Cars found after 60 years - but one unusual item took all the attention
- As barn finds go, this museum overflow collection is impressive
- There are rare vehicles from the 1920s to the 1980s
- However, the thing that steals the show isn’t a car
Published on Aug 01, 2024 at 2:24 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Aug 02, 2024 at 6:34 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
This huge barn find in Nebraska, US, actually includes 13 sheds filled with cars, trucks, and tractors—but one unexpected non-vehicular curiosity stole the show.
Many of the museum overflow items from the Pioneer Village Museum in Minden had been stored for over six decades.
But it was a World War 2 (WW2) Torpedo that really blew the YouTuber who discovered it out of the water.
DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie
The torpedo
While we are used to seeing stunning barn-find cars – the item that appears in the frame at the 21-minute mark is slightly more surprising.
There’s a WW2 Torpedo sitting amidst other museum curios including old tank wagons, century-old carriages, and even the remains of a fabric-covered airplane.
While the rust and decay make it initially seem as if this WW2 Torpedo were buried and sunk somewhere in the mud – a placard tells a different story.
It states that it was found at the bottom of the Atlantic near Fort Lauderdale in 1950.
Despite being recovered after eight years, it seems little had been done to preserve it after that.
The torpedo featured a simple propulsion system powered by a compressed air bladder.
In another historic WW2 find, explorers found Richard Bong’s plane that’s been missing since World War II in a jungle ravine.
The cars
As YouTuber Mr. Goodpliers walked through the collection, he saw derelict classic vehicles that would cost a fortune to restore.
However, cars from the 1920s and 1930s were notable, with the Star Four – one of the rarest cars of the era – headlining.
The short-lived brand was assembled by the Durant Motors Company and former GM CEO William ‘Billy’ Durant.
A competitor of the Ford Model T, the Star had multiple versions from 1922-28.
The collection also includes cars from the 1950s and 1960s, including a 1955 Imperial and a Kaiser Vagabond that was introduced in 1949.
The luxurious car had an interesting take on the luggage compartment with a two-piece, double-hinged trunk lid, and was fitted with a rear bench that folded flat.
Only produced for a couple of years, a pristine example can be purchased for under $15,000.
There’s also a not-entirely-unexpected couple of Volvos, several vintage trucks, and a heap of derelict 1980s vehicles.
The lot will go on auction in September, but an exact date is still yet to be confirmed.
You can watch the whole video here.
Want more interesting barn finds to fuel your day? This Dodge Charger barn find is the car people didn’t realize actually exists.
Plus this Aston Martin DB6 barn find is not just stunning but exceptionally rare.
All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
