Wild Barn Find: Two Jaguar XKs Less than a Mile Away from Each Other

Barn Find Hunter‘s Tom Cotter finally uncovers his all-time dream find.

A wild chance in Traverse City, Michigan, Tom Cotter of the Barn Find Hunter series discovers his dream Jaguar Roadster. According to Hagerty, Cotter manages to produce some extreme luck in his barn hunting and accomplishes finding not just one, but a pair of Jaguar XKs.

While Cotter has covered the nation searching for classic car barn finds, he doesn’t shy away from revisiting a city for any missed treasures. On the hunt for the Jaguars, Cotter heads to the compound of a fifth-generation farmer, Denny Hoxie.

As the pair walk toward a covered vehicle in the back of Hoxie’s garage, it’s hard for Cotter to not try guessing what might be underneath. Long lines, front fender curves, it looks like the car hiding under the dusty automotive cover might be just what Cotter has been searching for.

“Every time I open a garage or barn door, I dream I am going to find an XK120,” reveals Cotter of Barn Find Hunter.

It is Cotter’s barn find dream, a Jaguar XK120. Glowing in English white in the corner of a Michigan garage is the unicorn find that Cotter has been searching for.

At the time of its release, the Jaguar XK120 was the fastest mass-production vehicle in the world, reaching 120 mph. When debuted at the 1948 Earl’s Court Motor Show, it caused a stir of enthusiasm with its curves and romantic styling. It’s no wonder it is still considered a holy grail for Jaguar enthusiasts to this day.

‘Every time I open a garage or barn door, I dream I am going to find an XK120.’

While the pair talk about their memories and fondness for the Roadster, Hoxie takes a phone call. In an almost too unbelievable twist of luck, just a quick car drive away sits another classic Jaguar XK.

Less than a mile from Hoxie’s garage storing the Jaguar XK120, in the back of a warehouse, sits a Jaguar XK150. For the Jaguar enthusiast, this is a wallop of a barn find dream come true. The story behind the creamy yellow coupe is common. It was purchased at auction, played with and driven for a time, then parked and covered for many years.

As the Barn Find Hunter series shows, you never know what treasures you might find in the garages and barns of a car enthusiast. And sometimes, those treasures are just a phone call away.

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Caitlin Shook

Caitlin Shook was raised around her family’s colorful imports and antique mechanic shop, and with a car museum as a classroom. Yes, really, she was homeschooled out of a car museum. Caitlin is most at home wandering alone in a car museum or popping a beer behind the desk of her father’s mechanic shop, Shook Enterprises.

With a constant flow of beloved antique and classic sports cars running through the family business, it’s no wonder Caitlin developed an appreciation and passion for automobiles.

In efforts to keep Caitlin out of trouble  during her teenage years, her father found a 1976 Porsche 912e to absorb her time. She, with the expert supervision of Steve Shook and Sidney Arnold, began a total restoration: engine overhaul, all mechanicals, “every damn thing,” says Caitlin proudly.

After that, she learned the mind-bending qualities of auto bodywork. Taking the 912e down to metal while branding herself with a heat gun multiple times.

Now she spends her time at the family shop, and creating informal YouTube videos on beloved cars to post her blog: The Bad Blonde CARS + TRAVEL.

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