David Disiere Unveils Barn Find Of The Century at Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif., Aug. 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- David Disiere, the founder and CEO of QEO Insurance in Dallas, will unveil a restored French 1948 Delahaye 135 M cabriolet Faget-Varnet for the 2016 Concours d'Elegance at Pebble Beach on Thursday, August 18th.  Disiere's Delahaye was found decaying among sixty rare cars in a French barn owned by the late collector Roger Baillon.

The discovery of the sixty-year old Baillon car collection has been described as the "barn find of the century" and the automotive equivalent of Tutankhamun's tomb. The Delahaye 135 M cabriolet Faget-Varnet is only the third known of six original models to survive.  Disiere bought the Delahaye at a Paris auction staged in February 2015 by the French auction house Artcurial Motorcars. It had made its first appearance at the 1948 Paris Motor Show.

Disiere holds immense respect for the French coachbuilder Faget-Varnet and the sweeping artistic lines they produced in Delahayes. During the 1940's Delahayes were favored by movie stars. "The moment I saw the Delahaye 135 M, I knew I wanted to restore it for Pebble Beach. I was attracted to the unbelievable body that existed beneath the rust. And I love the challenge of bringing a classic automobile with such great history and provenance back to life," said Disiere.

Disiere sought out Stone Barn Automobile Restorations of Vienna, New Jersey to bring back the Delahaye's grace and glory. "I looked across America and chose Rich and Debbie Fass as the team with the experience and skills most capable of restoring the Delahaye to the exact specifications from the time it was built."

Stone Barn's owners have a seasoned history of producing winners at Pebble Beach which is regarded as the international Superbowl of car collectors.  Stone Barn's craftsmen began disassembling the Delahaye in June of 2015. Rich Fass says the project was a challenge because of the time constraints, "Fortunately Baillon had drained fluids from the car so that despite the rust the Delahaye was well preserved and its structure was sound. We found the original interior intact and still in nice shape. The seats were covered with vinyl slip covers, so we were able to perfectly match the patterns."

The Delahaye was apparently repainted a light blue years ago. When Fass and his team removed trim they discovered the original paint scheme was a two-tone brown and tan.  Fass duplicated the exact colors for the restoration.

The amazing transformation process is featured on Disiere's Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/DavidDisiereClassicCarCollection.

On Sunday,  August 21st, Disiere's Delahaye will join more than 200 of the most beautiful cars ever produced on the 18th Fairway of the famous Pebble Beach Golf Links. They will compete for Best of Show, the most sought after prize in the automotive collecting world. This year's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance features the Delahaye marque, and Disiere's car will be among two dozen on parade.

Owners must wear period clothing when showing their cars at Concours. Disiere's wife Teresa will wear a dress that resembles the fashion featured by a model that posed next to the car on the front cover of a special edition of the magazine Élites françaises in October 1949.

Reflecting on the months of hard work that it has taken to breathe life back into the car Disiere says, "It is so special for Teresa and me along with our family to be invited to share this Delahaye 135 M restored to the exacting specifications of when it debuted at the Paris Motor Show sixty-eight years ago."

SOURCE David Disiere