How 40 Years of Love Built A Texas Barn-Found Car Collection

Sally Kosmatka tried to find the words, but she had to pause mid-sentence.

“When I think about it for too long …,” she said as tears welled in her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

Her husband, Jack, reached over and patted her leg. Without saying a word, his gesture said everything. Jack knew Sally’s pain as well as anyone could. This would be a tough day for the Kosmatkas. They were about to see the most precious members of their classic-car family go to new homes.

“It hurts,” Jack said, “but you gotta do it.”

To read the original story on Hagerty click here.

So on June 12, at Motostalgia’s Brickyard Auction at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Texas couple said goodbye to what has become known as the Texas Barn Find Collection – five well-preserved pre-WWII automobiles and a travel trailer that were stored in a warehouse behind their home near Austin. Untouched for 40 years, the collection included a 1932 Cadillac 370B V-12 Victoria Convertible, a 1933 Cadillac Model 370C V-12 Town Coupe, a 1938 Cadillac Series 90 V-16 Fleetwood Limousine, a 1923 Milburn Electric Model 27L, a 1908 REO Model G Boattail Roadster/Sedan Tonneau and a twice-used 1937 Kozy Coach Travel Trailer.

“I have feelings about them,” Sally said, stating what was already obvious. “I’m sad to see them go.”

John “Jack” and Sally Kosmatka met in Milwaukee in the late 1950s. They both enjoyed ballroom dancing, and it was at a dance that Jack spotted his future bride across the room.

“She was the right height for hugging and kissing,” 86-year-old Jack joked, eliciting laughter from his wife. “Then when we got married (in 1960), she took off her high heels and shrunk four inches.”

“He didn’t know I was such a short person,” Sally said.

Jack was certain, however, that he’d found a partner who supported his love for cars. “Best thing I ever did was marry this lady,” he said. But Sally was admittedly “lukewarm” about her husband’s hobby until 1968, when Jack bought her a classic of her own, an all-original 1915 Anderson Detroit Electric that she still enjoys driving. “She got a kick out of it because it was unique. As soon as we got it home she was out there cleaning it. It meant more because it was her car.”

Jack’s collection grew substantially during the 1960s and early ‘70s. He’d earned extra cash as a teenager by fixing up wrecked cars and selling them, but his attention quickly turned to antiques. One led to another, and another …

“My first car was a ’28 Buick; my dad had one so I bought one,” he said. “It was kind of a blah car – no power, no pep. A friend of mine had a ’33 Cadillac with a V-12. That impressed me. And we traded. But that car was in need of a lot of parts.”

So Jack started looking. Before he could find a parts car, however, he stumbled upon a gem that he just couldn’t resist – a 1932 Cadillac 370B V-12 Victoria Convertible. He knew Cadillacs well, but he was confused by this one. So he called a friend who worked for Cadillac and suddenly realized the Victoria was body No. 1, a prototype for the 1932 V-16 model. He had to have it. “I paid more than I ever had for a car, but I knew it was special.” Jack mortgaged his house to get the deal done, and he and Sally towed it from Pascoe, Wash., back to Milwaukee behind a 1972 Lincoln Continental.

As for the other cars in the auction, Jack bought the 1908 REO and 1923 Milburn from an attorney who had received them as payment from a client. He bought the ’38 Cadillac Limousine – “the best car I’ve ever driven, by far” – in Detroit. The Kozy Coach came from a Wisconsin farmer who purchased it new and used it once.

In 1973, after Jack became ill and was forced to relocate to a drier climate, the Kosmatkas moved to Cedar Park, Texas. Transporting the cars took several trips, but they all made it safely, and Jack meticulously stored each one in the warehouse at his new home. “Truth be told, we didn’t like the house we bought,” he said. “But we really needed that warehouse for the cars.”

Jack planned to drive them all again, but even after his health was restored, the cars remained in the barn, collecting dust for the next 40 years. “Life doesn’t always go the way you plan,” he said.

The decision to part with the cars was an easy one, Jack said. “I’m 86 years old. I’m running out of time, so you have to think ahead. I don’t want to burden my wife with all this stuff to take care of. I love her very much, so I’m going to leave her well off. That’s what we decided – to part with all the cars – and that’s what we’re doing.”

Antonio Brunet, chairman of Motostalgia Auctions in nearby Austin, was aware of the cars and reached out to the Kosmatkas a couple of times. Weeks and months passed. Then he got the call.