Hi- I'm looking to re-acquire a '70 442 that I sold in 2001 timeframe. Car was Burnished Gold, gold interior, w white vinyl top, 4 speed, OAI hood, VIN 344870M233179.

Car was tasteful resto-mod w some unusual features (that might make it memorable to someone on this forum), including Wilwood rear disc brakes, 12" front discs from 1LE Camaro, trunk-mounted battery, adjustable brake proportioning valve on the underside of dash). When I sold it, it had original motor w Q-jet, factory exhaust, faux F heads, red inner fenders and W30 badges. Car had originally been an AC car w/ AT, but before I bought it in 1988, it had been swapped to 4-speed by someone who did an excellent job with the conversion. It had the potential to have been a W30 (Lansing built, correct 3.23 12 bolt, dual sport mirrors) but had no documentation and motor had E heads on it. Accordingly, I did not sell it as a W30 as I could never find a build sheet.

I sold the car to a gentleman in Annapolis MD, (last name starts with a B, not listing his name out of respect for his family). I reached out to him last summer to see if he still had the car and left a message at his place of business, but then found out he'd died from cancer about a month after I'd called. I'm a bit reluctant to call his home number, as I don't want to upset anyone there by bugging a grieving widow about something relatively inane, like asking about a car he bought years ago, as for all I know he might have sold it in the intervening 15 years. I'll call there in a few months, when a decent time has passed since her loss.

In the meantime I figured I'd try the web. I sold the car to him via an ad on 442.com, so I figured I'd try a want-ad there first, thinking that if he'd sold it, he'd likely sell it via the same site he bought it from. All I got was one reply from a guy claiming he had the car in SoCal, but he never responded to my requests for pictures. I can't believe it was a scammer, as who tries to fake out a guy about a car he'd owned for 13 years and had rebuilt from the ground up? Talk about having my hopes dashed.....

Anyhow, that soured me on 442.com, so I've come here. I've been impressed by the posts I've read on this site, very knowledgeable folks here. If you have the car or know of it's whereabouts, please let me know. I'm looking to undo at least one mistake from my youth, when I sold that car. For the 13 years I drove it, I heard countless "Boy, I used to have one just like it" stories and I don't want to be that guy.
Thanks!

 

Welcome to the site, good luck in your quest.

 

Welcome aboard

X2 Wish you good luck

 

You may try reaching out to the grieving parties now, you know the man passed express condolences and ask about the car, they may want to disposition it and if you wait the new owner may not be ready to sell whereas the widow may be happy she doesn't have to worry about selling the car. GLWS

 

Good heavens, get on the phone and make a call. What difference will a "few months" make when it's already been almost a year since the guy died? If he had died a week ago, I'd understand your reluctance, but all you're doing now is giving someone else a chance to buy the car, if it hasn't already been sold, because you're not willing to make the call.

Besides, just because you know the guy died doesn't mean you have to let the family know you know. Just play dumb and call the home number and ask to speak to the owner about the car you sold him 16 years ago to see if he might be interested in selling it back to you. It's a very innocent, reasonable question. When they tell you he died a year ago, act shocked, offer your condolences, and then ask what became of his car. After this much time, I doubt anyone who answers the phone would be offended by your call at all. After all, you're not family or a close friend, and you can't be expected to know that he's dead.

"He who hesitates is lost."

 

You inspired me, Jaunty. Did some Facebook work and found a friend of the late owner who had a pic of a '70 442 on his profile page. Sent him a message and he responded, it's my old car, he bought it several years ago. Still running the original engine, which I re-built in 1990. Hat tip to the late, great Joe Mondello, who spent hours on the phone with me in the 1990 timeframe, giving me tips to build a durable motor, particularly the oiling system. Glad I found the car, and though I'm no fan of Mark Zuckerberg, I gotta say that Facebook saved the day.....

 

Glad to hear you know where to find it now.

Terry

 

Very cool story! Glad you found the car! That never seems to happen!

 

Buck, that's cool that you found out where the car is now. Let us know if you convince the owner to part with it.

 

I remember that car being posted for sale on 442.com. I remember it because of the way it was modified. Post some old pictures if you have any.

Don W

 

So, did you get to buy it