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50 classic and antique cars that were found in a Pennsylvania barn will be auctioned off by a YouTuber - see the whole collection
50 classic and antique cars that were found in a Pennsylvania barn will be auctioned off by a YouTuber - see the whole collection
Brittany ChangMar 15, 2020, 17:46 IST
Fifty cars found in a barn in Pennsylvania are now going up for auction with the help of a YouTube channel specializing in antique cars and hot rods from the World War II era.
The collection originally belonged to Larry Schroll, who died in 2018, and is now being auctioned off by his family.
Most of the cars are still in drivable condition and will only require a small about of maintenance.
Fifty cars were found in a barn in Pennsylvania in 2018, including Ford and Chevrolet cars built in the 1930s. Now, they're going up for auction.
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The collection originally belonged to Larry Schroll, who spent the majority of his life collecting classic cars from swap meets while living in Pennsylvania. Schroll died in 2018 and his family inherited the estate, including his secret massive car collection.
The family knew they wanted to auction off the vehicles to avoid the negotiations that come with selling a classic car. They had an auctioneer selected, but the auctioneer told them that he wasn't a "car guy" and couldn't distinguish differences between the collection, Matt Murray of IronTrap Garage told Business Insider.
Overwhelmed by the collection of classic cars, Schroll's family decided to reach out to Murray, who runs the YouTube channel IronTrap Garage that focuses on antique cars and hot rods from the World War II era.
Murray is now helping the family batch the cars to auction off while advertising the collection on his social media, including his YouTube channel that has about 56,600 subscribers.
In exchange for his help, Murray was able to purchase two hot rods from the collection: a 1932 Ford five-window coupe and a 1934 Ford Tudor.
He plans on documenting the restoration of these two vehicles on his YouTube channel, along with releasing a video every Sunday for the next approximately two months about the barn find collection.
"When we put those videos [documenting the two Ford restorations], people are going to lose their minds. It's a once in a lifetime thing to find a '32 Ford like one and buy it, and to buy a '32 and a '34 Ford at the same time is just off the charts," Murray said.
All of the vehicles found were made between the 1920s and 1970s.
Murray claims about 99% of the collection is made up of “very” collectible cars.
“Pretty much anybody that walks in there would find something they like, whether you're a muscle car guy or a hot rod guy or just the straight up antique car collector,” he continued.
The cars are now going up for auction...
...and will be auctioned off in batches.
Schroll worked at a paper mill, holding the job his entire life.
“He was just a blue collar kind of guy,” Murray said.
He started collecting cars in 1961 and continued until the 1990’s.
Schroll purchased all of the vehicles used.
He purchased several of the cars that "caught his eye" at big swap meets, according to Murray.
“He [was] buying cars that are worth $20,000 now and he paid like, $1,000,” he continued.
He also didn’t have any “prejudice” towards the vehicles he purchased.
While some collectors only focus on a specific brand or era of cars, Schroll purchased what he liked regardless of its maker.
"Everything he bought is unique or interesting for one reason or another," Murray said. "You can actually tell why he bought it."
There's a 1954 Corvette, which Murray claims is one of the best cars in the collection.
It's from the second model year of the Corvette and dons a rare color that only about a hundred 1954 Corvettes ever made have.
The vehicle in the best condition is the 1955 Ford Thunderbird.
The vehicle in the worst condition is the 1932 Ford five-window coupe that Murray purchased because it’s one of the only cars in the collection that isn’t in driving condition.
Schroll was an especially prolific car buyer between 1975 and 1979 after purchasing a nine-acre wood lot in 1975.
During that four year period, Schroll purchased 21 vehicles, including a 1964 Chevrolet Corvair Convertible, a 1969 Ford Thunderbird, and a 1936 Ford truck.
“It was a great investment because he was buying stuff at a time when you could buy these cars for literally pennies on the dollar, and now...they're all good cars, but some of the cars [are] pretty good [and] definitely going to be pretty good profit for [the family],” Murray said.
"It would have taken a lifetime to sell all of this privately one by one," Murray said.
Some of the vehicles still have okay paint jobs and are driveable, even without repairs and restorations.
Murray claims the collection is so incredible because of the large range of vehicles and the good condition many of them are still in.
Almost all of the cars were stored indoors and hidden away from both people and the elements that could have induced rotting.
He held the cars in two places, including a barn that he built himself.
He also purchased a second storage unit and built walls inside of the building to protect the vehicles from prying eyes and the weather.
“He bought them, put it in the building, and closed the door and never touched them again,” Murray said about the cars in the other storage unit. “When I'm opening the hood on these cars or the doors on them, like it's the first time they'd been open since..Larry [opened them].”
Murray compares exploring the storage units to treasure hunting.
“Overwhelming is the best word because you can't go to a place like this and take it all in in one day,” Murray said.
Every time he visits the storage units, he finds something new that he hadn’t noticed before.
The cars are packed closely together, Murray said.
The space is so cramped, it's difficult to walk between some of the vehicles.
This means each vehicle has to be removed carefully.
"These were all hidden like his family didn't really know what he had," Murray said. "So the word didn't really get out to many people other than folklore that he had a lot of ... cars."
The cars will not be repaired before the auction.
Instead, the vehicles will be hosed down to clean off the dirt and animal feces on them.
However, two of the vehicles won’t be washed to stay in line with the “barn find craze that’s happened in the past 10 years,” according to Murray.
Murray claims that some collectors want the cars while they are still dirty and "as found."
Mechanical work won’t be done because of the high number of vehicles and the amount of time it might take.
However, many of the cars don’t need extensive work.
Murray claims 99% of the cars aren't too rusty…
...and about 80% to 90% of the vehicles are “structurally sound.”
Most of the cars will likely be sold in the $5,000 to $10,000 range, with some likely going between $20,000 and $50,000, according to Murray.
Some of the cars still have little tokens inside that are reminders of Schroll’s ownership, including Schroll’s jacket that was thrown in and left in the passenger seat, and lanyards around the rearview mirror.
Car parts found in the storage units will also be going up for auction.
Murray predicts the parts are just as valuable as the cars.
He also wants people to know that Schroll wasn’t a hoarder.
Murray considers the collection a financial investment, and not a hoarding hobby.
"There is a negative hoarder, but he wasn't keeping empty cat food, he was keeping collectible antique cars around and car parts which now the family's going to benefit from very greatly," Murray said.
“We can all thank him for saving all these old cars,” he continued.
The first round of auctions will begin on April 18th at the York fairgrounds.
Some of the vehicles will be sold at the fairgrounds, and others will be sold on the property.
There will be three to five auctions in total.
Several vehicles have already been sold, including the two that Murray purchased, and two antique fire trucks and a Harley Davidson that Scholl also owned.
