If you’re looking for a muscle car book for yourself or one as a gift, the book written by author Ryan Brutt entitled Muscle Car Barn Finds: Rusty Road Runners, Abandoned AMX’s, Crusty Camaros, and more! might be right for you.
Much like his first book, Amazing Barn Finds and Roadside Relics, this book is filled with many photos and stories about muscle cars that have seen better days.
Ryan Brutt is also a popular Youtuber like Patrick Glenn Nichols MuscleCar Barn Finds and My Car Story with Lou Costable and uploads all his muscle car barn find in video format, many of which are in this book.
I may earn a small commission when you buy something through the links in this post.
Table of Contents
What is a Muscle Car Barn Find?
Barn Finds is a very popular term that is searched on Google over 22,000 times a month. It’s safe to say that people love their barn finds.
The term Muscle car barn finds has become a very broad term that encompasses a lot of different types of muscle cars nowadays.
Originally, it meant exactly as it sounds: when a car was found in a barn, it was called a “barn find,” and everyone knew what that meant.
Today, it’s a term that many in the muscle car community uses and generally describes a classic car that is found in a dilapidated condition that has been sitting for many years.
A barn find does not need to be discovered in a barn. In fact, a classic car could qualify if it is found in a junkyard, garage, storage unit, shop, field, driveway, backyard, shed, and more.
This book’s definition is no exception.
Some of the cars in the Muscle Car Barn Finds book were found in actual barns including the Moulin Rouge (pink) 1970 Plymouth Cuda featured below.
Muscle Car Barn Finds book: My Impressions
I purchased this book on June 20th, 2018, just after it was first published and made available for sale. I was excited to get it and see what new discoveries Brutt made.
Having purchased his first book on July 12th, 2016, I felt like I knew what to expect with many photos, captions, and interesting stories.
When the book first arrived, I flipped through the pages from cover to cover. I wanted to know if it was just a retread of his previous book or if it offered something new.
While it felt familiar, it definitely was not a retread. It was chock full of new finds with plenty of photos, captions, and stories. It sucked me in, and the next thing I knew, an hour went by.
It’s not a thin book, either.
At 159 pages, it weighs 2lb and has a bit of weight to it as you pick it up.
Brutt is a self-confessed Mopar Man, so before purchasing this book, I wondered if it would skew more toward Plymouth and Dodge.
I was pleasantly surprised.
Overall it was very balanced across all the “Big Three” American auto manufacturers.
There was also a fair selection of AMC muscle cars represented in this book, which felt like an added bonus.
At first, it threw me because AMC had 10 pages and 12 photos dedicated to it in the middle of “Chapter 4: Mopar”.
It was a little confusing at first seeing AMC in the Mopar chapter, but then I remembered that Chrysler purchased AMC in the 1980s. Brutt indicates this in the book as well.
What muscle cars barn finds are in this book?
If you’re curious if your favorite muscle car is in the book, here is a list of many of the muscle cars by make and model in the book that had photos. Many more were mentioned than shown.
Mopar
- Dodge Charger
- Dodge Challenger
- Dodge Coronet
- Dodge Daytona
- Dodge Demon
- Dodge Super Bee
- Plymouth Cuda
- Plymouth GTX
- Plymouth Max Wedge
- Plymouth Road Runner
- Plymouth Superbird
Ford & Mercury
- Ford Fairlane
- Ford Falcon
- Ford Galaxy
- Ford Ranchero
- Ford Torino
- Shelby Mustang
- Mercury Comet
- Mercury Cougar
- Mercury Cyclone
- Mercury Talladega
General Motors
- Buick GS
- Buick Skylark
- Chevrolet Camaro
- Chevrolet Corvette
- Chevrolet Cosworth Vega
- Chevrolet Chevelle
- Chevrolet Nova
- Oldsmobile 442
- Oldsmobile Cutlass
- Oldsmobile Hurst/Olds
- Oldsmobile Jetfire
- Pontiac Firebird
- Pontiac GTO
- Pontiac Tempest
- Pontiac Trans Am
AMC
- AMX
- Javelin
- Hornet
- Rambler
- Rebel
The most popular car photographed in the book was the 1970 Plymouth Superbird with 23 photos and is well represented in “Chapter 1: Aero Warriors,” which features 44 photos.
A Closer Look at the Muscle Car Barn Finds Book
I buy muscle car coffee table books first for the photos, captions second, and then the stories third. While I love reading the stories, it’s the photos I love looking at first and foremost.
I can’t tell you how many muscle car coffee table books are more stories than photos.
This is not one of them.
This book provides 258 color photos that span over 159 pages. There is an average of nearly two photos per page in this book. However, it feels like more with several pages having as many as six photos on them.
Additionally, when you compare the price on Amazon to the 159 pages, the price per page is less than a dime. It is a great value, no matter how you slice it up.
The materials used to publish this hardcover edition aren’t cheap, either. The layout and flow of the book are also stylish, and the color photos really pop. It certainly has a high production value for the price.
It doesn’t feel like a self-published book with a very basic layout where the photos and text are plopped on the page. This book definitely feels like it has a publisher behind it.
A few cars featured in the book weren’t muscle cars at all, including an AMC Amitron and Dodge Lil Red Express, among others. However, they were still interesting.
Lastly, almost all the photos are of the exteriors of cars. While I know there were many cars to feature, and people love seeing the car, I would’ve liked to have seen a few more in-depth features that showed under the hood and inside the car. Maybe that’s just me.
That all said, this is a legitimate barn find filled book worth purchasing!
My Recommendation
Muscle Car Barn Finds
Summary
If you’re looking for a new muscle car book for your coffee table that you can pick up and flip through time and time again and see something interesting each and every time, Muscle Car Barn Finds is full of stories for you.
Well, there you have my Muscle Car Barn Finds review. What did you think? Leave your review in the comments below. Be sure to subscribe if you like reviews like this!
Ryan Wheaton
Ryan has owned muscle cars since 1986 and currently owns a 1972 Dodge Charger Rallye. He combines passion and experience to create engaging content for fellow muscle car enthusiasts. In 2018, he founded Muscle Cars Illustrated, authoring hundreds of articles on tips, history, and trends in the muscle car industry. He attends national car shows, auctions, and museums to stay current with the latest developments in the muscle car industry.
Get exclusive muscle car content, giveaways, and a FREE Report on 10 of the most powerful muscle cars ever made right to your inbox—absolutely free!
We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe anytime.