It’s a book I’m a bit surprised hasn’t been done before — a few chums travel down Route 66 searching for “barn finds” of classic cars.
In case you’re not familiar with the term, “barn find” is a long-neglected classic car or motorcycle discovered stored in outbuildings or barns. Many of these vehicles are rare or valuable in spite of being in poor condition. Country singer David Ball even scored a hit single with the premise.
Leave it to author Tom Cotter to write such a book on Route 66, as he boasts seven other “barn find” books to his credit. Although gearheads will enjoy “Route 66 Barn Find Road Trip” (hardback, 192 pages, illustrated, Motorbooks), the greatest pleasure almost any reader will find is the people Cotter meets. Apparently car enthusiasts are quick to talk to fellow car enthusiasts.
Like most Route 66 travelers, Cotter and his cohorts (photographer Alan Michael Ross and friend Brian Barr) departed Chicago, heading west on the Mother Road. The key difference is Cotter drove a 1939 Ford Woody wagon. The eye-catching vehicle drew car nuts like bees to honey, and it helped give Cotter leads on possible barn finds.
Cotter and his crew naturally visited well-known Route 66 spots such as Country Classic Cars and Mustang Corral in Illinois, Seaba Station motorcycle museum in Oklahoma, Lewis Auto & Toy Museum and Bozo’s Garage in New Mexico, and Jay Leno’s garage in California.
They also stopped at a few Route 66 landmarks such as the Palms Grill Cafe in Illinois, Mule Trading Post and Elbow Inn in Missouri, Happy Burger and Pops in Oklahoma, U-Drop Inn and Cadillac Ranch in Texas, El Rancho Hotel in New Mexico, Standin’ on a Corner Park in Arizona and Santa Monica Pier in California.
But their mission was finding old cars and the people who loved them. A few were car enthusiasts such as Bob Danenburger near Bloomington, Illinois, who owned a 1959 Lancia Appia, 1960s Citreons and a 1956 Morgan — all in an elaborate garage.
But many of the car owners were longtime tow-truck drivers or salvage-yard operators. A few said they bought broke-down cars from their owners — some for not much more than the price of a bus ticket so they could return home.
The “Route 66 Barn Find Road Trip” crew found interesting characters during their journey, including:
— A hot-rod mechanic in St. Robert, Missouri, who once was a guitarist for country-music singer Narvel Felts.
— A 90-year-old man who built a nostalgic-looking village amid his used-car lot.
— A salvage-yard owner near Gallup, New Mexico, who gave Cotter a chance to crush a car using a massive machine.
— A man near Albuquerque who possessed a 1961 Lincoln Continental owned by jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald and the registration to prove it.
At one point, Cotter wandered 50 miles off Route 66 to check on a classic-car lot in Coffeyville, Kansas. But the story he got from that side trip was so good, I couldn’t fault him for doing it.
One of the best stories Cotter uncovered was Father Matt Keller of Sacred Heart Cathedral in Gallup, New Mexico, who was restoring a 1972 Chevelle. As a teen, Keller restored a 1964 Malibu SuperSport and sold the car — the biggest regret of his life — when he went to college.
Keller explained why he was restoring a muscle car:
Father Keller explained that the car were were looking at, the 1972 Chevelle, was a fundraising tool for the church’s vocational program. “It takes quite a bit of money to go to seminary and become a priest,” he said. “Basically, it’s as expensive as getting a master’s degree. So I decided to used the interest and skills that God gave me to try to raise money for the program.” […]
“People from the community who come to help us on the car won’t necessarily come in the front doors of the church. So it’s an evangelization and community builder as well. It’s just great. We had a retreat here this summer for young men interested in the priesthood, and we timed it when the body was ready to go back on. So these guys lifted the body back on the chassis. Even the bishop was here that day and helped us lift the body onto the chassis. We’re going to paint it priestly colors, black body with white stripes and a white interior,” he said. “The car will have a built 454 four-speed, twelve-bolt posi unit. We had to put floorpans in and we put on new rear quarter panels.”
Many a Route 66 traveler has remarked “it’s the people” that make the journey so memorable. “Route 66 Barn Find Road Trip” proves this adage again.
Recommended.