Barn finds are often discovered in rough condition. That sort of comes with the territory, since years of stasis and neglect aren't kind to automobiles. In some ways, that's part of the attraction of the barn find—the challenge of returning a special car to its former glory. Still, auction houses tasked with moving said metal need to make it sound as desirable as possible in order to engage bidders.

Here's a brilliant example. The Silverstone May Auction is scheduled for the 24th, and one of the cars up for grabs is this 1973 Dino 246 GT. Stored in a leaky garage since 1975, the low-mileage car—it only has 13,942 miles on the odo—is now a pricey and painstaking restoration project waiting to happen.

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The catalog writer, tongue firmly in cheek, has some fun with it, describing the finish as the "rare Verdi Pino colour (with rust brown details)" and the overall condition as having "suffered from a severe case of what some may call water staining, whilst others would say it's simply rotten as a pear."

Given that Ferrari values are ridiculous, and that Dinos continue to appreciate, we don't see—ahem—a little rust and water damage holding anyone back from this no-reserve diamond in the rough. The full description and additional photos are here.

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