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$900 Richard Petty 426 Wedge Engine and a whole bunch of Ford Galaxies | Barn Find Hunter - Ep. 44 - YouTube
Channel: Hagerty
[0]
(soft rock music)
[7]
(engine revving)
[8]
- Here we are in the south.
[10]
And it's raining and it's
supposed to rain all day today
[13]
and all day tomorrow, 100% chance.
[15]
So I'm driving a more modern
vehicle than the Woodie
[18]
because Woodies don't like
to be out in the rain.
[20]
We're on our way up to Virginia.
[23]
To visit a guy I met several years ago
[25]
while I was writing a book
called Barn Find Road Trip.
[29]
Real interesting guy.
[30]
His name is Snowball Bishop.
[32]
Of all the books I've
done, Barn Find Books,
[34]
he's one of the favorite
people I've ever met.
[37]
Neat man, neat cars, neat story.
[40]
So I hope you enjoy it.
[42]
(soft rock music)
[56]
This man is Snowball Bishop.
[59]
I met this man a number of years ago
[60]
when I was writing the
book Barn Find Road Trip.
[64]
We're driving up the highway,
[65]
right up the interstate highway,
[66]
and I looked over my right shoulder,
[68]
and there was a field full of cars.
[70]
I said, we've gotta go visit that man.
[72]
And it took a long way to
find out where to get here.
[75]
And I just thought you'd enjoy meeting him
[78]
and seeing the cars that he has,
[81]
the cars he's restored in his garage,
[83]
and the cars he has in the field out back.
[85]
So you got two '64 Fords here.
[88]
You restored these yourself?
[90]
- Yeah.
[91]
This one here now, that's
unrestored car over there.
[93]
- That's unrestored, okay.
[94]
So this is a '64 390.
[97]
- [Snowball] I found it in a tobacco barn.
[97]
It had been setting seven
years in a tobacco barn.
[100]
- [Host] Tobacco barn.
[101]
- [Snowball] It was
unrestored, four-speed car too.
[103]
- [Host] Yeah, and it
came with a four speed.
[106]
It was originally a four-speed car.
[108]
- He said, I'll tell you what.
[110]
He said, you probably wanna give me,
[111]
be like the rest of them
that come in here and
[113]
don't wanna give me nothing for the car.
[115]
I said, well, I don't know about that.
[117]
I said, you care if I go look at it?
[120]
I went on up and looked at it.
[122]
That was the original engine in it.
[124]
He just up and said, would
you give me $500 for it?
[129]
I said, why certainly I will.
[131]
I said, would you care if I just
[132]
go ahead and pay you for it today?
[134]
And I said I'm down here just to cross,
[138]
so I'll come back and get the car.
[139]
He said that'll be fine.
[141]
So I started on it, I
took it off the frame
[143]
and I done everything on it.
[144]
- [Host] You took it off the frame?
[145]
Everything, no kidding?
[147]
Does this have dual exhausts?
[148]
- [Snowball] Oh yeah!
[149]
- [Host] Wow!
[150]
Original hubcaps?
[152]
- [Snowball] Everything original about it.
[154]
- Now here's another two door hardtop.
[156]
- Yeah this car here now.
[157]
The old Fords wasn't bringing nothin then
[159]
when I bought this car.
[160]
You could buy them for a dime a dozen.
[163]
- [Host] What year did you buy this car?
[165]
- [Snowball] '68.
[166]
- [Host] 1968, so this
car was four years old
[168]
when you bought it.
[169]
What'd you pay for it?
[171]
- I bought it for $250.
[173]
- So 500 and 250. (laughs)
[177]
We'll go inside this building
[178]
and then we'll walk through
the fields out there.
[179]
(upbeat music)
[181]
That's a rare four-barrel right there.
[182]
It's an auto lite 4100.
[185]
You have two of them?
[186]
- [Snowball] Two of them.
[187]
- [Host] Can I buy em?
[188]
- [Snowball] I'll sell you one of them.
[189]
I'll keep one myself.
[191]
- [Host] Alright, you got a deal.
[192]
(upbeat rock music)
[194]
Four Barra manifolds.
[196]
So there we got grills for 64's up there.
[199]
Consoles.
[200]
'63 grill.
[202]
Steering wheels, new bumpers.
[206]
I'll put this carburetor right here.
[208]
- You want that?
[209]
Which ever one you want.
[210]
- Alright, now I want you to tell me
[212]
about this stock car over here okay.
[214]
- [Snowball] Oh, lordy!
[215]
You know I got the motor
[216]
and everything over there in the garage.
[218]
Brand new engine goes back in it.
[220]
The four speed, well the
four speed and the housing,
[223]
sitting right there
somewhere goes back in it.
[225]
Chrysler, you know.
[226]
- Now what year is that originally?
[228]
- [Snowball] I ain't be sure.
[229]
You know I run the 37's all the time.
[231]
- [Host] '37 Ford coupe.
[232]
- Yeah, the coupe.
[234]
This car here coulda been a '39.
[238]
I ain't be sure.
[239]
I finally found a '37 hood up to Richmond.
[243]
They sold it now.
[244]
My boy brought it to me.
[246]
I used to run the '37 Ford hood.
[248]
I like them the best on it you know.
[249]
- [Host] Mm-hmm.
[251]
- [Snowball] I've gotta have a piece
[252]
of it to put it back together.
[253]
- So when you ran that did it
have a flat head originally?
[255]
- Yeah, started out with a
flat head in it, you know.
[258]
I finished sixth in a 100
lap race with the flat head.
[263]
- [Host] With a flathead
behind five Chevy's?
[265]
- [Snowball] Yeah the Chevy's.
[266]
I told my daddy, I said we
gonna have to do something.
[269]
I run with the 312's, running good
[271]
along side the big block
390's is and the 427.
[274]
You know, I love Ford, don't get me wrong,
[276]
but they just wouldn't run with the 312's
[280]
it would run better than the
390's and the 460's and 427's.
[285]
I found out Richard Petty had had
[287]
a bunch of stuff down
at his place left over.
[289]
426 wedges and stuff.
[292]
I said, mmm, maybe I ought
to find out more about that.
[294]
(host laughing)
[295]
So we called and found
out and went down there.
[298]
He had one engine complete
sitting in the corner.
[302]
A 426.
[304]
Had some miles on it.
[306]
And he enough parts and stuff
to maybe build two engines.
[310]
Old man Lee was living at the time.
[312]
- Lee Petty?
[314]
- He said boy what can I do for you.
[316]
I said I'm down here looking for
[317]
some parts to build on of them.
[320]
I'm thinking about running Plymouth.
[322]
More parts.
[323]
I've been running Fords.
[325]
I can't run with the Chevrolet's.
[327]
He hollered for Richard to come out there.
[329]
Says, Richard that stuff laying
[331]
over in the corner over there.
[332]
What are you gonna do with it?
[334]
He said, Dad I'm not gonna do a thing.
[337]
He went to the Hemi's
you know the heavy stuff.
[338]
- Hemi's yeah.
[341]
[Host] - This is great stuff.
[342]
- This boy is interested
in buying that stuff.
[345]
What do you want for it?
[346]
He said, oh, I don't know
junk price swap it off to him.
[349]
That's how he spoken.
[350]
Well I didn't have all that
much money with me at the time.
[355]
He says would give $1200 for all of it.
[358]
I said that sounds reasonable enough
[360]
but I said if I had $1200 I
ain't got that much with me.
[367]
Back then we didn't know
what a credit card was,
[369]
you know, back then.
[371]
Had maybe a checking account you know
[373]
not very much in the checking account.
[375]
We went to dad, you
know, make the old man go
[379]
dig some money out of
the green box somewhere.
[381]
(host laughing)
[382]
But anyway, he said, how
much money you got boy?
[386]
I said I got a $1,000,
all my money right here.
[390]
Richard would you take
a $1,000 for that stuff.
[393]
He said, yeah.
[395]
But I spoke up and I said
now wait a minute here.
[397]
I said I got to have some
gas money to get back home.
[400]
(host laughing)
[400]
I said I'm 150 miles away from the house.
[403]
I don't know how far it was
I was down in Randaleman.
[406]
(host laughing)
[407]
He said give me $900.
(host laughing)
[410]
Load it up.
[411]
I loaded everything up
and that started the ball.
[415]
They knew we was in the ball game.
[417]
We won the championship.
[418]
- Wow!
- With that car in 1972.
[424]
I don't know how many
races that thing did.
[426]
We put them engines together.
[429]
Kept them and run them
and run them and run them.
[432]
Till I run out out of 426 stuff then,
[434]
I went to the 440 blocks.
[437]
- Did you have a four speed in there?
[438]
- [Snowball] Oh yeah.
[439]
- [Host] Four speed.
[440]
Okay, and a Franklin quick change.
[442]
- Right there, she sits right over there.
[444]
- [Host] Oh, yeah, okay here.
[446]
- That's it right there on
there and the bell housing
[447]
- Oh, yeah.
[448]
- [Snowball] Somewhere right there.
[449]
- [Host] Whoa look at that.
[450]
- [Snowball] I got the
four speed somewhere.
[452]
- [Host] Yup.
[453]
Well that's a beauty.
[454]
Would you sell that car?
[455]
- [Snowball] No.
[456]
- [Host] No.
[456]
We're gonna walk around, we're
gonna walk around back there.
[459]
- Go ahead and look at all that junk
[460]
whatever y'all want to do.
[461]
- Alright, good.
[463]
I think you probably get
why I like this guy so much.
[466]
I mean, he's the salt of the Earth.
[469]
He'll tell you just what he thinks.
[472]
A sweet, sweet guy who
grew up on this property
[474]
in the house right down there
[476]
and he said his mother
was the school teacher.
[477]
In a one room school house
[479]
and that's where he went to school.
[481]
He spent his life working mostly
[482]
for Volvo trucks which
has a plant near here.
[486]
Building race cars and
restoring old Fords.
[489]
This is the race car
that, you know, (laughs).
[492]
This should be in a building.
[493]
I mean, last time I was
here it was in a garage.
[497]
He would work on it in the garage
[499]
and his friends would come over
[500]
and help him until late at night
[502]
and there was no power
going to the garage.
[503]
They had to run the extension
cord across the street
[507]
and up into into his house
and that's how they got light.
[509]
In the garage they'd work on the car
[510]
and then eventually a
card game would break out.
[513]
They would be playing poker
[514]
and it'd be three in the morning.
[516]
His wife.
[518]
You gotta come in now it's getting late.
[520]
He wouldn't come in, wouldn't come in.
[521]
So he told me.
[522]
(light swooshing)
[523]
She'd just unplug the extension cord.
[524]
That was the end of the night,
boys you gotta go home now.
[526]
So, that's where this car was worked on.
[530]
I would love to buy this car.
[531]
This is a piece of
Virginia racing history.
[535]
It's run flat heads.
[537]
It ran wide blocks.
[540]
It ran engines from Richard Petty.
[543]
Both 426 wedges and then 440's.
[546]
Neat old car and if I were able
[548]
to buy this car I wouldn't even paint it.
[549]
I'd put clear coat on
this thing and build it
[552]
into a vintage race car and road race it.
[555]
This is one part of his life, his racing.
[557]
The other part is restoring
old '63, '64 Fords.
[562]
So we'll walk back here and
take a look at what he's got.
[564]
(upbeat rock music)
[570]
The interesting thing is,
everything's for sale.
[573]
I mean, he'll sell anything.
[575]
One is this '64 Ford with a
tree growing out of the hood.
[578]
A little tree.
[581]
That's the little tree.
[583]
Then this a '64 Ford over here.
[586]
With a big tree growing out of it.
[587]
I mean that is, look at this.
[589]
This is like an amazing
piece of sculpture.
[593]
He figures he parked this car in 1972.
[597]
(laughs) Now look at this one.
[600]
Oh, this is too much.
[601]
It's coming through the floor shift hole.
[605]
In the console and up
through the windshield.
[609]
Unbelievable.
[611]
So his thing is '63 and
'64 Fords and I asked him,
[614]
is that when you were born?
[615]
He said I wish that was the day.
[619]
Parts cars but he'll sell them.
[620]
He'll sell parts off them.
[621]
He'll sell the whole car.
[622]
He said some back here are
worth fixing and others are not.
[626]
Here's a '64, a '65, and I'm not sure
[628]
if he's got stories
about these cars or not.
[632]
This is pretty rare car.
[634]
Mercury and it's a two door
[635]
and it's got that slant back window.
[640]
My friend Bob Mead, who's
now my brother in-law,
[643]
in high school his
parents had one of these
[645]
and this back window goes down.
[647]
It retracts and we used
to put our surfboards
[650]
inside there to go surfing on Long Island.
[653]
(hood creaking)
[656]
390.
[658]
But you know this cars a parts car.
[662]
As we've seen driving out West.
[665]
Texas whatever, the cars are
in better shape than this.
[669]
This is an unusual car
[670]
and I'm not saying you
need to fix this up.
[674]
We'll find another around here
that would be a '65 Galaxy.
[678]
This is not a Galaxy.
[681]
It's '65 Ford Custom and it
had different tail lights.
[685]
Now look at this, it's gotta '63,
[689]
round tail light.
[691]
Inside a '65 almost rectangular housing.
[696]
The Ford Customs had a different
[699]
tail light and it was a different car
[702]
than a standard '65 and
we'll find one here.
[705]
Okay so look at this tail light.
[707]
It looks '63-ish.
[709]
We'll here's an actually '63.
[714]
So that tail light kinda looks
[715]
like this within a '65 housing.
[718]
We'll find a '65 so you can
see what I'm talking about.
[721]
That's a rare car, you don't
see '65 Ford Customs ever.
[727]
So these cars, this is what
attracted me to meet this man
[730]
driving down the interstate
and seeing these cars.
[732]
He's got some other cars up
here in buildings and overhangs
[735]
that are more of what we're
talking about being barn finds
[738]
that you could theoretically
fix up and drive.
[741]
So let's go check those out.
[743]
(upbeat rock music)
[751]
So this is Snowball's house up here
[753]
on the other side of the road
[754]
and this is the '63 he told us about.
[757]
So the red one up by your house.
[759]
That'll be for sale?
[760]
If somebody wanted to buy it.
[762]
What do you think you'd ask
for something like that.
[764]
- I was gonna try to
get around $3500 for it.
[766]
- $3500?
[770]
If I were you, I would
get in touch with me
[772]
so you could buy this car.
[773]
That's a pretty amazing price.
[775]
So here's the tonneau cover.
[776]
Convertibles, I mean, I
don't have to tell you.
[779]
Convertibles rot out.
[780]
They rot out back here because
the back window goes dead.
[783]
They rot out up here just because
[785]
floors rot out in the driver's seat area.
[788]
So this is a Galaxy 500, 1963.
[790]
It's got a 390.
[791]
It's got an automatic on the column.
[793]
He says it runs.
[795]
Now look at how you open this
hood, this is pretty cool.
[798]
You grab the lever, this emblem.
[800]
(metal squeaking)
[801]
Pop it up.
[803]
Look at that, chrome valve covers.
[805]
It's got a four barrel.
[807]
An after market air cleaner.
[808]
I don't know what kinda
four barrel that is.
[809]
It's kinda round.
[811]
Manual breaks, manual steering.
[813]
He says that the floors are
pretty good in this thing.
[816]
Seems like a heck of a deal to me.
[818]
I mean, you could wash this car up
[820]
and have a pretty nice car.
[821]
The interior has got kinda of a velour.
[823]
That's not original.
[825]
See there's velour stuff on the
door panels is not original.
[830]
You could get an interior
kit for this thing.
[832]
He said the floor is weak
around the gas pedal,
[834]
and that's not a surprise.
[839]
70,000 miles, you know,
and that could be original.
[842]
70,000 miles.
[845]
So it needs a top, obviously.
[848]
Let's take a look at the trunk.
[851]
There we go.
[854]
So there's fender skirts.
[856]
Okay, you can see the floor.
[858]
Ah, yeah, these floors
need to be worked on.
[861]
What'd you be best doing here
is going out into the field.
[865]
We know that he's got plenty
of '63 Fords over there.
[869]
Two doors.
[870]
And see if you can find a '63
two door with a solid trunk
[874]
and just cut that thing out.
[877]
And cut this out and weld it in.
[879]
This is weak, this is weak over here.
[881]
It's got fender skirts.
[885]
I guess this is door trim
[888]
and side trim that the car is missing.
[890]
Yeah, see the piece of
trim that's in the car.
[896]
Probably came off of
here when this got hit.
[898]
I think that could be fixed
[899]
or he probably has fenders for it as well.
[903]
So for 3500 bucks, what a deal.
[906]
I'm told it runs.
[908]
I'll go ask him if he
could put a battery in.
[911]
All right, they're getting a battery.
[913]
Snowball has a little bit
hard time getting around.
[916]
His son, Jimmy.
[917]
This is Snowball's son.
[918]
So this is Little Snowball.
[920]
- Well, yup, this is Little Snowball.
[924]
Some of them use to call me Snowflake.
[926]
(host laughing)
[927]
And I'm like, okay, I can accept that.
[929]
I can deal with that.
[930]
- [Host] You wanna put a
little gas in the carburetor?
[932]
- [Jimmy] Yeah lemme
do that and we'll see.
[934]
I know we can get her.
[935]
- [Host] Are you gonna work the throttle?
[937]
Want me to work the throttle?
[938]
- [Jimmy] Just be careful right now.
[939]
Yup, yup, yup.
[945]
(engine cranking)
[947]
- [Host] Whoa man.
[948]
(engine sputtering)
[954]
(engine revving)
[961]
(muffler purring)
[970]
Man!
[972]
So can you show us the other
one you got down there.
[973]
- Yeah.
(upbeat rock music)
[988]
- So not surprisingly
here's another '63 Ford.
[991]
I don't know how many '63 Fords are left
[993]
on the planet Earth but about half of them
[995]
are sitting on Snowball's
real estate here.
[998]
This is a '63 convertible.
[1000]
The drive train and this
chassis has been all restored.
[1003]
So, new bushings, new tire
rod ends, new sway bar.
[1006]
Now it's everything is new.
[1008]
It's got power steering.
[1009]
It's a 390 which apparently runs well.
[1012]
It's got a manual gear box
[1014]
but it's not a four
speed, it's a three speed.
[1016]
So the chassis been all restored.
[1018]
Mechanically, the car's been restored
[1020]
but the body is in need of work.
[1022]
Snowball would like to
get $4,000 for this car.
[1026]
So we saw one up the hill there.
[1027]
Which is $3500.
[1029]
Which is a 390 automatic.
[1031]
Here we have a '63 convertible 390
[1034]
with a manual three
speed gear box for 4,000.
[1037]
So you're talking 7500 for two cars.
[1039]
I gotta tell you.
[1040]
If you could do a package
deal on the two cars.
[1043]
You could at least make one great one.
[1045]
If not, two great ones if
you were a handy person.
[1048]
These prices go back to,
[1052]
well, to the time when
he was collecting parts.
[1054]
I mean, look at this place.
[1055]
These are all old Ford
parts hanging around here.
[1059]
Starter saw mites, trim rings,
[1061]
rows of carburetors, fuel pumps.
[1065]
If you could buy cars and parts
from somebody that was doing
[1070]
it back in the day and doesn't go on Ebay,
[1073]
then you're probably getting
a pretty darn good deal on it.
[1076]
So I would say between the two cars.
[1078]
$7500 is a pretty darn good deal.
[1081]
You know, I know you don't live here,
[1083]
you came over to see
us, so I appreciate you.
[1085]
- I didn't know for sure.
[1087]
You said Rayners Town and I'm like okay.
[1089]
- Nope we're here.
[1090]
But I left the Woody home today.
[1091]
Woodies don't like rain.
[1093]
So I've hope you enjoyed coming with us.
[1094]
Visiting Snowball Bishop.
[1096]
Amazingly interesting guy who's told us
[1099]
about the stories of his race car.
[1101]
Restoring his cars.
[1103]
The cars that he has to be restored
[1105]
or for sale and his parts cars.
[1107]
He's kept us entertained all afternoon.
[1109]
The rain's held off.
[1111]
It's been a wonderful time
[1112]
and I wish you could join
us on a trip like this.
[1115]
Happy hunting!
[1117]
Okay, so, we were talking
about 65's before.
[1121]
So this is your dads car.
[1122]
He told me once it was your car.
[1124]
That's a 390 as well?
[1126]
Oh, that's got headers on it?
[1127]
Wow, nice car.
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