Story by Greg Teufel:
Here is a story about my 66 LeBaron
A few years ago I acquired a 66 LeBaron from a fellow who specializes in finding distressed old cars. I listened to my heart instead of my head when I handed over $600 for the LaBaron with a questionable past and a cracked engine.
The seller had tried various ways to get a title, he had given up and was about to part the car. I just could not bare to see one of my favorites models destroyed, I paid the price and towed it home. Knowing that getting a title was probably out of the question and I would have to part the car myself, but I decided to give it one last try.
I decided to try to contact the legal owner directly, instead of taking the circuitous route that the seller had previously tried. The legal owner's name was on some registrations slips in the glove box, I called Coos Bay Or. only to get his uncle who gave me his mothers phone number. The mother would not give me the owners number but said she would call him and he would call me later.
The phone call came some days later, the owner did have the title but hadn't seen the car for two years and wanted his car back. This put me in a difficult situation, having paid $600 for a car that I didn't own and had no rights to.
I had to think fast, I told him that I had paid for two years storage and if he wanted his car he would have to reimburse me for my costs. Then I told him about the cracked engine and he started to loose interest in recovering the car. He explained that his ex-wife had taken the car when they split up and she never told him where it was. He obtained the title in the divorce settlement, the conversation ended when he said he would send me the title.
A month passed and no title had come by mail, I called the owner and again he promised to send it to me. Another month passed and no title, I made a third call and this time his new wife answered the phone, she said, " I'll put the title in the mail tomorrow", and she did. I am sure she did not want that car back in their lives because it reminded her husband of his EX Wife. which he had a bitter divorce with.
I have taken care of the registration and title problems, now, all I need is to put in a good engine.
Through much diligence another beautiful 66 LeBaron was saved from the scrap heap.
Greg Teufel K7VHV Imperialist
