Motor City's Best Kept Secret is an English Car Builder/Mad Scientist | Barn Find Hunter

This episode is presented by ‪@BatteryTender‬Meet Hayden, a man who plays all 88 keys of a petrol-head's piano. An industrial designer by trade, his side business, a Speedshop, features everything from highly collectible 1990s Audi Quattros and modern Audis with 1,000 horsepower to Shoebox Fords, Camaros, and British sports cars like Opel Mantas, Mini Coopers, and MGs. Join us as we tour his one-of-a-kind Speedshop and hear the story of how he came to America from Great Britain.
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Like what you see? Watch our other series including:
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Barn Find Hunter | Tom Cotter searches the country for abandoned cars bit.ly/BarnFInd...
Jason Cammisa on the Icons | The definitive car review
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The Driver's Seat with Henry Catchpole
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[@Hagerty]

Be sure to use discount code "HDC20OFF" when purchasing any Battery Tender products www.batterytender.com

[@ronaldrey8474]

What happened to the cell phone company sponsor ? Guess they were opportunists & not car peps that support car content.

[@poplaurentiu4148]

Big fan from Europe ! Hello to everyone from the other side of ocean..

[@LoveLife-kt5rf]

before you retire can I go on a barn find with you? please

[@htmotorworks799]

This came out great! It was fantastic to meet Tom Cottor and the Barnfind Hunter crew. Thanks for the opportunity.

[@Derf1313]

What a wonderful collection of FUN ! Right here in Michigan, thanx so much for letting us view your passions!

[@stevecourtney2295]

they did a good job H

[@gsmith207]

one of the best ones! thanks for sharing with us. fantastic!

[@jaygill3037]

@@htmotorworks799 Buddy, what a varied and interesting collection in an awesome building. May every one of your projects reach completion.

[@Kickinpony66]

It's nice to see a collection that is being worked on (or being sold), so someone else can work on them. Barn Find Hunter has featured some collections that are "Way Far Gone".

[@andymonroe6136]

This dude sends out good vibes and knowledge. Give him his own show so we can watch these cool projects.

[@markmartin9671]

That was a great episode Tom. Very interesting content and Hayden is the real barn find in this series. Not only his collection but his skills and humbleness in front of the camera. Great Find!

[@talesofanasphaltjockey]

I'm in awe of people with this gentleman's knowledge skill & passion...incredible!

[@geoffreycarter3981]

This man is a mad scientist. One of the coolest guys I've seen here. That Audi RS6 isn't my thing really, but rear mounted twin turbo fully built LS1 by his own design. Incredible project, not even to mention the other cars... haha

[@BandiMasha]

From one Englishman to another, that's a cool collection Hayden 👍

[@cudak888]

Really appreciated this one - a genuine engineer building absolutely bonkers creations (even as someone who doesn't care for modern cars, the "RSS6" gets a standing ovation), keeping the projects he knows he will get to, and selling off the excess so others have a chance to tinker with them. Such a refreshing change from those utterly frustrating pipe dream episodes of negligence - like that XKE from last week.

[@htmotorworks799]

@@cudak888 WOW Thank you, I am glad this is what you took away, as it’s exactly what I hoped would.

[@hughmackellar7941]

May you live long and prosper. You made this old man smile. And Tom; i already have enough Battery Tenders.

[@howardschaefer1445]

By far the greatest Barn Finds ever. This man's talents know no bounds!

[@rixkafer56]

Wow ! Some guys just make stuff look easy, but we all know it's not... great collection and thanks for sharing 👍

[@brocksmetalworks]

I know about 5 other guys who have the smile on my face as I have after watching that. Thats genuine Haydn right there. And, Stacy set the whole thing up and steps quietly offstage with best in show which is about us Stacy as it gets. 😉😍

[@htmotorworks799]

Thanks Brock, this was a lot of fun.

[@RobertSherman-h9d]

This Man / his cars are Insane !!!!!!! What a cool episode Tom C

[@jeffreypinder9398]

This Gent is a true "Car Guy". The patina on the '64 Ford Pickup is amazing, what a great gift and he lucky to have a wife that is a car lover.

[@peterungson809]

A guy who tattoos a gear lever knob on his hand - Most definitely a gear head hands down! Stay as cool as you are Brother!

[@DuckReach432]

Very impressive. That LS RS6 is mad. Love it.

[@aircoolednation]

And from my expe. the LS is the much better engine. 4.2 Liter Audi engines were never real powerful engines

[@Brian-os9qj]

Fun guy. No boredom going on around his builds. Thx for this.

[@stuffhappens5681]

This guy was the most polite, articulate and congenial guest on the show. The diversity of his interests is astounding. His wife must be a heck of a gal!

[@htmotorworks799]

Thanks, and she is :)

[@rekleif]

Wow, I have no words for how much I want that Manta. Put on Euro front end and do a slight restomod with a C20LET and I will be a happy man... An original Steinmetz, just wow.... And please find another Manta to do the Hayabusa swap in. This should remain either a 1.9 to 2.4 CIH with Webers or converted to a C20XE or C20LET in my opinion since that widening are crazy rare. Put in an gauge set from the 1.9SR or get Dakota Digital to make modern gauges for it with a Recaro interior and this would be perfect... Such a cool car. God bless and lots of love from Norway.

[@timmmy]

@@rekleifThanks, I have the euro front end for it already :) I thought about doing a Red Top but 450HP sequential that revs to 12K+ Turbo Hayabusa drops close to 500lbs out of the car. this is a project I really want to get to soon. unfortunately it’s #4 in the line.

[@rekleif]

@@timmmy It will be cool whatever you want to do. But a NA Red Top 2.3 revving to 9k is also cool, but probably very expensive. But please friend keep us updated. You are a lucky man and an original Steinmetz Manta is almost as rare as a SWB Ferrari 250.... Edit: It's almost like you are a brother from a different mother because everything you think is cool is exactly what i really enjoy and like as well.I've had several Audis from the RS2 replica to the S4-6 look first gen A6 God bless you brother.

[@rekleif]

@@timmmy I would love to see you you build a VW Passat W8 with Turbos. I think you would get such a build right. You can tell when someone just "got it" and if you ever get a client who want to build something special, what could be more special than half a Bugatti engine in a Passat Wagon?

[@Goldstandardmachine138]

I’m just finishing a major rebuild on a 64 f100 for a client, (shop is a one man operation). I’ve installed a new CPP 400 power steering box, and built custom linkage for the 3 speed column shifted, sectioned column and shift assembly,, this hasn’t been done by too many, by keeping the stock straight axle (rebuilt with disc brakes) w/ 3 on the tree, and modern power steering. What a project it’s been! That white f100 is a Rad little patina’ed truck though!

[@blueman5924]

if the motor is a screamer, check out Craig909’s F100 build. Unique “X” built exhaust.🤙

[@jamesmisener3006]

Thanks for the Tour Hayden. Your shop is huge. Cheers Tom. 🇨🇦

[@flat4-]

The smile he gave when starting up the Audi S6 summarized this whole video... awesome dude !

[@bryanwalker7031]

All the shows are great, but this one is in the top 5 for me.

[@skendler]

Love the CarCaine shirt too. Hoonigan was once good.

[@thekillercapricorn6334]

Wow, what a cool guy. True Hot Rodder👍

[@LegendsWorkshop]

I am ALL KINDS of impressed with this gentleman- so ambitious, so knowledgeable, so well-spoken... he would do so well with his own social media page - someone has to keep filming this guy!

[@IDv8I]

7:32 Buddies tattoo on his hand is perfect, that's an old car guy. Growing up, I hung out around guys like him and learned everything I know. Such a cool find.

[@jgwilliams5951]

Did you notice it's on both hands . Doesn't matter what side the steering wheel is on !

[@IDv8I]

@@jgwilliams5951 No, I will have to look. What a legend.

[@richcoleman469]

Impressive cars. My first car, in 66, was a 46 Ford just like this, but black and a 6 stick

[@akwsterling]

The 45 46 Ford could have been a bootlegger car. The car came from Etowah County Alabama from the license plates. This area was well known for bootlegging as I remember my uncle bootlegging when I was a child. It was the only job he ever had.

[@NarwahlGaming]

Making his way the only way he knew how?

[@htmotorworks799]

I think it was a bootlegger car, but no way to know for sure.

[@burgundyexpress]

What a cool bloke and an amazing place!

[@SnowDawg]

Amazingly ecclectic collection of fantastic cars - Hayden is a true enthusiast and could listen to him and Tom talk all day about the cars. Alot of what he was saying I understood, but there are so many interesting tangents that he and Tom lost me a few times. I also really enjoyed the story of his engagement - he is a romantic guy and a talented guy and I bet he and his wife connect on many levels. Thanks again for entertaining me with interesting people doing interesting things with cars!!!

[@discodiana1984]

The 31 prefix on the plate indicated it is from Coffee County AL. Pretty rural place NW of Birmingham so a bootlegger car is plausible.

[@wyattoneable]

He has an impressive collection and some good stories. This was a fun episode.

[@tonysteppan8495]

Always a great time with truly interesting people and places. My brother bought two Opel mantas at the Buick dealer. Both rally cars. One silver, one green. My Dada Had a rally and a Kadett. I learn to use a stick in the Kadett. 1968 or 69. We had two Opel GT's in the 70's. good cars, not a ball of fire, but always dependable. 1900 engines were great, but the solex carb was temperamental. I ended up with the Green Manta. 4 speed. With good tires they handled good, fun car in the hills. Seeing Hardens racing Opel was amazing. It would be cool to see a return to his collection in the future if he gets the time to get some of them running THANKS CHEERS

[@sim-sam]

That looks just like a whole warehouse full of fun and joy. thx

[@BlueBonnetAudio]

First of all, love your videos, and look forward to each one. This was a gem. This guy is such an interesting cat.

[@NikieFox]

You couldn't have featured a better guy. I adore Haydn and Stacy.

[@htmotorworks799]

Awww love you Nikie

[@toxiclife7372]

I prefer this format, over the videos that cover just 1 vehicle and 1 story.

[@Junorr500]

Would not be opposed to seeing more episodes like this that explore and highlight unique shops and their builds.

[@petergreen3877]

Thank you , one of the best barn find episodes ive seen in a long time, thoroughly enjoyed, from rainy England 😂

[@affordablevs]

Oh to have a 1/5 of that mans know how and ability! What a guy and what an episode.

[@1018Video]

I love the collection, super cool for sure. It does look like he started too many projects without finishing some first though, most of those will never be finished sadly.

[@fantastic1921]

For some people that's all the fun!

[@htmotorworks799]

@@1018Video Yeah, that’s the problem with owning a 25k sqft building. Cool cars pop up and I have space LOL. Currently I’m cutting mode so a lot of these cars and projects are being prepped for sale so I can focus on the ones I am passionate about.

[@1018Video]

@@htmotorworks799 It's a passion for sure, I heard a lot of neat ideas in the video. 😎

[@htmotorworks799]

@@1018Video thanks, appreciated for sure. Passion projects are the 4K race car, the LS M3 drift car (not shown really), the manta and the mini. Hoping the M3 gets finished this winter for spring use.

[@1018Video]

@@htmotorworks799 Will you be posting on your channel? I went ahead and subscribed.

[@Yourmission9]

That Ford pickup is awesome, I could see that being a Kaido build, love the patina the whole thing looks great

[@Ray56z]

Cool dude, cool projects, cool drivers. The best is nothing is as someone else would build, and it works. Decades ago I had a '73 Opel Manta Rally GT. Zippy little thing. 1900, duel 2 bbl, 4 speed, split headers, factory air shocks, Cragar Mags,140 speedo, maybe could do it with some ground effects but way to light as it was, only took it to 125 and she was sitting as high as i was going to drive it.

[@3wheelmannc860]

That '64 truck is seriously cool. Like the patina. man that would be an amazing daily driver.

[@patbullard9276]

Tom I just opened my IPad to watch some videos and what do I find? A new episode of barn find hunters. Immediate click and another great episode. Thanks to you and Hayden for bringing this wonderful collection to us.

[@normbarrows2]

Seeing this I don't feel half as bad at having 4 projects in need of restoration and rebuilding: 71 Malibu convertible, 489 CID Mk IV big block, 688 HP on pump gas - no turbo, no blower, no nitrous (my hotrod); 71 GMC 1500 stepside, 355 CID Gen 1 small block, 511 HP on pump gas - no turbo, no blower, no nitrous (my parts chaser); stock 1986 Porche 944 (my economy commuter car); stock 1999 Z-28 Camaro (for clubbing). Watching this during a coffee break. Break's over - time to go chase threads on the diff input pinion on the GMC. Been using battery tenders for over 30 years now. The Malibu has one built-in. Park the car, reel out the cable, plug it into the wall.

[@giovanni5063]

Tom, Springfield Mo., birthplace of Route 66, has a shop that services only SAAB. The lead tech is a great gal. Shelly has had an entire life with SAAB. Nick is a visionary for SAAB mods and creates go fast parts. There are dozens of SAAB's in the yard that date back to the 2 stroke times. Nick will bend your ear about every car on the premises and how to get the max performance. You will not be disappointed. best regards, Giovanni

[@electrichellion5946]

Loved this episode. What a great guy.

[@gbfan1234567]

Absolutely amazing collection! Hoarding all the wagons my type of guy!

[@ianlatham2975]

You've found a lovely genuine guy. Here's a suggestion: his RSS6 should be rebadged as Rowdy (RAudi).

[@htmotorworks799]

I have a friend who has that plate on his souped up Audi! :)

[@ryanmundt9628]

Amazing!! Love this series so much! I would love to spend a day with guys like this and just absorb his knowledge, passion and dreams!!

[@hankhenninger3601]

What a great collection of different cars. Thanks

[@davidbaldwin2729]

great collection, I also have a stock '50 shoebox and a '64 F-250 longbed with the last of the Y-blocks

[@kgindustries2937]

What a legend. Great video!

[@matthines5150]

The look on Hayden’s face as he gleefully rorts that LS-swapped Audi is the nonverbal love language that I believe all of us fans of this channel and passion speak. 😂 Classic, such a dude.

[@htmotorworks799]

it makes all the right noises :)

[@gregshamieh6339]

@@htmotorworks799 i'll say! ;-)

[@adamwnichols]

Man I wish I had the cash for that red Ford. I’m from Alabama and love classic cars! I have 1969 Ford F100 Ranger that I’ve brought back around to be a daily driver. I would love to do that with that car, it’s beautiful the way it is!

[@altamontchin15]

A man with great toys

[@wadepaul2943]

The great work, always starts with, one night I got drunk ! 😂😂😂😂😂❤❤❤❤❤ . I love it !

[@scuba-steve-82]

The Opel Manta is a rare gem! 💯👌

[@arnoldduplessis9934]

Awesome Opel Manta! I owned 3 at one time, beautiful cars.

[@jimchik]

One thing to look for would be any suspension mods to carry extra weight. If so, then it was probably used as a moonshiner. Wild history, either way.

[@htmotorworks799]

Good comment, and it does have heavy duty springs in the rear.

[@jgwilliams5951]

What a cool guy ! I would love to meet him one day . Thanks Tom for another great episode

[@seandebottis3276]

Love the old school Audi content. What a guy

[@BrianSmart1959]

The Mini pickups also got the stamped grille.

[@alexbekkala1718]

This guy would be an awesome neighbor!

[@htmotorworks799]

Probably not LOL.

[@MattStaxx856]

That Audi is crazy!!

[@2000TA]

What an awesome garage!!

[@MrQuinnd]

This is why it’s called barn find. Thanks Tom again for letting us borrow your time.

[@jeffpierce3436]

The great curse of all true car guys: time and aging!( I live west of Detroit and have imagined many times that there are hidden gem garages all around the MOTOR CITY!!) Great vid, Tom 👍

[@goodaysgonebadonesacominon]

The 45 - 46 trim ( the car is considered a 45 1/2 ) . I had a 96 Chevy truck that was considered a 95 1/2 when getting parts due to month it was made

[@kristijancoric3604]

Those some mad machining skills. Respect.

[@hank-s4t]

Corn,Fer sure on that '46,check the rear springs,give the drives haft a turn n check rear gear,I'm curious...

[@CrazyPolishDude]

Cool, especially Audi's.

[@mylifeisdope916]

Wow what a cool guy. I don't have any money but if he needs that rss6 out of there I'd show that thing just about the best road trip you can do in North America

[@djmech3871]

My first car was a Buick Manta. Oh the memories and nightmares.

[@jerrytaylor2743]

Great collection

[@andrewfletcher5584]

Wow! What a collection. And what a skilled craftsman. Amazing stuff, great find

[@terryeustice5399]

One mean sounding Audi. I had a 1946 that colon col I no longer have it. Surprised it has a Buick Nail head in it. Thanks for sharing your video! 💯👊👍💕

[@chopski7467]

another great episode. keep them coming

[@asimplehorseman4648]

That was a fun episode. Thank You.

[@jesussancen123]

Lord I want that manta and Austin lol

[@franktatom1837]

The Alabama tags use a numerical prefix for each county. The 1975 tag on the car has a 31 prefix, which is for Etowah County. The County Seat is Guntersville, Alabama. So that's likely the last Alabama locale in which the car was registered, based on the tag.

[@timmmy]

Thankyou, that is great information to have to try to dig into the Fords history a little more.

[@franktatom1837]

@timmmy FYI, the first year for automobile titles in Alabama was 1975, so no model years before then have a title. Even today, if you register a car with a title from another state in Alabama for model years before 1975, the state will not issue an Alabama title on the car, even if you request a title. This means it is impossible to search the title history for a pre-1975 car in Alabama.

[@timmmy]

@@franktatom1837 really, that’s fascinating, and Alabama is weird!

[@franktatom1837]

@timmmy Most states did not title cars until the 60's or later, actually.

[@musicwelikemang]

Id be so excited to see the widebody mustang with the hayabusa turbo engine and sequential gearing.

[@UncleManuel]

Says that he sells stuff because he has too many projects - and then picks up a new project the next day. Classic. Just classic... 😁😁😁

[@playwme3]

I can relate.

[@SergioHernandez-qm4ie]

His shirt says it all

[@glassgoat9601]

Great episode! Just shows that I often don’t care what brand or model it starts out as, it’s the process and the results that are interesting.

[@3ducs]

I had an Austin Mini just like the one at 17:36. Kept it in London, England in the early '70s for when we visited my wife's family. With a three foot wide foam rubber pad and the seats tipped forward it would sleep two, we did some touring on the Continent. NOT an Autobahn car! It would be a fun car to have here in New Hampshire today. I wonder if Hayden is interested in selling it.

[@isalmankhan1]

Thanks for sharing Hagerty👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 Special Thanks to Tom for all the Great work👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@WilliamKiene]

I think that is a Buick "Nailhead" 322ci V8 1953-1956 noted for lots of low-end torque.

[@breakandrun70]

Great barn find, I'm a huge Audi fan, I came within an inch of buying a 2018 S-5 Audi, the only thing that got in my way, was my wife. You probably heard that thousands of times. I watch all of your video's, really enjoy them. Thanks for that, yes I am a subscriber.

[@terrydouglas2777]

I love this channel. An I just sent the link to my friends and family, and I told them I have been watching 5 different videos each day and love each one learning alot more things I didn't know. Some of the vehicles you showed on your channel, i never seen nor heard of before.

[@michaelroberts1597]

Tom this video was really cool ,great job as always 👏👏

[@Neil_Mackie]

I enjoy listening to English accents that have adopted certain American accent (whatever the region) inflections or intonations, like Hayden's here. As a Scouser, Geoff Rowley's Scouse/SoCal hybrid may be the best of the breed!

[@htmotorworks799]

@@Neil_Mackie I’m originally from Yorkshire but have lived all over the planet, the last 23 years, NH and the last 10 in Detroit. My accent is a mutt LOL

[@93xcr440]

I wouldn't change a thing on that 46 Ford just clean it it's beautiful

[@jerrywilliams3177]

Best drop yet , Tom! What a great find!

[@GearScar]

Interesting how he goes out of his way to tell us that he has to ignore the 3rd gen Camaro (looked like a race car anyways), but, then goes on to show a Shoebox Ford that only people like my father (66yrs old) would care about... But, that Opel Manta was cool! the curves and styling, like a pocket size muscle car, love it! And the engine swapped Audi was awesome!

[@brianlockyer3760]

What a great Guy.

[@pedrosalinas9031]

Crazy knowledge i wish i had a quarter of this mans brain about cars! Great episode

[@ragtopdeluxezl1]

That 46 Ford does look like a typical Moonshiner setup....

[@oldskool1979]

The Audi is insanity ! wow