Barn Finds and Hidden Gems Steal the Show at MCACN 2023

This was a record year for barn finds at MCACN, with 36 rare and rusty cars on display.

John MachaquerioWriterDec 01, 2023

The Barn Finds and Hidden Gems display at the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals (MCACN) show—held every year at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois, the weekend prior to Thanksgiving—never fails to deliver. Ryan Brutt, the Auto Archeologist, is the guy responsible for organizing what’s become one of the show’s most popular recurring exhibits. The idea that they’re still out there waiting to be discovered is reinforced every year with the rarity of the vehicles he manages to have at the show. For 2023, Ryan managed to pull in 36 cars, a record for this display. For some of these cars, this display is the beginning of a cycle that will see them return to the show at some point down the road for their fully restored unveiling. Check out the gallery we’ve put together of all the barn find cars at this year’s show.

1970 Ford Mustang Boss 429

A rare car from the Mopar’s 5150 group, this 1969 Mustang Boss 429 led a short, turbulent life. It was raced early on and was last registered in 1972. At some point, the 429 was pulled and lost. The body was found in Texas about three years ago, and the original engine was located shortly after that. A post on a Boss 429 Facebook group was what led to the body being reunited with the car—sort of. The engine was delivered to the MCACN show this year and they were going to install it in the car out in the parking lot, however a few missing brackets prevented that from happening, so the engine was displayed outside the car.

1969 Dodge Super Bee

This 1969 Dodge Super Bee is described as a one-of-none and is another vehicle from the Mopars 5150 collection. It is numbers-matching stripe-delete car with the standard 383 mated to a four-speed still in place. What makes this Dodge unique is that it is painted pink. Chrysler only offered FM3 Panther Pink (Dodge), or Moulin Rouge (Plymouth) as a paint color option for the second half of the 1970 model year. The fender tag on this B-body has 99 as a paint code, which means that it was a special order. Though Chrysler didn’t have a dedicated paint code for the color, it has been validated that this car did leave the factory painted in the vibrant pink that is still visible on the car, even if Chrysler didn’t offer FM3 until around February of 1970.

1970 Plymouth Superbird

What looks to be a Petty Blue Superbird actually rolled off the assembly line in FY1 Lemon Twist Yellow with a 440 six-barrel and a column-shifted Torqueflite automatic. Though many of the wing cars are accounted for, this one was a fresh find that no one knew existed. This one is also owned by the folks at Mopars 5150, and it was acquired through a lead on a Shelby GT 500.

1970 Hurst Oldsmobile PrototypeThis 1970 Hurst Oldsmobile, or what is left of it, was found sitting in a field with extensive front-end damage. The claim is that this was a prototype built by GM for a planned introduction as a cheaper companion to the 442 in 1970. Those plans were apparently scrapped and a similar car was introduced as the Rallye 350. The Hurst Olds didn’t make a return to the product lineup until 1972. This car does have documentation to back up its origins.

1969 AMC Rambler S/C

Owned by Martin Metz, this 1969 Rambler S/C was in running condition, and very loud. As the current owner, he is looking for information on the car. He has managed to trace it to New York and New Jersey for most of its life. Photos exhibited with the car show its downward spiral from the ’80s up to 2022. Mounted on the 390 big-block is an Edelbrock STR-11 cross-ram intake manifold fitted with a pair of Holley carburetors. This intake was offered over-the-counter by AMC as part of their performance parts program.

Related: AMC Muscle Cars That History Forgot

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1970 Plymouth ‘Cuda 440 Six-Barrel Pilot Car

Built on August 1, 1969, at Chrysler’s Los Angeles plant, this 1970 ‘Cuda was the first 440 six-barrel E-body built at that plant and was a pilot car with serial number 100004. It was painted FY1 Lemon Twist Yellow with a black bucket-seat interior. At some point in the ’80s it was found in a salvage yard in very rough condition. The engine and four-speed transmission are long gone, the interior is completely missing, and there is frame damage on the driver’s side. It also has a fair amount of rust, so anyone tackling this as a restoration project would be facing a substantial financial commitment. At the other end of the spectrum, Los Angeles-built serial number 100005, the Rapid Transit ‘Cuda, was on display elsewhere at the show.