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What's your greatest barn find?

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Either in your own stash that you forgot about or some rummage sale find. Here are a few of mine. Most of this stuff came in a bulk lot from Japan a couple years ago. Lots more in it. Vintage wheels and lots of foam F1 tires. Even drill bits and a NIP TA04 chassis. Some of this I would be willing to part with. I'm mostly a touring car guy. TA02 and starting to get into TA03.                                                                                 IMG_4056.JPG.9b63103dbb3e3c11507b266ec4ccb2cc.JPG  IMG_4057.JPG.8d97f020cefc95886b1d62d49259e5f3.JPGIMG_4055.JPG.083fc8d530890c5e5a4b968e0584de8e.JPG

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I've had a couple over the years.

Probably the most unexpected was around 1994, when my aunt called to say a lodger had skipped out on her owing a small fortune in rent and left a load of stuff behind.  Among it was a heap load of Max Power and Performance Bikes magazine stickers, a Mardave Ministock and a battered Toyota Hilux 3-speed.  No transmitters or batteries but otherwise RTR.  And she let me have the lot for free.

The Ministock got fixed up and working with an old 6-cell NiCd and gave me lots of crazy fun anywhere that had a flat surface - which, growing up in the countryside, was absolutely nowhere.  So it never really got used until I sold it in the mid-00s after I'd got back into RC.

Unfortunately, it being 1994 and me being 14 and penniless, there was no way I could afford a new battery or transmitter for the 3-speed, I didn't know anybody in the scene and second-hand stuff was either pricey or non-existent.  So I locked it in 2nd gear, strapped on a 6-cell NiMH and ran it in 2 channel mode.  Well, for all of about 3 minutes, when the pack dumped and the servo got lazy, it clipped a fence post and broke the hub.

After that it sat on my shelf as an ornament for years, until I got back into the hobby in the mid-00s, and realised exactly what it was I had.  I was super-excited to realise, but also totally bummed to find out that parts were (still) rare and expensive.  At the time I was broke, and I didn't care for a fragile car that I couldn't jump off ramps in my back yard, so I traded it on here for enough cash to buy another buggy (or something).  Something I've always regretted, as I've since met people who had large supplies of spares for the old 3-speeds and the scaler scene has really come alive.  Call it sacrilege but I'd love to have made a Class 1 / road legal scaler out of that old rig.

 

Another good find comes with a story, too.  Since getting back into RC and learning about the SRB chassis, I'd always wanted one.  But they were rare, and priced way out of my reach.  When the re-re came along I eventually managed to save the pennies for a Buggy Champ, but I still hankered after a vintage resto project.

Well, one day I was in a high street hobby shop (now sadly closed) with a friend who already had several SRBs, new and old.  The shop owner brought "something special" out of the basement to show us.  He said it had just come in from a local find and was up for sale, but only to the right people.  It was an original SRB, complete with a battered but functional original Sand Scorcher body, painted black and brush-painted with retro red and gold motifs that looked like vines or creeping branches.  It still had the number stickers on from a local (long gone) race club.  The tyres had dissolved to mush and the wheels were trashed, the radio box was cracked and there was no electronics, but otherwise it was a complete car.  A new set of wheels and tyres, radio, speedo, servo and motor, and it would drive.

Vintage SRBs had come down a way since the re-res had appeared but were still commanding prices beyond my budget.  I saw 3 figures, or very close to, so I didn't even bother to ask how much.

Then my friend said "OK, how much?"

After sucking his teeth and ho-humming for a while, the shop owner said "Call it twenty quid?"

:o 

I had never felt so gutted about not jumping in first; my friend handed over the cash and went home with yet another SRB for his collection.  I hinted that maybe I'd have a space for it in my workshop and perhaps he'd got too many SRBs already, but he either didn't get the message or didn't want to lose his prize, because it got boxed up in his house and I went home empty-handed.

Fast-forward a few years, when my friend needed to raise some cash and was letting a lot of stuff go, and he asked if I wanted that very same SRB, with its gooey tyres and its horrific body and its broken wheels.

"Well, maybe, what price have you got in mind?" I asked.

He opened the box and laid it all out in front of me.  The same car and body that I'd seen before, plus a brand new set of re-re wheels, tyres, and a reproduction radio box.  "Forty pounds."

Considering what it would have cost to get individually source the wheels, tyres and radio box, it was an even better deal than the one I missed out on all those years ago.

And yes - I still have it.  Still boxed up and in exactly the same condition as it was in when I brought it home all those other years ago :D 

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I'll take 200 dollars for 'Things that never happen to Pablo'.

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No decent finds I'm sorry to say. Shame your State Side. I've got a chassis that the Super Stock Type S motor would fit into perfectly.

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My best one was about three years ago. I went to a garage sale and spotted what looked like a Clod Buster body sticking out of a cardboard box. I went over to investigate, and discovered that not only was it a Clod, but a Chevy-logo Clod, and the whole truck was in there, in pieces, along with a bunch of other stuff. Scrawled on the side of the box in Sharpie was "$10." I think I startled the guy, I thrust a ten-dollar bill at him so fast.

The Clod cleaned up nicely, and got horse-traded away in some deal or other (I think @Beefmuffin has it), but it was actually all the other stuff in the bottom of the box that I ended up keeping: lots of RC tools, some odds and ends of RC10 aftermarket parts, and a pile of Optima parts including not one, but two brand-new lower chain guards (if you know Optimas, you know that these are always broken on used cars).

And to top it all off: an unopened box of 100 #11 X-Acto blades, with a price sticker still on it: $11.99. So it's like I bought the blades and all the other stuff was free...

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The TR-15T I put in the cupboard at my parents house basement. Found it 20 years later and was totaly stoked.:D

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A 58002 Martini 935 Porsche for free from a local hobby shop that was dropped off by an older lady. I have a thread in the vintage section dedicated to its restoration. 

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Bought a TA03 Audi A4 on the bay for no money some years ago. When it arrived, there were also two NIB Dynarun motors in the box 👍

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My best barn find was a Craigslist deal from an estate sale. There was a Turbo Ultima, Kyosho Salute w/ Option House gold nerf bars, two fishing tackle boxes with parts and two boxes of parts enough to make another Optima. The kicker was a Tamiya Martini Porsche 936 Turbo with a semi decent box in fair to good condition. Purchased for $240.00 and the Tamiya was sold for $300.00. Still have the Ultima, Salute and built a Javelin out of the parts. Had a few others but never one that paid for itself and more. Porsche pics added5a36ea602dd6e_WP_20171030_20_07_20_Pro(4).thumb.jpg.f4ce599f8ec7bbbb836a017284df71f5.jpg5a36ea654dda6_WP_20171030_20_11_08_Pro(2).thumb.jpg.ffaf2927d31819e49802ad2ff9e1451c.jpg5a36ea6bac75d_WP_20171030_20_11_32_Pro(2).thumb.jpg.2d9cebb3285e7ba8df44b941b6e6d5c4.jpg

Edited by unixphreak
Porsche pics added
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Great finds, I love these tales but some folks around here might already be sick of hearing this one. As pictured Egress chassis was found by my uncle in a skip bin / dumpster.... sitting right up on top.  This was early 2011, right after I got back into the hobby so while I can't claim the find, I definitely claimed the treasure.  I've also picked up a nearly complete Sand Viper with a Futaba MC330CR (ESC) free from a front verge collection.  The Egress is now a restored shelfer and the Sand Viper a runner.

 

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All great stories, I might be able to add a few:

The Rough Rider that is about to take some of my time was given to me by a fellow 1/8 racer who knew I was into old stuff as well, he had the car given to him, and he passed it on to me. Its been sitting in my project que for a few years and now its time for a restore/rebuild - as it turns out, its an "Early Vintage" also

My LHS rang me one day and asked if i'd be interested in a vintage Sand Scorcher, which I said most likely, depends on price. Well, the body has an absolutely awful pain job, and is missing a rear light and side mirror. The owner wanted to trade it in on a NIB RTR something. The LHS (a great friend of mine) asked the owner what he wanted for it and a deal was done. He passed it onto me for the same price he gave as a trade in. Turns out, the Sand Scorcher has never been run, and the missing rare parts from the body were in the Kit Box, along with an unopened original decal sheet. So pretty happy with that one.

Finally, after seeing a few restores/rebuilds on RC10 Gold Pans, I decided I wouldnt mind having one in my collection, I started looking around when one came up for sale here in Oz for a farely cheap price, it was a fair wreck, but all the essentials were there. After researching RC10's, I discovoured that I'd infact got hold of an "Early Edinger" kit that has a special place in the heart of the RC10 enthusiasts, Its been carefully rebuilt using all of the original parts, replacing only what couldnt be salvaged, and is almost at the complete stage, ready to take its place on my shelf

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No RC barn finds for me, but in the 1:1 world, I found a '66 Corvette that was left behind at a local shop in the late 80s over some unpaid repair bills. 20 years later, the shop owner - after storing the car indoors for over 20 years - decided he wanted it gone, now, first come first serve. I got there first, paid next to nothing, and yes of course, matching untouched original paint 427 4-speed convertible no less. Had it running three days later. 

In 2016, I was at a fleet maintenance shop in northern California, and the fleet manager asked if I was interested in car parts from the 80s and 90s, stockpiled for their fleet, never used up, but never thrown out either. Then he showed me some $30.000 worth of mostly fullsize GM, mostly interior NOS parts, and hinted the city could be willing to let it all go for $500.

Needless to say, the city thought that wasn't nearly enough money... and made me pay $700.

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Mines a forum find about 4 months ago, one of the guys was selling his swb Wild willy project with 2 extra bodies and a near complete extra chassis. Having restored so many before my stock of other bits was good so. I build and sold a jeep for a member at $250 plus shipping restored another body and ended up with a premium swb Wild Willy for free. Then a week later a buddy pointed me at a WW in box on market place. Kid had 2 cars for sale a lancia rally NIB, and what looked like a partial but ww in box. Kid claimed only controllers were missing. Not a nice young man it turned out. Lots missing but both shipped for a steel sold lancia for 775 shipped. Ww parts owe me less than nothing 

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Not a barn find per se, but a guy cleaning out his garage and selling the lot for about 60£. There were a complete optima mid runner, an extra for spares, a very nice Mardave V12, a Marui Galaxy, a Tamiya Falcon, two TT01's and a very battered Grasshopper. Plus some spares. All are run and worn but at that price point I didn't complain. The somewhat confusing part is, he knew what he was selling. He had run the Optima Mid's competitively from new, had also run a couple of Avantes previously which were traded for Pro Cats so he was knowledgeable enough. It was also nice to hear about the cars' stories that way.

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Yesterday found a Sherman 1:16   first edition ..

It was my own, but i fully forgot i had it.  

Was true surprised to open the box , and finding a near-mind 1:16 tank  :)

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It must have been when I spotted a Yokomo YZ10 93 works in an add. The picture of the add was very bad, just a bunch of RC stuff in a pile. But I saw the gold in that pile, and called the guy and went straight to him to pick it up. He said that several people had contacted him during the hour it took me to get to him, they also wanted that car.  I would say I was even more lucky when I found another YZ10 among the parts, or what was left of it. All in all I had to pay a decent amount of money but nothing compared to what you could get, just by washing the car and make it look nice. 

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I guess my broken super astute for £25 along with most of a hbx truck fits in with this thread. Cost a fait bit to get it nice again but it had the dynatech 01r in it. 

Nice terra scorcher from a womans garage for £40 and an original ultima and nicko dandy dash pair for £30 were both lucky ebay finds.

I did find a pair of speakers thrown out in someones front garden though. I knew what they were, asked if i could have them then got out of there asap. Sold them for £700! Not RC but definitely my luckiest find.

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