Every so often you get a nice surprise. A little bit of serendipity that comes out of the blue.

After we left the museum, we wanted a little snack to tide use over until we could get a nice meal in Pigeon Forge later. We stopped at a little convenience store for a bag of chips and maybe some beef jerky (love the stuff). The Healey always seems to draw some lookers and as we were leaving a fellow came up to strike up a conversation. I have chosen to respect his privacy and won't give out his name. I doubt he wants a lot of people pestering him and after the story, you will see why.

He recognized the Healey as actually a Sebring kit car and said he had owned a couple. He then proceeded to tell me about the original Healey’s he owned as well as long list (very long list) of other cars. Said he had them in barns, several barns.

After a few minutes, he asked which direction we were going. When I told him, he said follow me if you have the time. One of my barns is on your way. We were a little pressed for time, but something told me to make it happen and I’m very glad I did.

My friends, this one barn was a gear head’s paradise and looked like something right off the American Pickers show. It might have been one of their stops in reality. It was packed, with very little room to move, but I was greeted by things like a cut away Triumph motorcycle engine, bicycles from the 1800’s and an old midget race car. There were some rare and very valuable cars too. XKE’s and the like. All in “barn find” condition, but there none the less. He even had an old NASCAR racer that was driven by a well known driver.





The field that surrounded this barn was full of things like 55, 56 and 57 Chevys and even a Lamborghini bulldozer. Yes, a Lamborghini bulldozer! Bet you won’t find that just anywhere.

The Lamborghini logo is tough to see in the pictures, but it is there!



Sadly, we really were short on time and had to press on, but I could have wandered around with him for hours just drooling over these “treasures” he had collected. Of course, I asked if anything was for sale since I really would like to have an antique motorcycle to tinker with, but he told me that while he did have some, he is a collector, not generally a seller. So be it, I’ve seen the type before and it’s not my place to judge. Still, I considered myself privileged to have seen a small portion of his collection. Wish I could go back and see the rest!