Meganet

There's barn finds and then there are barn finds. John Moore loved his Jeep Wagoneer. He would drive it up and down the beaches of Cape Cod where he lived. For John Musnuff, he grew up hearing of the Jeep parked in the beach garage for years. When his mother inherited the Moore home, the Jeep remained entombed in the small wooden garage near the beach where it had been parked in the 1970s with a fuel issue. There it remained until a few days ago.

The garage had literally collapsed around the Jeep. Sand had blown in and the salt air and moisture had taken it's toll. A front loader was utilized to pull the Jeep from the shed and after a few tugs it literally fell apart with the force before seeing daylight for the first time in about 40 years. Musnuff used a crow bar to remove the hub caps and a couple of emblems but nothing else was salvageable. Piece by piece was loaded in to a waiting dump truck and hauled off to a nearby scrapyard.

Source and photos: Cape Cod Times

There is somewhat of a mystique around Royal automobiles. I guess it is because of America's lack of a Royal family, unless you look at the Kennedy's. King Edward VIII took the throne shortly before the start of World War II. He would eventually abdicate the throne for his love of an American woman, Wallis Simpson.

The pair would marry and become the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and eventually called the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City their home.

During their time in New York they had a car that was quite literally made for a king. General Motors under the direction of Alfred P. Sloan and Harley Earl designed this very unique 1941 Cadillac limousine which the Royal couple affectionately referred to as the Duchess.

Duchess was outfitted with a cigar humidor, four yes 4 jewelry cases, a special broadcloth interior, many gold plated appointments and even hydraulic powered windows. The car was literally a one off creation as it shared no 1941 production Cadillac body panels. The flowing lines of the front fenders through both doors and a lower roofline. Many of the styling cues eventually found their way to GM's Buick division and were also borrowed by coach builder Hooper for use on Rolls Royce cars.

The car will be displayed at the 22nd annual Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance on March 12th.