classic car barn finds

The Story Behind Janis Joplin’s Psychedelic Porsche 356: and 49 other Highly Entertaining Tales From the World of Rare and Exotic Car Collecting
Binding: Trade Paperback
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Enthusiast Books 2016
ISBN Number: 1583883436 / 9781583883433
Order from Enthusiast Books 715-381-9755 $19.95

Wallace Wyss has been contributing articles to VeloceToday since 2008 but now has gotten into a groove with his series of Incredible Barn Find books. This is the fourth book in the softbound series. Previously we’ve covered two of Wyss’s Barn Finds book, Incredible Barn Finds and The Baroness and the Mercedes. The last was “The Story Behind Smoky Yunick’s Boss Mustang” which we didn’t review but I can’t remember why not.

While we don’t know if the run is over…a total of 200 or so barn find stories is a pretty good run after all, and if Enthusiast Books sees fit to publish as many as Wyss can write, they must be selling pretty well. After all, they are entertaining and just the sort of thing that Wyss is good at. And, such books may attract a new generation of car enthusiasts, who in turn may look past the dollars and find the histories fascinating. [Read more…] about Wyss’s Latest Barn Find Book: We review

What you need to know:
Is it for sale? SOLD

The vast majority of enthusiasts cannot afford a pre War Italian sports car. This Fiat Balilla, a truly rare barn find, may be the last opportunity to own a genuine pre War Italian classic at an affordable price.

By Steve Gurr and Pete Vack

All photos by Steve Gurr

Last month Steve Gurr and his wife were minding their own business happily driving to their home in Gainesville, Ga. when they spotted what looked like an old Austin Bantam on a trailer a short distance ahead. Catching up, a closer look revealed a pre-war Fiat roadster with a “Balilla” script across the grille.

Steve is a longtime car enthusiast who has owned MGs, Porsches, Miatas. He owned only one Italian car, an Alfa GTV, but was astute enough to know that he should find out more about whatever kind of Fiat was on that trailer. At the next traffic light he hopped out and approached the driver. “What are you going to do with the car?” he asked. The two young men in the truck enthusiastically hollered back, “Want to buy it? We have more!”
By Steve’s watch, it was about 4 P.M. on Sunday when the traffic light turned green.

Ahead of Steve and his wife in the traffic of an Atlanta suburb was a Fiat Balilla, identified by the script on the grille. It turned out to be a 508 M, found in Ethiopia and probably used in the Italian-Ethiopian war in the mid 1930s. This would lead to the discovery of the Balilla Coppa d’ Oro.

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