Barn Finds
An Aston Martin bonanza this month, with DBS from both sides of the Pond
This 1961 Aston Martin is the first DB4 Series IV built, a right-hand-drive example that found its way to the USA some time before 1975. It’s been in the same barn in rural Virginia for 31 years and in the same ownership for 46 years. The keeper throughout that time, Connie Moore, told his story in a video recording made on the day the car was extracted.
‘I was a paint and body man in Sixties and Seventies, and after I came back from Vietnam I went back to work for my old boss, who was a car collector. Someone brought him a ’36 Ford that needed its roof straightened out and I spent two weeks repairing it and painting it. He asked “What do I owe you?” and I told him “Nothing, because you saved my job for me while I was in ’Nam, I’m grateful”. Then he said “Well, I’ve got this old English sports car I’ve got no use for, it doesn’t go with my collection. Do you want it?”’
Connie says he was hoping it would be an MG or a Jaguar – he’d never heard of Aston Martin.
‘The steering wheel was on wrong side and though it ran okay, the clutch was gone. So we towed it home, but I was going through a divorce at the time and soon lost storage. So it went to my friend Eddie’s back yard for ten years, then he moved house and it did three years in my other friend Bobby’s back yard, but then I was remarried and we moved somewhere with more space. The Aston went into the barn 31 years ago.’ Connie had hoped to restore it but got involved with other European sports cars. The Aston remained ‘on the back burner’ until Connie accepted he’d never get round to it. He and his wife decided to sell up early in 2020, hoping to enjoy the proceeds in retirement. Tragically, his wife Kaye died at the end of last year before they could put the plan into action. The car is now up for sale with Gullwing Motors in New York. It’s very complete and retains its original engine, but it’s in need of total restoration after so long off the road.
SEND US YOUR BARN FINDS – BEST ONE WINS £100