Got a story of a car you "loved & lost"? Found it?

[Jeff_Goddard]

I thought I'd share in case anyone out there has a story worth telling...

#96 on my bucket list (yep, I have an official one) is to write a book. But, when I first put it on there, I had no idea where the content would come from. But I am moving forward with it now.

I grew up in WV when coal mining was taking a dive. So, needless to say, we saw some tough economic times.

My dad was a car guy and he was always hauling home some rusty worn out car to build. As I grew up I learned a lot about car restoration and I saw many beautiful transformations in our driveway. However, it never failed, every couple of years, my dads company would close, or lay off. And the dreaded "For Sale" sign would come out in an effort to pay for a trip to the Beach, or Christmas toys.

Unfortunately for my dad, we have no clue as to the fate of his old cars. They have disappeared into our memories and the only remaining artifact is a few Polaroid photos.

So... tell me some of your stories. I have an ISBN with a publisher to author a book titled "The Ones That Got Away". The project draft is already registered and my first draft is due very soon.

The book will be a compilation of stories from folks who had classic cars trucks, or motorcycles that "got away" and they were able to locate them years later. I am looking for unique twists.

OR... if you are searching, I may be able to help. So far, I've helped 2 people locate their cars, and I even helped a current owner find the original owner (kind of ...my plan, in reverse) Since I started this project 2 years ago, I have processed hundreds of leads, so I have read through some unique ideas in finding a car that could help others who are looking. Just let me know what info you have, and I may be able to lend some advice.

Share them with me here on the forum or at [email protected]. Please send me a description of the story and give as much detail as possible. I will be especially interested in stories with unique twists, or searches to uncover the mystery of "where it is now"

And if you know someone with a good story, feel free to refer this to them to follow up.

[notstock71]

PM sent about the 1977 Z28 my dad ordered new, sold in 1981 and bought back by me in 2006.

[RPOLS3]

PM sent.

[Keith Seymore]

PM sent; I ordered my '87 pickup, followed it down the line and drove it off the end of the line myself.

I owned it for 4 years and sold it to my father-in-law. He had it 18 years and I got it back upon his passing.

After a quick cosmetic restoration it is, once again, my daily driver.

K

[66 L78 ragtop]

That would be a cool book. You need to talk to my friend Garry

He purchased a brand new 68 Z while in high school. He reluctantly sold the car in the early 80s (family obligations)

About 5 years ago he decided to buy another similar 68Z. He found a VERY similar car on ebay located across the country in California.

Turns out the ebay car was his Z...the actual car he bought new. The original paperwork was still with the car and had Garry's name all over it

[66 L78 ragtop]

My older brother bought a 71 RSZ28 M22 in 1979. Over the years, the car went through several different engines. He kept the original engine in my moms basement. In 1984, the Z was traded in for 68 corvette.

In 2006, he was going through an old trunk and found the original paperwork to the Z.

He contacted the dealer that took the car in on trade and eventually found the car in Indianapolis Indiana.

The guy from Indy has the car today. Here is the funny part. The guy that has the car told us that it still sported its original engine. He about s**t when we told him that we had the original engine in our possession. He fessed up and told us that he re-stamped the the block.

For the Chicago guys reading this post, the car was sold new at Brigance Chevrolet.

I tracked the original owner from the info on the paperwork. He shared some cool stories on the car. He explained that he ordered the car after coming home from Vietnam nam and decided on the lime green color with black stripes because it best reflected the camouflage green that he wore while in the army.

[66 L78 ragtop]

Jeff, your email address is not working

Feel free to give me a call

Orlando
219-718-2614

[Jeff_Goddard]

Holy cow. I never received an email notifying me of any replies and I forgot to check back in here. Great to see all of these stories. I will be reaching out to you all to get more info.

Thanks for the replies! I will change my notifications!

[74NovaSS]

Jeff, Let me know if you'd like my story. Short version: I bought a '70 Camaro in 1997 (while living in PA) for a daily driver.. Drove it till the 350 dropped a valve... In 1998 I Fixed it up with new a Goodwrench 350, converted it to 4 speed.. swapped rear end..etc.. again was daily driver (I was living in Baltimore, MD).. Then, in 2000 I moved to Tulsa, OK and drove the Camaro from PA to OK.. 2 mos after the move I had to sell the Camaro to have some live-on $$ while I got established... Started looking for it the year after I sold it (2001)... Short ending is I found it 2 weeks ago (August, 2014) and bought it back and need to fix it up all over (it's a mess.. just a roller.. paint is shot..etc.) But a majority of the work I had done to it is still there.. it survived having been turned into a drag car intact. Currently I have begun to collect parts for it revival and I'm doing it right this time. It's nice to have the opportunity to finish a project I started over 17yrs ago. The car is home to stay.

Ed Gilpin
(formerly 55Chevy on here)

[Jeff_Goddard]

Sounds pretty cool to me. Got pics of it from back in the day? When you picked it up? Currently?