[njsteve]

My original owner story involved a little detective work: From speaking with the guy I bought the car from he believed the car was sold new in Virginia, Maryland, or DC back in 1969. I did title searches in all three areas and the only one that retained old records was Maryland. They sent me the microfiched copy of the title transfer from when the original owner sold the car to owner #2 in 1977. BINGO! Unfortunately the original owner's name was essentially the Hispanic version of John Smith and there were literally 10,000 of them in the area I was searching. I made a list and started calling every one. The first question I would ask when they picked up the phone was: Hi did you own a 69 Indy 500 Pace Car back in 1969?

On the second call down the list, I hit the jackpot: It just happened to be to the original owner! He was more excited than I was and invited me down to visit and even had his son scan in all the photos of the car from when it was new, on his honeymoon, when they brought their first child home from hospital in the car, etc. He also told me where he bought the car new: Bob Peck Chevrolet in Arlington, Virginia. (They've been in business for over 60 years) I went there and they actually still had the original sales invoice on file in their attic archives.

The lesson is: Never give up!