Secrets of the Barn Find Hunter - by Tom Cotter (Hardcover)

About the Book

Automotive archaeologist Tom Cotter is "The Barn Find Hunter" in Hagerty's popular YouTube series. In Secrets of the Barn Find Hunter, he reveals how he finds amazing collector cars otherwise long forgotten.

Book Synopsis

Join "The Barn Find Hunter" Tom Cotter for a thrilling, illustrated behind-the-scenes look at how he deploys his well-honed auto-archaeology skills to ferret out amazing collector car stashes.

Since 2016, author Tom Cotter has been The Barn Find Hunter for an ongoing series sponsored by Hagerty Classic Insurance and found on their popular YouTube channel. Since that time, Cotter and crew have filmed more than 100 episodes throughout the US and even visited the UK. Some of Cotter's most popular episodes have views in excess of 5 million!

Cotter has uncovered everything from pre-WWII classics to postwar exotics like Porsche, Jaguar, and Ferrari. He's a dyed-in-the-wool car guy, and the collectors he finds can't resist sharing their treasure and revealing the stories behind their stashed cars.

In Secrets of the Barn Find Hunter, Cotter gives you an entertaining and informative look at how he works his barn-find magic, offering tips, hard-won perspectives, and why the thrill of discovery never dies in his pursuit of the next "lost" car. The book is illustrated throughout with images from his most epic finds.

Attend any auction or any car show and it's immediately clear that collectors cannot get enough of barn-find and survivor vehicles and the stories behind them. In Secrets of the Barn Find Hunter, Cotter takes you along for what has been the ride of his lifetime.

Review Quotes

"Full of enthralling stories, Cotter's book is breezily written and illustrated by photography from some of his finds. If you want to learn the secrets to finding lost cars gleamed from a lifetime of experience, this book is a must."--PCA.org

"If you find stories of unearthing dusty, long-forgotten automotive treasures truly captivating, then this book by Tom Cotter is a must-have for you."--Chevy Hardcore

About the Author

Tom Cotter has been involved in nearly every end of the automotive and racing industries over the span of his career. From mechanic and auto salesman to heading the public relations department at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Cotter formed his own racing and automotive PR and marketing agency, Cotter Group. The agency represented some of the largest clients in NASCAR, IndyCar/CART, drag racing, and road racing. He has written biographies of the legendary Holman-Moody race team, Tommy Ivo and Dean Jeffries, but is best known for his series of barn find books, such as Cobra in the Barn, 50 Shades of Rust, and Barn Find Road Trip. Cotter appears in the Barn Find Hunter video series, which is distributed by Hagerty Insurance. He teaches public relations at Belmont Abbey College, sits on the advisory board of McPherson College's Auto Restoration program, and is a member of the Road Racing Driver's Club (RRDC). He lives in Davidson, North Carolina.McKeel Hagerty is a lifelong car lover and the Chief Executive Officer and driving force behind Hagerty, the world's largest specialty automotive insurance provider. Under his leadership, Hagerty has grown from a local insurance agency operating from his parents' basement in Traverse City, Michigan, to a global market leader. Hagerty is the leading provider of specialty insurance protecting nearly 2 million classic and enthusiast vehicles. In 2017, McKeel broadened the company's mission to saving driving and growing the car community for future generations. To support those goals, the company has made a series of strategic partnerships, acquisitions, and expansions including the Hagerty Drivers Club (620,000 members), Hagerty Drivers Club magazine (600,000 circulation), Hagerty YouTube (1.3 million subscribers), DriveShare (peer to peer rentals), the Greenwich Concours d'Elegance, and the industry gold standard for vehicle values, the Hagerty Valuation Tool. His favorite car is his first, which he drives to this day--a 1967 Porsche 911S that he found in pieces in snowbanks behind a barn near his boyhood home and restored with the help of his dad.