Keyonta Silone, of Lima, turned up this 1939 Buick coupe in a pole barn near Spencerville. It reminds him of the car driven by his great-grandfather, Thomas Miller.
LIMA — Keyonta Silone can attest to the long-held belief by car enthusiasts that many vintage vehicles can be found stashed away in rural area barns, farm fields, dilapidated garages or sheds.
Earlier this year the Lima man came across a 1939 Buick coupe in a pole barn near Spencerville. It belonged to a family friend. It needed a little bit of paint, Silone said, but that was about it.
“I really wanted it, but he wasn’t in any hurry to sell it,” Silone said.
That reluctance to sell may have been because of the popularity of Buick in the mid-to late 1930s.
Buick was arguably ahead of its time at that juncture. It produced some of the best-looking machines on America’s roadways and found the formula for putting more muscle under the hood of a car. That really was quite simple: equip a smaller-body car with a bigger engine. It resulted in the Buick Century being capable of clocking a speed of 100 miles per hour.
But an old-fashioned fast car is not what captured the interest of Silone.
“My great-grandpa (Thomas Miller) had a car just like it. He passed away and it reminded me of him,” he said.
He kept after his friend to sell the Buick and eventually wore him down.
“I plan on taking it to many car shows,” Silone said.
GET YOUR CAR FEATURED
The Lima News publishes photographs of vintage cars, 20 years or older, free of charge in Real Wheels. It is easy to get your car featured:
• Mail: Real Wheels, Newsroom, The Lima News, 3515 Elida Road, Lima, OH 45807.
• Email: [email protected]
• Include: Photograph of your car; year of car, make and model; how many years you have owned the vehicle; car’s history; best memory of car; your name, address and telephone number (the phone number will not be published).
If you have further questions, contact The Lima News newsroom at 419-222-6397 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays.
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