Re: MOTION SIGN FOR SALE
For those who might be interested, this is the history of the sign as honestly and accurately as I know it from the day it was removed from the Motion building, based on what I was told.
A good nearby friend of mine grew up on L.I. and was close friends since high school with "Steve" (the fellow I bought the sign from). A couple years ago, my friend related the story Steve told him of picking up the sign the day it was removed from the building and destined for the trash. Steve took the sign home and put it on the ground in his back yard. It was there for maybe 4-5 years.
Back when I posted a question about "Richie Zul's" '63 Impala (which I had wrong, and meant to say "Richie Brown"), I also emailed Joel asking him for information about the Impala. In one of those emails to Joel, I mentioned that I knew the whereabouts of the original sign. Joel's reply was just a curious question about how the guy had acquired it. I told him the story as it was told to me, and he didn't really say anything else except "interesting". …. So, Joel had knowledge of the sign surviving long before Rick's later query as to whether the (a) sign existed. Someone with that question contacted Joel, and his reply was "looooong gone". It did not appear that Joel had any interest in the sign himself, or he surely would have asked me (the only lead he had) more about where it was. I don't believe that indicates I gave Joel any inconsideration at all. Joel was the very first person I told about the surviving sign. If he had told me he wanted it, I would have done my best to help him get it. I have a lot of respect for him.
When Rick's topic came up about whether a sign existed, I only had vague details and a poor description of it, so I made my own inquires about what it might have looked like, to compare to the descriptions I had heard. I asked my friend if he would contact Steve and ask if he would consider selling the sign to me. The answer was yes - but for a high, non-negotiable amount. Apparently, Steve was interested in purchasing another high priced street rod from an estate sale. I went to Steve's home on L.I. in April and bought the sign. Steve had a small house with a 2-car garage that was filed with another hot rod and a '48(?) Pontiac. There was no shop and no access to the back yard for another car.
After hearing the statement that the sign had shared space with the '57 Nomad, I made other inquires and learned that Steve had also been good friends with "Nicky", who used to work at Motion and also had owned a '57 Nomad. I was told Nicky had died about a year ago, the Nomad had been sold, and Steve didn't know where it was, although he had a few contacts that might have known. Steve said he was contacted by "someone about a month ago" about the Nomad. No mention was made that that person saw or was told about the sign.
So, according to what I had been told, there was no indication the sign had ever shared the same space with the Nomad. It sat in Steve's back yard from the day he brought it home till the day I bought it. So, unless I was lied to, along with his lifelong buddy (which I doubt), that's the truth, as I know it, so I stand by my statement. If different facts surface, I'd be as interested in hearing them as anyone.
Regards,
Verne
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