...I have owned my 69 for 40 years and just learned the whole owner history!! Many older members may recall, I have a Hugger Orange SS/RS 396, 4 speed. When I bought the car, it was somewhat “clapped” out. The engine was gone. It was painted black with heavy gold flake and flames on the doghouse terminating half way down the doors. The tail panel and grille had “cobwebbing”. The original steering wheel was gone and a foam Superior 12” in its place. The original wheels and radio were MIA and three holes were cut in the plastic of the assist handle above the ashtray and 3 SW gauges installed. Homemade slapper bars and shackles installed and the black vinyl top removed. Otherwise, the car was in pretty decent original shape. I gave $400. Actually, I was already working on another 69 I bought, an SS 350 and did not have the money to buy this 396 car. Since I could not afford it, I told my best friend , we were both 18, about this car. He bought it and I was there when he did. We got back in his car, he looks over at me and says, “pay me back when you get the money.”. I did.
8 years ago, I decided that I had the time, energy and money to attempt a restoration on this longtime family member. It never occurred to me till I got involved with this site in 2013 to acquire documentation or learn owner history. I really had no leads and did not know where or how I would find information about this car. I got advice from a member to place an ad on Craigslist. The wild paint scheme made the car unique enough that surely someone would recognize the car. Sure enough, the very next day, I get a call from a guy who claimed to have owned the car. He only owned the car for about 6 months. He traded his Sb Nova and boot to his H. School Senior buddy for this car. Upon graduating he traded, late that summer, for a motorcycle. That buyer that traded the M.C. Was who I got the car from. So, to recap, the H.S. Buddy had it the 1st half of his Senior year, then traded to owner 2 who traded his Nova and later traded to owner 3 for a M.C. And I bought from owner 3. But this only covered about a year’s time. The Senior year of 78-79 to the early fall of 79. That 1st of those 3 owners could not recall who he got the car from. The only thing he could recall was the guy lived on a local street call Melody lane. That is where the trail ran cold. I thought about looking up court deed records and attempting contact of home owners from around that 79 timeframe. I never did this.
Fast forward. By chance, in March of this year, I was out at a Cracker Barrel with the wife and mother-in-law. There was this older gent leaving about the time we were finished and leaving. I noticed he had a sweatshirt from a local large car show. This prompted a discussion about cars. I mentioned that I owned a 69 Camaro. He exclaimed that he had once owned a 69 Camaro, an Orange SS. I mentioned that was what my car was and would be once restored. I said it had a black flamed paint job when I got it. He said that he painted his car black with flames. Now THAT caught my attention. After comparing a few notes, I was convinced that I had found a previous owner. I asked for his phone number and other contact information. I asked if he lived close by? He told me that he has lived on Melody lane since 1964. He went on to tell me he was the second owner. He and the original owner , both, worked at the local Ford plant. This guy is the guy who sold the car to who I referred to as owner 1 out of the 3 high school age owners just before I acquired this car. This guy bought the car from his co worker friend in 1973. His friend bought the car new from Central Motor in Hamilton, Ohio. Afterwards, he was drafted to serve in Viet Nam. He parked the car in his dad’s garage. It had 22k miles on it when sold to owner 2 on Melody lane. That second owner I met told me he painted the car black with flames. He also told me the car was ordered with Rally wheels and he still had them off this car under his work bench. He claims that he has the “build sheet”, but has not found it yet. I’m hopeful he can produce that. He says he does not have the POP. He told me that the car had a standard black steering wheel and he made the traction bars. I have a few pictures of the car now from back in the day. I am wanting to meet up and get better copies of his pictures, but he has been slow in setting up a meeting. The OO is deceased, but I have reached out to his family on FB, with no response. More to come.
