Aside from the prospect of finding a rare and valuable classic car, the main appeal for barn find hunters is the storied histories these cars tend to have. Trying to unearth what has happened to some of these cars in the intervening years between rolling off the dealership floor and where they are now is half the fun.

Most of the time, we’re lucky to stumble across just one barn find out in the wild – maybe two or three at a push. However, classic car consultant Jason from the Southern Bush Motorsports YouTube channel struck gold when he stumbled upon this quarter-mile-long cow barn in Texas full of classic muscle cars.

Jason says he spent two full days trawling through this barn, checking out some of the cars the owner had accumulated over the years. While there aren’t any ultra-rare cars in the collection, this cow barn is still a treasure trove that plenty of car collectors would kill to take a look at.

This Mega Barn Find Was More Than Jason Bargained For

300+ Car Barn Find Key Details

• Jason was working for a client in Texas when he got a call about this salvage yard with 302 cars in the desert
• The cow barn was around a 1/4 of a mile long and the cars were so tightly packed, Jason had to climb over the cars in his socks
• The cow barn was also pitch black and had no windows or lighting
• The owner of the barn wanted $1 million for the entire collection in a take it or leave it offer
• Jason estimates the collection was actually worth $300-400k, despite every car being unrestored survivors

Jason is the founder of Southern Bush Motorsports – a classic car consultancy firm – that travels across the country searching for and verifying authentic classic muscle cars. While Jason spent a few years in retirement, he started operating again just over a year ago and has since started posting some of his most fascinating stories from his 30 years in the classic car industry.

One of his most bizarre and interesting “tall tales”, as he calls it, is the story of this cow barn down somewhere in Texas. While Jason doesn’t remember the year or the area, he does hint that it was quite a while ago. From what Jason recalls, he was down in the Lone Star State hunting around for a few cars for a client when he got a call about this cow barn in an old salvage yard and asked whether he would like to go and take a look.

The owner of the salvage yard had recently passed away, with the late owner’s daughter now looking to sell the entire collection. Initially, Jason says he thought there would only be about 10 or 15 cars in the barn and was keen to take a look. When he got there, however, the late owner’s daughter told Jason that there were over 300 cars stuck in a gigantic cow barn, and she was looking to offload all the vehicles at once – and for no less than $1 million.

Jason Spent Two Full Days In This Pitch Black Cow Barn

At first, Jason could scarcely believe that fitting 300 cars in a cow barn was even possible. However, once he saw how large the barn was (Jason estimates it was about a ¼ of a mile front to back), he realized he was in for a bit of an ordeal. Not only was the barn huge, but all 302 cars were so tightly packed together. Jason says he had to remove his shoes and climb over the vehicles to document them, as there was not enough space to walk around.

Jason’s other issue was that the cow barn was utterly pitch black, with no windows or lighting inside whatsoever. Fortunately, Jason’s experience and foresight meant he already had external flash lighting, so he could take pictures and see where he was going.

Jason says it was a slow process moving through all 300+ cars in the darkness, and there were very few spots of solid ground where he could sit down and rest. He does say that someone would periodically come in and check that he was okay, but as there were only doors on the two ends of the barn, once he was inside, he was committed to staying there for a whole day. In total, he spent two full days documenting the entire collection.

This Barn Didn’t Have Anything Ultra Rare, But Every Car Was Original

Jason says that the late owner used to tow cars back to his salvage yard, and if the owner didn’t pay the tow fee, he would just keep it for himself. While there aren’t any Yenko Camaros or Shelby Mustangs, there’s still a fantastic selection of cars all in original condition. With that said, here are some of the most interesting cars from the collection.

Highlights from the GM back catalog include plenty of C3 Chevrolet Corvettes, as well as a 1964 Chevy Impala SS and a few first and second-generation Chevy Camaros. There’s also a host of Chevy Chevelles, El Caminos, and even a rusty Chevy Nova.

There’s an extensive selection of Ford’s, too, with a slew of first-generation Mustangs – with hardtops, fastbacks, and convertibles all making appearances. There even appears to be a 1971 Mustang Mach 1 Fastback. There’s also a generous collection of first-gen Mercury Cougars, with Jason saying that the late owner was a big fan of the V8 coupe.

There aren’t too many Mopars in the collection, but a 1968 Plymouth Road Runner and a 1970 Plymouth Cuda are arguably the highlights. There are a few other miscellaneous cars in the collection, like a 1971 Buick Cutlass convertible, a Buick Skylark, and a series 1 Jaguar E-Type (XK-E) – all of which are unrestored, original survivor cars, according to Jason.