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« on: September 03, 2014, 03:22:41 PM »
Ko-Lek-tor,
Sorry for the abbreviated request... Here is the rest of the story! ( The Car's return made the local TV News here in San Diego, below is the story that ran)
July 1969 – Glendora CA: Special Ordered for Mom’s 36th birthday from Clippinger Chevrolet, Covina, Ca. Delivered July 21st (Same day Man walked on the Moon). In “72” we moved to San Diego, Mom's daily driver through “87”, swim meets, school trips, beach runs, groceries, hay hauler (on the trunk lid), football games, drivers test, high school… Mom named her “Old Betsy” we used that car for everything!.... In 87 @ 106K miles, I got her from Mom and put her in storage. I Restored her in 91-93. Mom passed in “96” but got to see “Old Betsy” in late “93”… Just as she is today . In April of 94 I sold her for extra down payment for the house we live in today. * My Wife was always against selling her, She and my sister had used her through High School too!
… Here ‘s starts “ Old Betsy’s” Journey (All documented)
April 23rd 1994- LaJolla, CA: Ken sells his restored Camaro to Mark (a Poway resident)
May 6th 1998- Poway, CA: Mark moves the Car and Family to West Plains Missouri.
October 15th 2002- West Plains, MO: Mark falls on hard times and sells the car to Sparkle Performance Sales, the Car is detailed and prepared for the “KRUSE” International car auction in Dallas Texas.
November 23-24 2002- Dallas, TX: The Camaro is purchased for an out of Town client by the Happy Days Dream Carz Company out of Warrensburg, Missouri.
February 24th 2003- Long Island, NY: The client ( Dan) has the car added to his collection. He uses the car in parades and occasional car shows. Ol Betsy is never driven off Long Island during his 9 years of ownership. ** Fun Fact: The car was on Long Island only 15 miles from where my mom grew up as a kid.
September 2011- San Diego: We give it one last try to find “Ol Betsy”. We use a National DMV database and we find the state (NY) she was last registered (2006), We use "Team Camaro and "Camaro5" Blog sites, this leads to a call to an investigator, Sal…
September 21st 2011; Found: Sal calls me @ 11:47am he has found her! (lots of thoughts running thru my head) ... Would the owner sell?, What shape is she in?. When I got a hold of Dan, I only asked once if I might get the car back, no response... I change the subject. As we talk, I find out the Car is in great condition, we discuss Numbers: POP & Engine, they all match my old records (I never threw them away.. I don’t know why). We hang up… there is no decision to sell… (I can’t sleep)
October 6th 2011; “The Phone call”: Three weeks after exchanging pictures and discussing car stories, Dan calls me, tells me to sit down… He has decided to sell her back to me…. Lots of Tears, Thank you’ s and Disbelief…
October 15th 2011; The Trip Home from New York! The car has been paid for, car hauler has been arranged and “Ol Betsy” is on her way to back SD for a 21 October delivery. On the 19th we find out the transport will be stuck in Phoenix 1 additional week. I made a stupid mistake 18 years ago and don’t want to wait anymore, We decide to fly out to Phoenix grab Old Betsy & drive her home.
October 22nd 2011; We land in Phoenix: My stomach is in knots… like a kid waiting for Christmas . The driver can’t get me there fast enough, as our driver turns the corner into the truck terminal… There she is… WOW what a feeling!!
**Fun Fact: When the car was new, Mom & Dad took a road trip to Phoenix… Mom got a ticket just outside of Quartzsite, AZ… I still have the original ticket in the file…
Here we are 42 years later… driving “Old Betsy” home from Phoenix again, the drive back is long & hot, she overheats a little, we stop and let her cool down. As she hits the San Diego County line, her temperature drops (as if she is telling us she’s home). It was a memorable drive… 376 miles and about 7 hours to get re-acquainted with an old friend.
The good news is that I received all the original documentation back, plus I had lots of crap that I kept thinking the purchaser would not want ( photo's etc.) .... Below are the Numbers:
POP
12467 9 N 666179 R
T O5 19 JI BT 06030 7
69 E 500 1 1 3 3 3
Father's name / address here
7/21/69 20-103
------------------------------------------------------------------------
VIN
ST69 12467 NOR 365116 BDY
TR 727 71 A PNT
07A X22 D80A
Now that I have some time I'm going to start documenting all the small parts ( the large ones are still the same with no changes), I do remember changing out a radiator, mster cyl, couple of batteries, brakes/rotors, alternator through High School... so I'm hoping that everything else is good to go and original.
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide as I try to get "Ol Betsy" back to as close to 100% original as I can.
* Is there a trick to uploading the pics? I tried and the system said they are too big?, anyway to shrik them down? ( Not a high Tech computer guy here)
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