7 Foreword It’s been 20 years since this enterprise began—and what an adventure it’s been. My close friend Rollie Langston coined a phrase for what we do which captures the essence perfectly: Here at Undiscovered Classics, we find, research, restore, show and sell America’s lost automotive treasures.” No doubt, the most unpredictable and exciting part of this process is the beginning—researching the history and finding the cars. Therein lies the “adventurous” part of our journey, and is the reason we have been honored to be in many of Tom Cotter’s barn find books. Few realize it but in the Spring of 2000, I donated the last of my collector cars to the Museum of History in St. Petersburg, Florida. I was collector “car-less” when the new millennium began. But in 2005 when I acquired a car that I had been searching for since 1980 —the Covington Tiburon Coupe—my world would change. All research into cars, people, history, shows and events— everything we do that is called “Undiscovered Classics” started in earnest in 2005. So it’s fitting that this book — “Raiders of the Lost Cars”- captures the spirit of our last 20 years. And it’s thru our barn find experience as related to and shared by Tom Cotter that captures our most fun adventures. Today, the “adventure” still continues—in fact at a faster pace than ever with car “finds”, acquisitions, museum appearances and concours engagements happening at a quickening pace. Tom Cotter has been one of our greatest champions. I met Tom on my first automobile quest to acquire the 1959 Cheetah / Moon Transporter. A story about this transporter appeared in his 2005 book titled “Cobra in the Barn” (see Appendix). Over the years we kept in touch and discussed some of the cars we were finding and the research into their history. Subsequently, we appeared in four of his books: Corvette in the Barn: 2010, Fifty Shades of Rust: 2014, Motor City Barn Finds: 2017 and Secrets of the Barn Find Hunter: 2022. Our greatest adventures appear in these books, and I’ve compiled these stories and more into “Raiders of the Lost Cars.” The Appendix includes an article written by John Webber of Classic Motorsports called “Auto Obscura”. It was published in 2022 and is an excellent discourse on our history, process and the people involved. The Appendix also includes over 40 of our “barn find” cars that were significant—historically and otherwise. I hope you enjoy the automobile adventures shared here with you. And here’s hoping I have a chance 20 years from now to write again about the cars and adventures that lie before me. If I’m lucky—I may be able to meet and write about you and your adventures in such a book. What fun that would be. Until then, enjoy the stories and I wish you great success on your own automobile adventures. Go get ‘em gang! i
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