I bought the car from a friend in Tampa in 1982, and at the time I had another friend who worked at GMAC and was able to get me all of the Florida title history. I did nothing with the docs until recently. My friend owned it from 1978-1982, and I searched the name of the 1976-1978 owner (he still lives in FL in the St. Pete area) from one of the titles and actually found a phone number for him. Was he surprised when he got a call 44 years later, but we had a great conversation and he remembered a lot about the car. My car does not have the original DZ engine block, and he told me he was the one who replaced it but said he did use the internal parts from the 302. I am starting a 2nd restoration (first was in 1982, but I had 3 young kids and not much money back then) and am keeping him updated on progress. The car came to Florida from Connecticut in 1974, and I am still trying to contact the lady who owned it then. CT DMV has been no help, so I'm trying anywhere else I can. I got my NCRS letter recently, and found the car was originally delivered to Louisiana. I called the Chevy dealer, who is still in business in the same location (since 1931), and actually spoke with the owner who started working for his dad there in 1970. Again we had a great call, I sent him some photos, but he has no records that old. So far a fun search, and I'll continue until I complete the timeline.
