It’s every car lover’s fantasy: the perfectly preserved classic automobile
discovered under a blanket in some great-granny’s garage. And as author
Tom Cotter has discovered time and again, it’s a fantasy that can come
true. The Hemi in the Barn offers more than forty stories of amazing finds
and automotive resurrections. Avid collectors big and small recall the
thrills of the hunt, the tips and hunches followed, clues pursued, the
heart-stopping payoff. There’s the forgotten Duesenberg—probably one of
the last unrestored ones around—that Jay Leno found in a Burbank garage.
Unbelievably, Leno found another Duesenberg in a parking garage in New
York City—a car that was parked in 1933 and never moved. There’s a
Plymouth Superbird found buried in a hedge in Alabama. There’s the rescue
of the first 1955 Corvette ever built. As entertaining as these tales are,
they’re also full of tantalizing hints and suggestions for readers setting
off on their own adventures in automotive archaeology. From the Back Cover
“Every car enthusiast dreams about finding an old car in a barn. I’ve been
lucky to find a few cars that way, and two of those stories are in this
book. Sometimes ‘barn finds’ are valuable; sometimes they’re not. But
they’re usually great stories. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I
did.” - Jay Leno, host of The Tonight Show “Tom Cotter’s sequel to the
best-selling The Cobra in the Barn relays one great tale after another,
with players unearthing rare cars to die for. The treasures include an
armored Mercedes-Benz Aktion P command car discovered in pieces in Russia,
a desirable Dodge Daytona Hemi virtually abandoned behind bushes in a
guy’s yard, a bushel of Bugattis in a barn, the ‘Divorcee Cobra,’ and a
GTO owned by a mobster. These are great stories about great cars.” -
Edmunds.com “The book is highly entertaining, often exciting and should
hold universal appeal for all car enthusiasts.” - Hemmings Muscle Machines
About the Author The title on Tom Cotter's business card reads: "Certified
Car Geek." For the past 30 years, Cotter has worked on nearly every end of
the car business: mechanic, car sales, automotive public relations and
marketing executive, auto racing authority, historian, racer, collector,
restorer, journalist, and author. He has authored 10 automotive books,
including most of the popular In the Barn series for Motorbooks. He has
written for the New York Times and Road & Track magazine. Whenever he sits
down at his keyboard to write another book, you can be sure that he has
grease under his fingernails.
