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Most barn finds require some digging to get to. They wouldn’t be barn finds if they weren’t buried in a barn or garage for years. However, it’s unusual when cars are buried in a garage for so long that trees grow in front of the doors, locking the cars in. Except that’s exactly what happened to these two Minis in the latest episode of The Late Brake Show.
In the episode, host Jonny Smith visits these two Minis, which hadn’t seen the sun in at least 14 years. One of which is a 1991 model, which still makes it a classic Mini. The other is a 2002 model, which makes it among the first of the new, BMW-owned Minis. The latter was last used and subsequently stored in the garage, in 2010, and both are one-owner cars.
Their one owner is Margerate, who hadn’t seen the cars for ten years before Smith got there, which was evident by the state of the garage doors. Both doors were completely inaccessible, due to trees, vines, and garbage blocking them, which meant Smith, and Margarate’s friend Alan, needed to break out the landscaping tools. After hours of cutting, pruning, and chainsawing, they were finally able to get the doors open and see the cars.
The roof of the garage had caved in on one side, due to rotting ceiling joists and heavy debris, but thankfully the cars weren’t in harm’s way. Despite the caved-in roof, weather and animals getting in, and more than a decade of neglect, the Minis were both in decent shape. Sure, they were disgusting, full of cobwebs and muck, and the 2002 Mini had vines growing inside the engine bay, but both cars were free of any real damage. They even got the older ’91 Mini to start, albeit poorly.
I hope we get to see what happens to these two Minis next, as they’re both great cars in surprisingly good condition, given their history. They deserve to drive and be loved again, so hopefully they can go on to new owners that will fix them up and get them back on the road.
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