Well, if you followed the crazy post that I originally did, I'm sure you are happy that the car actually materialized... long ass story behind it, so here it goes...
The car was sitting out in a field outside of town in the early 80's after the original owner didn't pay a mechanic shop bill and the owner of the shop threatened to have the car crushed... the shop owner's son then got it towed away from the shop to a nearby field outside of El Campo, TX. After the car sat out in this field for 4-5 years with the ass end parked under an oak tree, a local Dodge guy offered to store the car for the original owner for a while under he got his situation under control (financial problems, of course). Well, instead the owner of the car left town around 1989 after an ordeal and basically vowed to never come back to EC for anything - and he hasn't broken his promise. The person holding the car since then has kept it in storage for the last 18 years and kept the condition from basically getting any worse - I can't help but think that he thought/assumed the title would never show up and no one would come for the car.
Well, that's where I come in... I'm in banking and specialize in real estate and in turn deal with attorneys on a regular basis. Well, one attorney in particular knew I was a car guy and would tell me these stories about this Hemi charger his half-brother had years ago. About two years ago, I started lurking around for a project car for my father and myself to start working on, and just so happen to mention this to my attorney friend. He said he thought the car was out in a field somewhere north of town and started giving me names of people his brother associated with, etc (at this time, he mentions the story of how he came out to be the lienholder on the car by paying off some old debts of his brother). So, one day I get lucky and one of the gentlemen he mentioned did some work along with the person storing the car and had a good idea of where it was... well, that was about 9-10 months ago... my wife and I had our first child (7 months old next week!) and searching for/spending money on a project car was just not a priority... then about 3 weeks ago, the interest was sparked again and I went back to my attorney. He just so happened to go through some old files and finds the title showing him as lienholder and everything else... so I just needed to find the car!
Well, it was easy after then (or so I thought) - I approached the lead from the lead... when I mentioned something about the car to his wife (he wasn't there at the time), she's like "you wanna see it?"
And that's about the time I got back with my attorney and we struck a deal for him to foreclose on his note and repossess the vehicle and then sell it to me via a bill of sale... now the hard part - getting the owner to release the car to me... that's where the story turns - after I approached the owner of the barn storing the car, he asked to see all the paperwork on the transaction and asked for a few days for his attorney to make sure he has no claim to the vehicle or no liability by releasing it to me... he made the mistake of telling me who the attorney was, so I contacted him the next day and he told me he instructed the other gentleman to release the car to me... yippeee!!! no so much... I go back to him the next day and says he has ANOTHER attorney looking at it and wants a few more days... so I, being the patient person I am, give him another couple days... that's where the problems start...
As I told everyone, I was under constant survellience of the barn and the car and last weekend, I go up to the barn to check out the car and then...
IT WAS GONE! I went nuts to say the least and immediately contacted him and he refused to give me any whereabouts of the car or any information - simply that if his attorney said it was ok to release the car, he'd release the car... and that I need to quit trespassing on his property and snooping around his barn! shit! So, that's when I got local sheriffs involved on Monday and the process sped up pretty quickly, which resulted in him giving all the whereabouts of the car to the laws and asking them to ask me to give him one day to actually hire an attorney and get them to sign off on the deal... so, in order to resolve the manner in an amicable way, I agreed and finally picked up the car last night... he was very disappointed to let the car go (I guess you grow attached to something after looking after it for 18 yrs), but was very friendly when he released the car to us - he offered money and trades and everything else in an attempt to keep the car, but my father and I weren't interested right now... we really want to get this thing back on the roads of EC (where the car was sold and hasn't really left it's whole life)...
So, that's the crazy story behind getting the car (I'm sure almost every car has one), and here's some of the particulars...
1969 Dodge Charger Hemi R/T
XS29J9B20XXXX
59,XXX original miles - one owner car - Purchase from Red Miller Dodge in El Campo
426 Hemi, 4 speed trans
Red/Black/Black R/T stripe/Black Vinyl Roof
Super Track Pack
Hood Pins
Daytona wing (still researching origin - was told it was purchased from local dealership after initial purchase and installed there)
One partial broadcast sheet (pics below) - but fender tag missing (I'm guessing guy storing it has it - looks freshly unscrewed - will cross that bridge tomorrow with him)
I have an email sent to Galen Govier to see what other info he can get out of this car and would appreciate any info/help - I'd like to remove the broadcast sheet from under the rear seat, but it looks very brittle and I'm afraid to damage it... any advice?
I'm waiting on Galen's advice on what to do with the wing, so if anyone's interested, please let me know and if I decide to sell it maybe we can make a deal... also, any advice on resto shops around the Houston, TX area? I'm most concerned, of course about the body work that needs to be done, but everything in the lower half of the car - trunk floor, floor boards, frame rails, etc in very decent shape and structurally sound... quarter panels, doors, hood all in decent shape also, but the rear of the car is pretty lacking...
Thanks again guys and I look forward to this journey!
Also - just out of sheer curiousity - 1) What is the car worth as it sits? (I've been told between $40-60k, depending on how bad someone wants it - realistic?); 2) What would you estimate resto costs to an "excellent" original condition? (Early quotes have ranged from $50-100k); 3) What is the car worth today in excellent condition?
Thanks!
Brandon
