We recently heard from BF reader WoodToyMaker and wanted to share his advice. In his email, he gave a few tips about finding the right classic, whether it be an AMC, a Studebaker, or really anything else. While we all have our own style when it comes to car hunting, it’s always great to hear from a fellow hunter about their strategy and it might even give you a few ideas of ways to improve your own tactics!

There are still a lot of vehicles around, but you really have to be a real Classic Car Hunter to find what you are looking for. I always pick a Rainy day to go out to find what I’m searching for. That is when all the Looky-Loos are sitting inside out of the rain. I set my mind towards one kind of car or wagon and that is all I look for. I am looking where people have said all the Classics have been removed years ago. For example, one day I set out to find nothing but Studebakers and I found over twenty in less than three hours! It is like Mushroom or Rabbit hunting, you have to set your brain for what you are searching for and go just for them. If I am going out to find old trucks of a certain era, I do not let all the other cars cloud my mind.

Another example is when I decided I wanted a 1949 – 1951 Studebaker to make a driver out of. I lived in Concord, Ca. and I told my wife I wanted an old Studebaker to rebuild. I had just sold my 1996 Peterbuilt Truck and Trailer and did not want to reinvest it into anything but a Studebaker. I had owned several as a young man and loved them. I went out for a drive and within two hours found four. I looked at all four and they were priced way higher than I was interested in paying. So I made offers on all of them. Two of the people just knew they had gold and wouldn’t take anything less. I made an offer from their price of $1,000.00 to my offer of $200.00 as is. They floundered and said no way. I left my card and their home behind me.

The very next day they called me and asked me to come and talk. I made an appointment and went the next day. I bought the car that was licensed and insured, none of the others were. I bought the car, pushed it out on the street and called AAA, because we both had AAA Insurance, and had them pick it up and deliver it free to my home. That was in 1999, I drove the car for three years as it was, smoking and a rod knocking. I decided to rebuild the whole car in 2004. I finished it in 2006 and had a car that was almost like new. I had everything on the car removed and rebuilt from scratch and still enjoy driving it today.

We want to thank WoodToyMaker for sharing with us. It certainly gave us a few ideas of how we can be better Barn Finders! If you have any tips or ideas you would like to share on how we can all be better classic car hunters, please feel free to share! Oh and WoodToyMaker sent us a few of his sightings, but didn’t tell us what all he found, so can you identify them?