Had my '55 Buick Special in for a new interior last week. The prior owner had mentioned something being written inside one of the door panels but I forgot about it till the interior guys called me. This is what was inside the panel. Blanked out names/numbers etc. Anyway, picked up the phone and dialed the number for Darrel (bearing in mind this was written in 1986'ish), amazingly the guy answers. Same number for 27 years... Long phone call as it sparked a lot of memories for him, he is now in his early 70s. He drove in the car as a teen back in 1959 when it was only 4 years old. He is digging photos out of the car as it was then. Seems the car meant a lot to him as the couple that owned it were like parents to him. Was able to tell me all about the car from 1959 through 1990. The guy that sold it to me owned it for, in his words, "about 20 years" so it may been him that bought it from Darrell. Judging by the call it was pretty interesting for me but absolutely made Darrell's day. I have sent him a number of photos of the car as it sits now for him to reminisce over. Says he has written his contact details in every car he has owned.
That's really cool. We should all make that common practice. Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
Thats pretty cool ,must of stired quite a few memories for him.Got any pics of the car and new interior?
This call must have been a surprise for the guy, but sure fun for him and you. Thanks for a cool story!
Sorry, my mistake. I honestly through HAMB was for older hot rods/customs only. This is pretty original.
Very cool! Good thing it wasn't stolen back when he had it. That would have been awkward. Nice car by the way!
Yeah, like a cornerstone on a building, or a note in a bottle... a friend of mine likes to go thru auto wrecking yards and rifle glove boxes. He finds notes, letters, and greeting cards in Vehicle Owners' handbooks, some neat stuff. Last summer he was sitting in a '62 Olds wagon, opened the owner's manual and six One-hundred dollar bills were folded in half, right in the inside packet!
does that say joplin mo at the end of the letter.if the guy you talked to is in fact still in joplin, let me know and ill swing by and bring a 6 pack or whatever you feel is right.
Very Cool. Thanks for calling the man and telling us the story. Yes, that is a Hamb friendly car. All the best, Dale Cleveland OH
your car is one of my dream cars! thanks for sharing the nice story! (I dont write my name in cars, usually on bathroom walls )
Great story. I'm glad for both you and Darrel to have that experience. That Buick Special looks fantastic and worthy of all the drama.
Wow, thanks guys. Never mentioned the Buick as I didn't think it fit in here, hence my focus on my evolving (soon I hope!) Model A... To the guy who asked if this was in Joplin, yes it is. Thanks for the offer re the 6-pack, that's pretty cool of you to offer. Let me get back to you once I talk to him again. The gl*** all down the driver's side has a slight pitting where it looks like some gravel hit the gl***. I asked Darrel about it and he confirmed twister went through Joplin back in the 70s and did that. he said that was why only the gl*** on one side of the car has that issue. The guy that sold me the car told me that too but to hear from the guy that was there when it happened. Oh and how about this. The original dealer tag is still on the car. It was sold by a dealer known as High Dollar Joe in Joplin. He was called that as he would always pay high dollar for a trade in.
Nice Buick, I have always been a fan of this series of Buicks, and that dealer tag is awesome! I would drop some serious cash for a dealer tag like that. I have never permitted dealer tags on my cars, even new cars I buy today, I tell the dealer that unless he wants to "rent that space, don't deface!". But that tag I would use!
That's a rare occurence for a wrecking yard. Every yard I've ever been to over the decades has the yard laborers like a pack of monkeys, going through the glovebox, console, trunk and pulling the back seat looking for valuables just as soon as the car gets towed in (or before it reaches the yard by the tow driver). They consider it a "tip". I once asked one of the guys "how they did"? He said mostly loose change (a few old coins) and sometimes tools, jumper cables, umbrellas, etc. Couple of times a hand gun. Same goes for the full service car wash. Knew a guy that worked at one and was always selling good used camers, knives, etc. He was a petty thief that lifted the stuff from under the seats of cars when he was vacuuming...
Thats a cool Buick. Great story on calling the past owner. Wonder if old HiDollar Joe is still around?
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