I found this 1969 Corvette June 12, 1989 and my 2 brothers and I bought it the next day. We were just kids. My younger brother and I were still teenagers at the time. We still own the car and I still even have the classified ad I found it with. The '69 is a very original 390 hp two top convertible - engine, paint, most of the interior etc. Shortly after buying the car, I did a title search and found that we were the 12th owners. I contacted 8 of the previous owners the day the search results came in the mail- including the original owner! I called information for hours trying to track down the previous owners. After awhile the operators recognized me and actually broke their own rules by helping me find people with the same name as on the titles but who moved to a different address. Anyway, I did finally find the original owner. His name was Frank. When I called his house, his wife answered and said "he probably did own your car... he's had so many." She went to go get Frank and came back and said "when I told him you were on the phone, he almost fell off the toilet... he'll call you back." It felt like an eternity (30 minutes) but Frank did return my call. He quizzed me about the car with questions about the shifter, smog pump etc. I told him no smog pump and it has a Hurst shifter. Frank seemed satisfied and said "I have something here for you... you should come see for yourself."
He lived about a half hour away but my brothers and I were in the car instantly and on our way to Frank's house. When we got there, we were in Corvette heaven. Frank was sitting on a stool. Sitting around him was a freshly restored Pennant Blue '54, a 3,000 mile Mosport Green '66 L79 convertible, Two 1,000 mile '85 Corvettes (his and hers), a turbo '81, A Laguna blue '66 427 coupe, a '71 LT-1 coupe, and a '66 Silver Pearl L72 coupe with a crunched nose (that I later bought). My brothers and I stood there with our mouths open. He did not live in a large house, these cars were stuffed in a rather larger than standard middle income garage. He and his father had been buying Corvettes since the '60s, fixing them and selling them as a hobby. Frank also had red '59, '63 SWC, and '68 convertible at another location. He was one of those rare Corvette guys that knew all the numbers, codes, and how to build or restore every aspect of the car. I wanted to be just like Frank.
The reason Frank took so long to call me back? He needed the time to gather a few items. Specifically, the '69s original window sticker, warranty book, owners manual, Bill of Sale, Owner ID card and gold lapel pin, smog pump and bracket, rocker panels (he hung side exhaust on the car the first weekend) and Muncie shifter which was in the Hurst Shifter box. He gave all of this to us! It was like Christmas... only better! We have had a lot of history with this car. My Mom was even in Vette Magazine Lady's issue 3 times with it. We became very close friends with Frank. Frank passed away in 1998. I do miss him and I do think of the good times we had as he taught my younger brother and I to repair the '66 we bought from him. Now my younger brother and I are about the age Frank was when we met him. And we are very much as in love with this hobby as Frank. Thanks.

 

That's a great story (and some nice Vettes!!) Thanks for sharing.

 

Awesome!