Dodge Power Wagons – Barn Find Hunter Ep67

Advertisements

Barn Find Hunter uncovers a cadre of Dodge Power Wagons

Missing out is part of the game when it comes to hunting barn finds; Tom Cotter knows this better than most. He follows a solid lead in Bozeman, Montana, and arrives at the resting place of a long-stored GT350 only to find that the owner is out of town, and he can’t see the car. What does he do? He keeps hunting.

The next lead he decides to chase takes him down the recommended roads for those in search of old cars—dirt, rural, and dead-ended. A quick question posed to a local gives Tom the extra information he needs as he follows a tip on a fleet of Dodge Power Wagons stashed in a nearby field.

Barn Find Hunter uncovers a cadre of Dodge Power Wagons

Read on here at Hagerty

Related – Arguably the world’s toughest & most beautiful truck ever created

Rare glimpse inside Blake’s Auto Salvage | Barn Find Hunter – Ep. 57 – Hagerty

Advertisements

While in St. George, Utah, Tom Cotter learns of a junkyard with hundreds of solid old cars, where the owner never sold anything and never allowed anyone inside. In classic Barn Find Hunter fashion, Tom makes a few phone calls and sweet-talks his way into Blake’s Auto Salvage. It is indeed a veritable fortress of forgotten cars. Many are only good for parts, but among them Tom finds an R-code Torino, a vintage White 706 tour bus from Yellowstone, and a low-mile Lincoln Continental Mk III. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel! | http://bit.ly/2iooBxJ

Barn Find Road Trip: Day 1 – The Story of Snowball Bishop

Advertisements

This blog article is from 2015 and it’s about part of the road trip that eventually resulted in the excellent Tom Cotter’s book Barn Find Road Trip

This leg of the trip took Tom and his gang to the property of Snowball Bishop a pretty remarkable guy as I think you will agree if you read on here

As you can see there are some remarkable things to see at Snowball’s place, in fact Tom liked it so much he has revisited Snowball for the brilliant Hagerty Barn Find Hunter YouTube series

Please read and watch to enter the World of Snowball!

Tom Cotter meets Randy Carlson and a Really Interesting Hot Rod on the Barn Find Hunter

Advertisements

Episode 41 of Tom Cotter’s excellent YouTube series Barn Find Hunter finds Tom visiting Randy Carlson and his eclectic car collection. The car that interested me the most was the Model A Hot Rod at 16:20 of the video. This car has a great history that Randy has researched with the owners family.

Randy’s 1932 Packard that he raced at The Race of Gentlemen is also featured in the video

Randy also has another Packard which he bought as yard art along with a couple of really nice Model Ts that he has saved and are in remarkable condition. You can see the yard art Packard here