One-off Mercedes 500K barn find discovered in South Central, LA salvage yard

[t-tom]

One-off Mercedes 500K barn find discovered in South Central, LA salvage yard

Didn't know if this had been posted or not........But WOW!!!

[speeder]

That's not a barn. It is an example of an eccentric person who kept old cars in his salvage yard. Very valuable old cars, but still just old cars none the less.

I don't know what it is about the Germans and this particular quirk. I know of a couple of old hoarders with cars that I want that will not sell even though the cars are rotting away.

Not as valuable as this story, but still desirable. One is a 1974 euro Carrera with the 2.7 RS motor and the other is a 1964 356 C that is complete and very restorable. Neither guy will sell even though the cars have been sitting dead outdoors for a decade or more.

[Joel8005]

Thanks for posting!!!!! Cool story, speeder is just not a happy person. Keep posting and have fun.

[azasadny]

Expensive rust piles. I some of them get restored...

[azasadny]

I hope some (or all) of them get restored...

[widebody911]

Cool story, *****ty website.

[szyzygy]

Some dude in my neighborhood drives around a similar looking car. It's for sale. I saw it parked up where I work by Corona Del Mar today. I'll try to find out what it is

[Zeke]

There are some stories here in the archives about Rudi Klein. But I had a hard time believing that his yard was called "Porche Foreign Auto."

So I looked it up. From their website, "Porche Foreign Auto Inc. also known, as Por For Auto Dismantlers are recyclers of guaranteed used auto parts. We specialize exclusively in MBZ, BMW, Porsche, Audi, exotic cars and collectible cars. We also sell Japanese mid-liner diesel trucks and parts.

A family owned business, established in 1967 in Southern California we have dismantled over 6000 cars and provide parts, rebuilders, and collector cars worldwide. Our enormous inventory is mostly of California rust free parts and cars from the 1950’s to the present year. All the parts we sell are clean, tested, and come with a warranty."

I guess that's one way of avoiding the Porsche lawyers.

[speeder]

Thanks for posting!!!!! Cool story, speeder is just not a happy person. Keep posting and have fun.

I'm not happy? That's news to me. It's not a barn and the cars are not lost. The owner knows where they are.

There are vast treasures of rare and valuable cars that the public does not know the location of. Most so-called "barn find" stories on the Internet are BS, including this one.

[intakexhaust]

Call that story what you want, true barn find or not but I know for a fact in and around the Chicago area is loaded with blue-chip collectables hidden in bizzare situations.

I've seen and known of a ratted 55 300SL gullwing (same old guy had a 73 Ferrari Daytona). Other situations like Bugatti's (yes - plural), and thats no BS. I'd like to say I have a helluva sniffer, respect the eccentrics because what difference does it make? Shall we dribble and foam some more... like a decaying 356 Speedster because the woman owner just doesn't know how to cope with the car won't let it go??? Does that even begin to make sense? Another one that I have to talk kindly of because I've befriended the gent in the last couple of years. This guy has cars literally stashed in barns all over the surrounding counties... recently gave up the 58 356 cpe 4 cammer and another speedster, both cars he took apart and scattered parts. My stomach groaned as I helped him crate the 4 cam coupe and across the pond it went. I won't spill the details but I should have sold a kidney and bought some of his cars. I could only dream of but never afford any of these cars. Come to think of it... I have some true barn finds myself, and both of them right now are in barns... L@M

[sc_rufctr]

The pictures are heart breaking. I've never understood someone's desire to hang onto something regardless of their situation. Some people must think they're going to live forever.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by intakexhaust

Call that story what you want, true barn find or not but I know for a fact in and around the Chicago area is loaded with blue-chip collectables hidden in bizzare situations.

I've seen and known of a ratted 55 300SL gullwing (same old guy had a 73 Ferrari Daytona). Other situations like Bugatti's (yes - plural), and thats no BS. I'd like to say I have a helluva sniffer, respect the eccentrics because what difference does it make? Shall we dribble and foam some more... like a decaying 356 Speedster because the woman owner just doesn't know how to cope with the car won't let it go??? Does that even begin to make sense? Another one that I have to talk kindly of because I've befriended the gent in the last couple of years. This guy has cars literally stashed in barns all over the surrounding counties... recently gave up the 58 356 cpe 4 cammer and another speedster, both cars he took apart and scattered parts. My stomach groaned as I helped him crate the 4 cam coupe and across the pond it went. I won't spill the details but I should have sold a kidney and bought some of his cars. I could only dream of but never afford any of these cars. Come to think of it... I have some true barn finds myself, and both of them right now are in barns... L@M

Yep. They're everywhere, and that's just cars. Don't even start to imagine the valuable art that is in people's homes that no one knows about. Stuff that makes old Porsches look like a gum wrapper. I have an old friend here in L.A. who is a complete recluse for the last 20 years or so. He was one of Jean-Michel Basquiat's best friends and his best one in L.A. JM would stay with him when he was here, ( a lot in the later '80s), and he gave him a lot of paintings including an entire huge interior wall of the guy's house. Relatively few people know about it and it is nearly impossible to put a value on it. It's worth 10 times as much as the house, probably.

I always thought that a "barn find" meant a car that is basically lost or abandoned in an old barn. Someone dies and you find that they had a Ferrari Daytona or whatever under a tarp in a barn. Someone "finds" it after they're dead or something. Having someone's private property broadcast on the internet or in a magazine isn't really a "barn find". Just sayin'....

[Joe Bob]

To me....my ride looks like a POS....

Momz (shut up Sid) asked me why I had extra AAA and vintage insurance.....I said, 30+ years old.

She said what????? Can't be......

Some stuff just ain't old to some peoples....

[Capt. Crunch]

They are hip to this game. Nothing is ever lost with the salvage people.

Porfor

alameda and firestone - Google Maps

[speeder]

Don't get me wrong, this is a very strange story. Just not a "barn find".

[VINMAN]

Gotta agree with Speeder..

[Embraer]

agree with speeder. the term "barn find" is so abused these days. my TR4 was a true barn find....it was locked in a chicken coop for 25 years before i restored it. my '67 912 was a barn find...stuck in a dirt floor barn for 20 years, owned by a Riley and Scott chassis engineer.

when people sell cars on ebay that have been sitting in a garage for 4 years, collecting dust....that's not a barn find. cool cars in that story, but it has nothing to do with a "barn find"

[motion]

My race trailer is stored at a local RV lot and there are tons of 'barn finds' there. Old 60s cars just sitting there in the open weather, rotting. Tires are practically gone, windows busted out, upholstery pretty much gone. Looks like they've been there for 20-30 years, and I guess people are still paying $50 a month for the storage. Boggles the mind.

[911K]

Maybe it's not a true barn find, but it is a shed find. Here's a photo a friend of mine sent me today after I emailed him about the story. That's my buddy on the left, an unsavory local character from Texas in the middle and Mr. Klein on the right...

[johnsjmc]

I saw a 1969 Camaro convert in a garage in the Tampa area. The neighbourhood has an average $35000 home value. I walked up one day to talk to the older guy when he was cutting his lawn. The car is a legit Yenko with an aluminum 427 big block and a convert too. The guy has had it since the 70,s and even though he knows what it,s worth. It is being used as a shelf in his garage covered with coils of garden hose etc. It,s probably worth $500 K. more than 10 x his house.
We also found a barn full of 1940-60s cars in a small town called Oogelala. One of those midwest states where the oil pipeline is proposed. It was filled with about 150 cars of all makes. woody wagons,55 chevs etc They were all traded at the local dealership and parked.by the owner.Under inches of dust slowly rotting away.
There are thousands of "barn finds" out there waiting for restoration. Too bad many owners aren,t interested or able any more to do it.