Editor's Note: If you're wondering why a Nova search is included, it's because the same search principles, techniques, and experiences apply to a search for any make or model of car. By the way, if you can help Stan with his search, click on his name to send him an e-mail.
I have to admit that while I enjoy all 1960s/1970s muscle cars, I am very partial to Chevrolet as a manufacturer. When I was in grade school, my father bought his first Corvette which is one reason for my interest in Chevrolet. However, another car that left an impression on me was a 1967 SS Nova that my grandfather owned. I used to drive the car on occasion and hoped that I would be able to buy it from him at some point in time. As it turned out though, my cousin bought the car which left me looking for another Nova. At the time, all I wanted was a solid 68-70 Nova that I could put a big block in and use as a driver.
I was looking through the local auto locator in October 1995 and came across a 1969 Nova that was supposedly a factory 396 car. The price was low in comparison to most of the cars that I had looked at and I wasn’t expecting much. I called the owner and made arrangements to see it. As it turned out, the car needed restoration, but was a very solid L-78 Nova with a matching numbers driveline! The owner, Wayne, runs the National Nostalgic Nova club and had purchased it to restore and use as the club’s annual giveaway car, but another car was found for this purpose. According to Wayne, he had purchased the car in 1994 from Steve who lived about fifty miles away. He didn’t have an address for Steve so I decided to begin my search for the Nova at this point.
I performed a title search through the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation which has records that go back about ten years. I was hoping to get an address for Steve and any previous owners during that time period. I also used directory assistance and several Internet databases hoping to find a telephone listing for Steve, but I was unsuccessful. I happened to be examining the car one evening and found two old registration cards for the car dated 1986 and 1987, both bearing Steve’s name. I wrote a letter to Steve at this address explaining my recent purchase and plans to restore the Nova and asked that he call me as I had some questions about the car. Nothing to do at that point but wait.
About two weeks later, I received the title search from the DOT. The paperwork showed that Steve had purchased the car on December 1, 1975 and had owned it until Wayne purchased it in 1994. This was both good and bad news; good in that I knew the ownership history back to 1975 and bad in that I couldn’t reach Steve and had no easy way to search any further. I was preparing to make a trip to the town on the title records to see if I could find someone who knew Steve. Funny enough, the morning that I was going to go there, I received a call from Steve. Apparently, the address that I had was for his parents house and it took some time before the letter was forwarded to him. He confirmed that the car was indeed a 1969 SS 396 Nova and he had owned it for many years. Steve said the it was the first car that he ever purchased and he really had a lot of fun with it. He also gave me the names and telephone numbers of the two previous owners, Rodney and Ed.
I attempted to call Rodney, but the number was disconnected. I called Ed and explained the purpose of my call. It was very apparent that Ed was a real "car guy" and was very interested in my plans for the Nova. Ed told me that he purchased the car in the spring of 1971 from a used car lot in the area. He drove it daily for a number of years before selling it to Rodney in June 1975. He said that a week after he sold it, Rodney and a friend had a mild accident in the car and that the car sat for several months before Rodney decided to sell it (to Steve). Ed remembered the car very well and answered many of my questions regarding options, repairs and modifications. He also mentioned that the used car lot that he purchased the car from was still in business and that I might try there. The only thing Ed asked in return for all of his help was a photograph of the car when the restoration was completed.
I followed up with the used car lot and found out that they didn’t keep records back that far (although I expected this). I asked the owner, Ken, if he remembered the car since 396 Novas weren’t common even when they were new. Unfortunately, Ken said that they sold a lot of high performance cars back then and that he still owned a 396 Nova that came through his lot. He did say that he bought most of his cars from Virginia and Maryland (which made sense since my Pennsylvania title showed that the Nova was first titled in the state in 1970) and that he could check with the wholesaler that he dealt with to see if he remembered anything.
I decided that while I was waiting for Ken to check his source, I would run title searches in Virginia and Maryland. The forms for both states are relatively simple, however, Virginia requires you to show proof of ownership before they will release any documents. About a week later, I received my responses. Virginia records did not show any information on the car which was disappointing because Ken said that the majority of his cars came from there. The response from the Maryland MVD made up for it though. I received copies of the Manufacturer’s Statement of Origin, original title work, original assignment, application for license tags, and proof of insurance. The Nova was delivered to Lustine Chevrolet in Hyattsville, MD on May 19, 1969 and remained there for several weeks before it was purchased by Louise on June 3, 1969. Louise paid a little over $3,800 for the Nova and she drove it to at least June 2, 1970 which is the date that the car was titled in Pennsylvania. I am currently attempting to contact Louise, but have been unsuccessful so far. I plan to make a trip to the last address that I have for her and see if anyone remembers her as well as going to Lustine Chevrolet (still in business) to see if they can help with my search. Hopefully, I’ll be able to locate and speak with her as well as finding out what happened during the 7 or 8 months from June 1970 until the spring of 1971.
Have you hit a roadblock in your search, you can ask for help by posting a message on the Owner Search Message Board. Even if you're not engaged in a search, you may want to check out the message board. Somebody may just be looking for you!
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Copyright Barbara Spear 1996, 1997, January 1998