Tracking previous owners

[Dannoman]

Hey All
I bought a 63 roadster a couple of months ago and have started to put together a nice 'bio' of the car. I've got a bunch of old receipts, historical info, pics, and owner history that I've put in sheet protectors and assembled in a 3 ring binder. I know...I know....kind of silly, but I only got to drive the thing for a few weeks before having to put away for the winter....so I'm still obsessing over this dream machine.Here's my problem...I've traced the car back to the 2nd owner who now lives in Cape Coral, Fla....I've talked to the guys son, and he said his dad had owned the car...but the dad didn't respond to my call. I left several messages...nothing. So, I wrote a nice letter to the guy with a few questions, and even included a SASE and $20.00 to 'encourage' him to reply...nothing. Why in the world would anyone be so reluctant to reply? If I could get this guy to answer a couple of questions, I could probably find the original owner of this car. Any ideas or suggestions?

Danno

 

[Ripp 73]

Maybe the guy is on vacation? (could be a mental vacation in which case it could be awhile before he returns.)

 

[WayneC]

Or, maybe he stole the car and is afraid you're a COP! :L

You might try the son again, maybe he'll have some luck getting dad to reply. If he's retired to Florida, though, he may have thrown all his old paperwork away... I'm an older guy, and I wouldn't be able to remember even half of the prior owners of the used cars I've purchased in my lifetime, even the Corvettes, and I probably couldn't locate half the paperwork for the cars that I do have some records on (it's around somewhere, maybe in a box buried in all that junk in the attic, or that filing cabinet in the cellar???)... so don't expect too much even if he does reply.

 

[IH2LOSE]

I keep a big binder on my cars also.Its alot of fun,and keeps all the information together.

I dont know why some one would not want to share the information on a car.I was able to get 4 owners back on my 66 and hit a dead end.The first time I called the guy I introduced my self and he hung up the phone.I called back 2 more times thinking we were getting disconected.Finally on the 3rd call he said he WILL NOT discuss the car! STOP CONTACTING HIM! I did get to speak to the shop that did some repairs on the car for the guy and they explained the guy had nothing but problems with the car every time he drove it he got stuck with it over heating or having a dead battery.

Good luck in your quest

 

[Dannoman]

Heck, even if he can't remember anything about the car...all he'd have to do is say so. Just strikes me as odd that someone would be so reluctant to help a guy out.....even after sending him 20 bones! I do know he bought it from a guy that owned a gas station in the Chicago area back in the 70's....so if I could just find out where the gas station was located...I'd probably be able to track it that way. Oh well....life goes on.


Danno