'50s barn find stash of convertibles, more now offered online

Two 1959 Eldorado Biarritz convertibles, a 1959 Eldorado Seville coupe, a 1953 Buick Skylark, a 1963 Eldorado Biarritz and fin after fin of 1959 Cadillac sedans. It’s not an assembly of rare cars on a concours field, it’s a barn burner of a barn find stash that is currently being auctioned online by Yvette VanDerBrink of VanDerBrink Auctions.

The better of two 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz convertible models in the online-only auction.

This recently discovered trove of incredibly desirable cars in Wisconsin is now available through an online-only auction ending Aug. 26, 2018, on www.vanderbrinkauctions.com. The collection contains a total of 30 cars with additional rarities such as a 1924 Elcar coupe; a 1932 Chrysler sedan; 1941 Cadillac sedans; two 1961 Cadillac Series 62 convertibles; a 1940 Buick Series 50 convertible sedan; and four additional 1959 Cadillacs (Fleetwood Sixty Special, Fleetwood Seventy-Five and two Sedan deVilles).

1959 Eldorado Biarritz convertible is missing the driver's side quarter panel and deck lid but given its restored value, it is a builder.

The family of the deceased owner, a longtime Old Cars Weekly subscriber, didn't realize the value of the cars due to their condition and almost crushed the cars. Luckily, they contacted a nearby collector car facility with an OCW issue in hand and were referred to Yvette VanDerBrink, who specializes in selling project and parts cars.

I had a chance to tour the cars and will be sharing this incredible experience on the pages of the next print issue of Old Cars Weekly (Aug. 16, 2018).

All of the vehicles in the sale have been stored for decades and are project or parts cars. For safety reasons, there will be no auction preview in this online-only sale. For additional images and auction details, including links to bid, go to www.vanderbrinkauctions.com.

One of the nicest cars in the stash is this 1963 Eldorado convertible.

Another white Cadillac convertible in the stash up for auctions is this 1961 Series 62. There is also an equally rough red 1961 convertible.

One of only 975 Eldorado Seville coupes built in 1959, this one is complete but probably too rusty to save. It retains all of the Eldorado trim. This and the other cars were stored in a raccoon-infested barn, and this one still wears the excrement of the furry visitors that covered the inside of the barn. The feces even ate a hole in the hood in this car.

This 1959 Cadillac Series Seventy-Five is good enough to be considered a project car.

1959 Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty Special wears evidence it came from Texas. It, too, would make a good builder.

There are two 1959 Cadillac Sedans deVille, one of each variety. This "flat top" Sedan deVille is in about the same shape as the "six window" Sedan deVille in the sale, but someone chromed some of the engine components on this flat top's 390 V-8.

The chromed engine of the "flat top" 1959 Sedan deVille.

A 1953 Skylark convertible, one of 1690 built. This one was red and has been in the seller's family for many years, perhaps since new. It is missing its trim tag, however, but appears to be an original red car.