It was a wet, gloomy day, the sort when most people would rather sit in the pub with a sad pint. But a tip had come in, and the host of Road To Rust had a hunch it might be worth the trip. All he knew was that somewhere in the middle of nowhere there could be a barn with something very interesting inside. He grabbed his camera and headed out with a friend named Colin.

They walked through woods to get there, and he admitted that he did not think they were in the right place at first. Colin thought it was worth a look. Then the first car popped out of the undergrowth, and it was a Reliant Scimitar. The host said he owned one once, that it was absolutely terrifying, and that he would love another. This one looked like a Scimitar Sabre, which he said was not the usual model, though not quite the one Princess Anne drove either.

Cars in the Trees

A little further on, something was hiding in the trees near the houses at the back. Under a cover was a second Scimitar, with a nice bit of chrome showing. Finding one is unusual, he said, so finding two is even better. Close by sat a lovely old BMW 323i, a manual with Irish plates, locked up and a bit crusty, with the exhaust hanging off. He liked the look of the back end. Both Scimitars were the same color, which left him wondering why anyone would end up with two.

He also did not like how much of the woodland had recently been cut down, which says a lot about how quickly a patch of hidden land can change. A barn like this one may not stay secret for long.

The Mystery Car

Inside the barn, the first car under a cover had him stumped. It looked like something you would see bowling around the Goodwood Festival of Speed, with high-gap mudguards, little chrome lights and a nice chrome grille. He guessed it was from the 1930s, 40s or 50s. A Jaguar engine seemed to be fitted, though possibly a later type. It had no maker’s marks he could find, a coin from the Netherlands stuck on it, and a Bugatti Owners Club sticker. But it was British racing green and Bugattis are blue, and the gauges were Smiths, a very English brand. He admitted he had no idea what it was and asked viewers to help identify it. That is a handy reminder that old cars wear plenty of clues, and a specialist club or marque register is often the best place to start.

Then Came the Bentley

Then Colin said he knew what the next one was. What the host found made him say it was not the kind of thing you find often in England. Huge lights, a classic shape, and rear lamps that read Flexible Lamps Limited. He wanted to open it up, but a note on it said not to, and he respected that. It looked like it had just been parked and left, not abandoned for being dead. The car had been green at one time and later painted black, and it looked like it had some new screws in it. It looked like it would not take too much to get running again, in his opinion.

He does not usually look cars up while filming, because he likes to discover them with viewers. This time he made an exception and found that it was a 1928 Bentley, nearly 100 years old. He said they sell at auction for as much as 400,000 pounds. That might be for fancier examples, he said, but even these go for 250,000 to 300,000 pounds. He also mentioned one in America that did not sell, though it had been listed at 1.1 million. For him, it was the most valuable vehicle he had ever found. He could not believe that a car worth so much was sitting in a building like that.

The trip was worth the rain after all. He said he was in love with the find.

What Barn Hunters Should Remember

Stories like this are why people love barn finds, but they come with a few ground rules worth following.

• Get permission. A tip is not an invitation. Cars on private land belong to someone, and walking up to them without asking is trespass.
• Do not touch what you do not own. The host left a note on the Bentley alone, and that is the right call.
• Look for identifying marks. Chassis plates, club badges, instruments and lamp makers can all help pin down a car’s identity.
• Do not assume that a dusty car is dead. A car that was parked on purpose can be far better than one left to rot. Dry storage matters hugely.
• Be careful with values. Auction prices vary widely by condition, history and originality, and a figure for one car does not apply to another. Ask a marque specialist or valuer before you get excited.
• Think about the owner. For a family barn, the best thing you can do is be polite, be patient and be honest about what you are looking at.

There is a lot of luck in a day like this one. But the host turned up in the rain when it would have been easy to stay home, and that is how you find a Bentley in the woods.

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