A STORY WORTH TELLING
G “Blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures.”
— Lovelle Drachman
Adventure was not on my mind after another day at the newspaper office almost 40 years ago. I was simply perusing the day’s mail including the newest issue of Hemmings Motor News (aka “the car collector’s bible”) because I was curious about what was for sale.
I braked hard in the Chevrolet ads when I saw, “For sale by original owner, 1965 Malibu SS, factory L-79 engine.
Stored in Iowa.”
Car collectors are known for many strange behaviors. One is buying autos similar to something they had back in the day and “shoulda kept it,” or wanted to have but couldn’t afford it.
My story is no different. While still a student at East Texas State University, I became the third owner of a 1965 Chevy Malibu SS factory equipped with that L-79 high-horsepower motor.
I parted with the car too soon, vowing quickly to buy another … if I ever found one again.
It was way after dark when I saw the ad some 15 years after taking that vow. But I dialed the number anyway, apologizing profusely for the late hour.
My inquiry was met with, “My husband is working the night shift.
All I can do is read the window sticker for you.” That’s when I sensed an adventure that was meant to be.
Near dawn the next morning, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport was fading from the view at my American Airlines window seat.
Before lunch, I was shaking hands with the man who had special ordered the car while in high school. I was dazzled by all the paperwork he had on the model and loved his story.
“The dealership required my mother to sign for the car because of the high-horsepower engine,” he said with a laugh, explaining he wasn’t legal age — 18 at the time — to acquire the car on his own.
The auto was brought from storage at his father’s place in Iowa to the owner’s home in the northern Chicago suburb of Northbrook just days before.
“Barn find” is a popular term today for old cars stored and not driven, sometimes for many years. It’s used regardless of where they were actually found.
Barn finds are on the opposite end of the spectrum from beautifully restored cars purchased at televised auctions for stratospheric prices. (And a little more revered by some.)
The first decision with a barn find becomes deciding whether to drive it home or transport the car by trailer. The owner had already changed the oil, filled the tank with fresh fuel and washed away the “barn storage” dust.
I checked fluids, tires, hoses, fan belt, electrical and more.
My curiosity satisfied, I opted for the adventure of driving the vehicle home.
By 5 a.m. the next day, I was beating rush hour traffic out of the city packing basic tools, an extra fan belt, a fire extinguisher and a quart of oil.
Now, if you’re considering this at home, let me be clear at this point. Taking time to thoroughly assess a barn find before driving it any distance is critical.
Looking back, I could have been — should have been — much more thorough before putting Chicago in my rear-view mirror with a smile on my face.
Navigation then was gas-station road maps.
Interstate highways were not as connected four decades ago, either. Google says the near-1,000-mile trip will require 13 hours of driving time today. I did the same trip non-stop again in 2016 attending the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals. That journey lasted 14 hours in a rental car.
The 1980s adventure in an aged muscle car that hadn’t seen daylight in a long time consumed 21 hours on tires that “looked pretty good” but were manufactured before date coding was a thing.
I was easy on her, monitoring gauges, listening for noises and regularly stopping for visual inspections.
Granny always joked, “God takes care of old folks and fools.”
Whatever the case, he was with me on that trip. I turned into my driveway at 1 a.m. the next day without incident, or four tanks of gas and one quart of oil later.
Other trips bringing barn finds home would follow. The best part about a barn-find adventure is that even when you get home with no problems, you still have an interesting story to tell about the journey.
Just like this one about my first adventure rescuing an old car, one I’ve shared countless times in almost 40 years.
Every time with a smile.
— Contact Aldridge at leonaldridge@gmail. com. Other Aldridge columns are archived at leonaldridge.com
