A true barn find....sitting in a Cape Cod barn since 1988. And this is what we found:
Body is (in my opinion having owned TCs for nearly fifty years) is beyond 'perfect.' With door fit that would make the average T Series owner jealous. I mean, the doors open and close and FIT like new.
Appears to have been red and possibly painted black during Eisenhower's second term....I mean OLD paint flaking off. However, on the good side, very clean underneath, engine turns over (as in 'not seized') and I was told it was running two months ago. Has the top frame and an old top, original seats are not perfect but still remarkable for being over 70 years old.
Same with chrome....incredibly well preserved from original. Same with dash and most of the other components. A true 'survivor' or 'barn find' or whatever is the current phase to describe a car such as this.
What to do? In my humble opinion, I wouldn't 'restore it.' As there is no wood warping in the doors and no rot on the body, I would repaint the exterior, clean up the dash and seats, get the engine running (and if needing a rebuild, not a terrible expensive enterprise), get new tires, fit new brakes, go over the wiring and electrics, and have a fun classic much of which would be original. A real prize.
Just in, sitting in our showroom (it appeared that someone has become some reconditioning by sanding the front valance, I couldn't keep myself from spraying it in dull black to match the rest of the car when it went into the showroom), our shop can do all of part of the work. As per a buyer's wishes.
(oh, and even a surprise. Something I have never seen....a twin spare tire rack. Sort of outside my experience on a TC but having owned a similar period 1953 Morgan for many years, it too with twin spares, and even owning a number of early fifties Dellows, also with twin spares, its been my experience this was not due to worrying about getting multiple flats but to be able to head to a trials, hill climb, or circuit race and be able to bring the rear competition tires with you)
Would certainly make this car stand out at a show. What a conversation piece.
