That's a terrible shame, letting such an exceptional car fall into ruin like that! I wonder if it's still sitting in that Northern California backyard?
And HOW IN THE WORLD did you happen to notice your first SJ advertised--years after you'd sold it--and recognize it as your former car? And then keep the URL of the listing YEARS after it was advertised? And now I know I'm not the only eccentric guy that remembers VIN numbers decades later.
It's interesting the little things you notice that you never did before. I don't remember the "428" numbers below "Grand Prix Model SJ" on the rockers. I didn't know until now that the SJ had a tachometer where the clock was in my Model J. And I also noticed a seat back release on the side of the driver's seat. Mine had a button in the top-center BACK FACE of the seatback, where nobody trying to enter the back seat would ever see it or find it. That must've been a mid-year change. Did anybody ever get their fingers hung in the inside door handles, when pulling your car's doors closed? It happened three or four times with my car, and nearly resulted in filet of the skin off the tops of some innocent fingers! I saw they changed the latch handles to a more-conventional design for 1970.
Do you recall the address of the SJ's buyer? I could try Google Earth, to see whether the car is still sitting in that same backyard even now. But then again, another five years' neglect might be impractical to overcome; you never know.
YES, by all means, let me know if you should come across a candidate car. I would be most appreciative!
Best regards, Jim
|