KING OF THE MUSCLE CARS FOUND RUSTING AWAY IN THE WOODS!!! I found this 1970 Chevelle SS454 LS6 rotting away totally intact in the woods in rural Tennessee. The car appears to have been driven to this spot and abandoned over 30 years.
Another perfect example is the - Chicken coop GT Falcon found in Australia , great story of saving this $1,000,000 car and its restoration. It sat in a chicken coop for decades because he got married with this car and put it in the shed soon after for sentimental reasons . In Australian GT circles this car and others just like it are Holy Grail finds .
Well there has to be a personal sentimental reason like I just bought two fenders from a guy that what a 70ss that was Stored for 35 years because the parents lost their son while he was driving the car some kind of rod went through the side window and killed him the car was untouched so like I said there's got to be a personal reason either way it's sad
Is it possible that the owner doesn't really even know what they have or maybe there values are different.. like, it doesn't even really matter to them as much as say.. maybe their horses. I guess we will just never really truely know.
Hard to watch this. I bet it looked a lot nicer in 86. I understand it's theirs and it's not for sale but at least put it inside and cover it. What a disgrace!
I had a guy sell me a car that had "NOT FOR SALE DAMN IT" painted on the windshield cause I covered it with a tarp without asking him or anything cause it showed I would care for it.
Glad I've inherited my family's '69 Malibu with a 307; atleast it's been garage kept and maintained. Still that smooth chevy ride & keeps up and blast out in front of most modern cars on the interstate.
@@nopenone9399 Very intelligent reply, you are indeed a low IQ individual probably living in Mommies basement and wouldn't know a Chevelle from a Chevette!
Speed & Chrome Illustrated I actually am unable to buy it from the owner. He isn’t selling it. But I figure I will go back in a few months and try again
I picked up a '67 Chevelle one time, many guys came buy but he liked me so I got the deal. Don't be a jerk goes a long way and they always want to talk, so listen to the old guys!!
I can't stand it when these old guys have the cars and won't sell it won't give it to the kids and have no intention of fixing it and let the car rot away...quite stingy if you ask me ...this car is not going to be any good in another 20 years or so...what a pity...
I definitely "want to see it", but when I see it dissolving into the ground... I almost wish I hadn't seen it. Sentimental owners are way too optimistic. (probably me too :) ) Thanks for sharing, PGN!
That would be my dream car. White on white with black buckets LS6. Shame it’s just sitting there rotting away. Historic car. Thank you for bringing this to us.
What’s interesting is that 1986 license plate tab....by then, people KNEW this car was special, valuable. In a strange way, I can understand if a car like this was put out in the field, in say, 1975, before people realized it was more than an “old used car”. But sending it out to rot in ‘86 was ignorant
I don’t know I’d agree with you that these were “dirt cheap” in the mid 80s. In the 80s, PRICES (emphasis for a later point) for what I would consider “1st gen” muscle cars was escalating. In the 80s, we had the first classic car price “bubble”. For instance, in 1980, we paid $9000 for a 63 split window 340hp vette, about the same price for a decent NEW car. Not all first gen muscle cars were “cheap”. But alas, to your point, maybe the Chevelle PRICE wasn’t high yet in the mid-80s...I’m not going to argue with that. My point was based more on “intrinsic value” not PRICE. People knew by 86 an LS6 had “value” long term.
This definitely applies to another post questioning the authenticity of this car. It’s likely a clone and was bought for a song in 85-86 or possibly later. It’s really hard to believe that a genuine LS6 was purchased for decent money in the mid 80’s and parked to rot
Too much of a very powerful car in its day to let it rot in any place that doesn't care about a fantastic American history of "quality made cars"in its days. A girlfriend I had in 1972 had a 307 V8 Chevelle in white. It sure put my '69 VW "Bug" to shame. These old "classics" should have been saved for future generations of true car lovers!
Keep up the good work Patrick! I'd be interested in seeing the odometer on these cars just to imagine how much they were driven! (or raced). Thank you!
Very cool seeing a LS6 that was sold at Capitol Chevrolet here in Nashville. That dealership is closed now. The 7 on the license plate would be based on the population of that county. Memphis was 1, Nashville was 2, Knoxville was 3, Chattanooga was 4, etc, etc
Back down south in Alabamy, my uncle has a '69 Mustang coupe just sitting on the side on the yard and the engine on the ground. Just rotting there and says Hell fix it up one day for his daughter, my cousin Tina who just died in a car wreck and my uncle who now has tubes in his face. I guess some people don't attempt to do what they say they will do or simply just never have the funds or want the time. Anyway, it's a coupe body, not a fastback, so I ain't too mad.
I simply don't understand the mindset of some of these owners. So many won't sell them but, cant or wont repair them and they don't seem to realize that it's their dollar thats sitting there rotting away exposed to the elements. Even though its theirs to do with as they please, it's like some form of greed. SMH
An offer to drag it inside the barn would go a long way in making “brownie points” With the owner. Who knows if it might help sway things your way if he, or his heirs ever decided to sell. I had a similar situation with a 1972 cheyenne that an elderly neighbor across the creek from me owned. He had too many sentimental memories if trips he made with his late wife and didn’t want to sell it. He had been a mechanic for the school for years and said he missed working on and talking about cars trucks etc. I asked if he wanted help getting it inside his shed. It took a few visits before he agreed. He couldn’t remember if it ran when he parked it or not. I took a battery and a lawn mower gas tank and had it running within an hour. He Didnt drive any more but we took the truck around his circle drive a few times before parking it in the shed with concrete pads under the tires. I asked and he agreed to let me put a piece if paper with my contact info on it on the instrument panel. I visited with him a few times and he still wasnt interested in selling it. I bought some stuff to keep mice out and out it under the seat. I also aired the tires up a few times and even took him with me to a used tire shop nearby to have a couple of used tires installed when one split when airing it up. He passed away a few years later and soon after his daughter called me asking if i was still interested in buying it. She said he had told her how much he enjoyed my visits and the fact that i appreciated the truck and understood his inability to let it go. He told me that every time he looked out his kitchen window, he could still see it, even in the shed, and it reminded him of his late wife. He said if he sold it, he knew he would probably never see it again. He Didnt need the money and the feeling he got when looking at it was worth more than what anyone ever offered him. I paid $1500 for it, and his daughter said he had been offered $5,000, but it was just from someone who never showed any interest in befriending the old guy. His daughter said she thought he enjoyed having people stop by and ask about it. He would tell them as much if the story as they were willing to hear, but most people left as soon as he said “not for sale”, even though he freely offered why. Every case is different, but there is usually some reason a car is left to sit like this.
Capital Chevrolet in Nashville must have moved a lot of nice cars. An older friend of mine (now deceased) ordered an L71/L89 M21 '69 Corvette Coupe from them.
Could be, or it was going to be repossessed and he hid it in the woods. If He can't have it, than nobody can have it. Just let it rot away, the smacked ass.
A shame this amazing car just rotting away in a field. I can understand though, with some people, it just might be too tough letting go of the great memories it once provided.. and therefore never selling the car.
We drove these cars as daily driver's in the 70s and 80s they were a dime a dozen and always needed repairs. Then life happens! There's your answers to HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN!
Somebody has to be watching this video that has one of these babies rotting away on their property that can answer this question....why not just sell it to be restored ? I see this shit all the time...sad
I know where there's a 69 Z28 that's been sitting for 30+ years. He won't sell it and in fact he puts signs around it saying not for sale. Now it's rotted into the ground part way up the doors and it was all because of a Father and Son argument that was not resolved
How many times do you see this? A highly desirable vehicle outside rotting away until there is literally nothing left because either the owner just refuses to sell or thinks its worth too much until its worth NOTHING.
Had met a family similar as a child. Rarest cars around, walked by with saw or axe daily whilst a tree grew out of the trunk on a beauty to finally jack the thing off the ground, 454H.O 4 speed 67 Camaro dam shame, gtos, chevelles, firebird, u name it while garage full of junk making 38 dollars an hour in a factory. Never to save a one!
What a waste. They all say im going to restore it someday. 70 roadrunner 440 6 pack has been near my mothers house for decades was nice looking 30 years ago when I was growing up there. Owner says hes going to restore
Those are not the correct door panels for a 70 SS. The steering wheel should also say SS. The valve covers are Mickey Thompson which is not factory. And the wheels are the 71-72 chevelle wheels or 70-79 camaro. The 70s had the rally rims like 69 chevelles. So either someone did some changing or they tried to clone a SS.
@Custom Chevys I see what you are talking about.. the rust hole at the bottom of the A pillar.. this car would need much more work and MONEY than it's worth.. don't get me wrong, this car should be saved, but it would have to be by someone that wants to save it and not to turn a buck.. and unfortunately, that's all most ppl are after these days.. the guy even says it in the video.. he won't pony up the cash coz he won't make anything on the deal... sad...
@Custom Chevys I noticed that right away when he came around the back of the car, not to mention the hole in the floor by the gas pedal.. I can only imagine what the inside of the trunk looks like! Yikes is right!
This car is history! Needs rescued! Unless it goes the way of dismantled or destroyed statues of forgotten soldiers and Generals because people want to forget history! A day may be coming when a car like this will be unlawful to restore and drive!
Can’t understand why people let this type of car get this way. They know what they have, let it go to some one that will make it right again! They still will get a hole lot more than what they have invested! 😔 sad!
It's to bad that people won't sell these cars or trucks. I would rather see these cars get fixed and driven than to rot. I know a place in my area and the guy has at least 20-30 cars caged off. And i have asked if he would sell. You guessed the answer. "NO" To bad. It just doesn't make sense. ????
the owner might be one of those people with a “hoarder” mentality which I could never understand. reminds me of the urban legend about the old guy somewhere in New Hampshire who would buy a brand new car, drive it home and park it in his barn, and never drive it again.
ah, one of those type of owners. The car might as well not exist because when the owner dies the land will likely be cleared by relatives who view anything old as just rubbish. The land value is all they see, I've seen it a hundred times.
Yep...needs rescued or at least put in a building...not selling I can understand..but not sheltering something you know has high value is just lacking common sense.
I get that, there are a lot of stories like that on youtube, some car hoarder has been filling up his property for 30 to 40 years and repaired not a single one he then dies and his family abandons the property because of the expense of cleaning the property is insanely expensive so the cars just sit there rotting away...
Yeah there's a old guy I know that has a 1967 Chevelle, a 1968 GTO 396 and a 1969 GMC 1 ton with a 454 sitting in a barn on a 127 acre piece of property every time I ask him when he's going to sell them to me ha says I can buy them when he's dead! What a waste!!
Richard Moe I guess he had a lot more he said from 1956 through 1972 he bought a new GM every fucking year and when his wife got diagnosed with cancer in 1996 he sold a bunch and kept his favorites which is the 3 he's got sitting in the barn!
Why do people leave anything like this to crumble? Sometimes, there is a reason...not a good reason, but a reason. In many cases, it comes down to an owner being in love with having something that other people would really, really love to have, even if the owner lacks the interest, the means, or the motivation to to take care of the item. This kind of person gets a buzz from watching the rest of us beg.
I don’t usually get too wound up about these barn finds but my god, the owner must be completely off their rocker to let a car of that magnitude sit outside and slowly turn to dust. There was a barn 50 ft away I bet there is nothing in the barn worth as much as that car. It’s not rocket science, just cut a couple trees and bring it inside! If I was close I would volunteer to do the work myself for free. I don’t care if it gets restored just Clean it up and get it dried out so it doesn’t disappear.
so would i. i've dug a 55 chevy and a 61 corvette on the same property out of the ground before. the wheels sunk and i dragged them out of the hole just to keep them from getting worse. parking on dirt out in the weather is never a good idea. at least build a cheep lean to or shed with a dry floor. park them on an old street sign or something to keep them from sinking. what a waste.
Preach it brother. I AM close and I will also dole out some free labor.. I see so much old muscle and classic rides that are just wasting away when they could be at least in the dry. Some folks, they just can't bear to let go of belongings, no matter how much they're worth. And it sucks too... Most of the time they don't even have enough sense or affection for the object to even throw a tarp over it at least.
@@TractorWrangler01 dumbest shit ive seen. Why would some do that ? So the guy can try to act cool and do some donuts and crash it trying to show off. He wont appreciate some1 fixing it for him trust me . only time us humans appreciate things is if we payed out of our own pocket
This car has to be the key to some long-standing mystery ,family feud , unsettled dispute. A shame to let it die out there alone in the woods. Thanks for making the trek out there to show her some well deserved attention.
Fat Man, Little Jeep All the stuff that’s happened since then. Heck even the new cars from then that are dead from that era , 5.0 mustangs and irocs...I remember the glimmer of hope from the 80s cars mentioned above, I might have been too young to drive but t was good times.
MrHillfolk Yes, Sir. I was fortunate enough to be able to ride in some as my dad had quite a few back in the 80s and 90s. Sad to see any of them in this shape to me.
Fat Man, Little Jeep Good times tho man. I remember in high school the lot was full of chevelles and novas and stuff like that. One of my pals got a pretty fast gto with a 400 ram air 4 spec engine in it, we laughed at him because he paid 3500 and we could see waves in the rear quarter panels. I’d pay 3500 for any of those cars now haha.
Here in Vermont, A story about a mile from me there was a father that kept his son's car, the son went missing in Vietnam. And he would not sell it thinking his son would be back! sad story.
That happened to my neighbor too. Mint 1969 Volkswagen. His dad just could not sell it. I peeked inside one time while I was in his garage doing some work for him. You could eat off the seats. No lie.
Has it ever dawned on anyone that these are either stolen, or bank owned long ago that the person had no intention of paying off. So they hid them in a garage, or on a property. They can't sell them because once you try to register it'll show up at the DMV stolen.
Common thing with cars left out like this is the owner walks past it everyday and doesn't see the gradual deterioration. Probably thinks some air in the tires and a jump and she'd fire right up just like last time which was probably 30 years ago. Time just kind of gets away from people. I really hope someone can save this car.
Time for the crusher or some 16 y/o kid to buy the thing out of ignorance. It'd take $100,000.00+ to restore this car. Time for the crusher or someone like Jay Leno to buy it who could afford to restore it. A sad day in Chevyland.
@@jeffcraven7376 100k to restore? No way in hell unless you payed someone to do the work. There's tons of videos of guys getting those old engines to run. I don't know a lot about cars, but repairing the body would be the most challenging thing followed by the transmission. Suspension and brakes would be pretty easy. The engine itself is also simple
I remember hearing of a 69 Torino 428 cj 4 speed that sat behind a barn with 3000 miles on it for 30 years story was the guy that owned it went to Vietnam and didn't make it back. And his parents kept it all that time as a memory of him. Until a friend of mine was able to get it the only saleable parts were the engine and drivetrain the car was so bad it about fell in half when they tried moving it. But the good thing was the engine and trans went into a 69 mach 1.
You get the, " I'm gonna let it rot right where it sits." answer because a ton of people were interested in the car before you got there. Nobody previous to you made a serious offer, but instead tried to rip the owners balls off. So, WHO'S THE IDIOT?
sometimes sentimental value is probably worth more to him than the few hundred bucks he'd get for that heap, i can fully understand, selling the car means that car is no longer yours to enjoy, thats hard for a lot of people with more than just cars, its called having human emotions
Mykle Bust if it was stolen then why are the parts all still on it? Someone probably blew it up in the 80’s and left it there typical especially since they weren’t worth anything in the 80’s.
Why in the hell would anyone let a classic like this rot away like that? It probably looked very nice when it was parked there which makes it even more sickening.
You couldnt give these away back in the 80's. I sold mine for 800. Licensed and driving at the time. It had been for sale for over a year.. wish I had it back.
@G’d Up I wish I could find my old chevelle, id buy it back in a heartbeat. I never run across any for less than ten grand and those are usually malibus and rust buckets...lol
Motors yacked..if it is the original. He probably got pissed in 1986 when a grand national with the windows up, the air on and kenny g playing whipped his ass on the way to dinner.
Thanks for another good video! Hard to believe this car is in this good of shape after sitting outside. More like a "field find". How can someone not find a way of sheltering such an epic car? I would be willing to work for free to help construct a shed and move the car myself on the owners property just to save this car!!
I'm no expert at Restoration Estimates, but I'd figure a minimum of $100,000 to restore this back to fine, original condition. That plus purchase price for the car, towing, etc.
Never understand why people leave such beautiful cars out in the weather just to rot you see it all the time and most will not sale they will just let them Fade Into the dirt what a shame
No it's called they don't give a fuck about you or anyone else opinion they keep these car's cause they either was the first car they had or it has sentimental value which to them Trump's why you or anyone else would want the car
Jeàlous people suck. It's the owners, not yours. Yeah it's sad what hes done to it, but it is his to treat how he wants. I'm sick of whiney people, who don't get it.
