Came across this car in North Tonawanda, New York in September of 1998. Just happened to be cruising by and noticed it sitting in a driveway, so of course my friend and I turned around and stopped in to check it out - you don't see too many of these around other than at car shows... Talked with the owner who was a great guy and who gave us the story on the car. Seems he was the thrid owner but knew the previous two owners who were his neighbours. Both were older gentleman who were in their 70's and 80's so this was definitely an "old guy's" car- right down to the scratches and scrapes from the years of bumping into the garage walls!!!
Anyway, we did a quick check of the numbers which were all matching and then asked permission to lift up the back seat to look for the broadcast sheet, which was there and in good shape. At first the guy thought we were looking for change!!! About a hour goes by and we're ready to leave and I pop the question - "I suppose you've been asked this a thousand times, but have you thought about selling the car...?" He replies, "Well, you know, I was just telling the wife last night that I'm gettin' a little too old to take care of the car properly..."
And the rest is history. I drove it home two weeks later. So once again, timing is everything.
According to the Broadcast Sheet, this was a sales bank car built on October 22nd, 1968. It is F8 green with a green interior, black top and black tail stripe. The interior and the top are original, although the car has been repainted once in the mid 80's. Options include, fender mounted turn signals, tinted windshield, pedal dress-up, buckets and console, power steering and an AM radio. It also has a 6 way drivers seat (which doesn't appear on the Broadcast Sheet) and dealer installed air conditioning. The motor and tranny have never been out of the car and the odometer reads 98,459 miles.
It might look a little rough around the edges, but this car cruises very nicely, with more than a little jump left in the old 440 Magnum. Although I plan to restore it someday, I'd like to keep it as is for as long as possible since it's pretty close to survivor status right now. And hey, there's plenty of restored cars out there anyway, right? Let's hear it for an unrestored original!
Thanks for sharing the great car and story, Rick...BTW did you find any change under those seats?
