Good question. I'll ask him.

Speedometer/odometer

My friend said "The story we got was that the woman who owned the car got sick and just parked it in her backyard. I checked the motor to see if it was frozen and it is not."

He's going to check the wheel codes.

Looks like the wheels are a set from 1973 with the HM code. Matched set with 5/22 on the rear and 5/23 dates on the front. I guess this means the car got mags early on and then they wanted to go back to the stock look but the originals were gone? Don't know for sure.

bummer. set of the jw will set you back some $$$

Neat car - and definitely the coastal rust pattern I used to see when I lived in Santa Barbara.

Thanks for sharing the find with us.
Never knew California could do that to a car.
Terrible shame it had to happen.

The 70 TA's from VanNuys plant usually have a build sheet in the rear seat springs.
He can save himself the PHS money if he gets that.

These cars pretty much document themselves anyhow when found like this.
7040570 WN Cali emission carb
cast iron intake
#12 heads
big RA exhaust manifolds
VIN on block and trans
VanNuys may have stamped VIN up higher on the block face closer to the passenger head - than the typical area alongside timing cover.
Fremont did that - fwiw.

Never seen one with power locks that didn't have power windows also.

The JW's were probably stolen.

That's good info about the build sheet. I've told him to have a look for it.

Here are a couple VanNuys 70 TA docs for reference sake.
Hope he finds the Bsheet

https://www.yenko.net/forum/attachme...1&d=1586793620

https://www.yenko.net/forum/attachme...1&d=1586793620

My bad. I did not pay much attention to the VIN and evidently it is a Norwood car sold new through Knafel Pontiac in Akron, OH which may account for the rust. The CA blue license plate looks to be from around 1972 so it only spent a couple of years back there judging by that. I didn't know PHS sends you the stuff via email this quickly.