Introduction and looking for my dad's 1971 Mach 1

[wcsii3]

I am brand new here and found this site because of my continuous search for my father's 1971 Mach 1. (forgive me if this is not an appropriate intro post)

Here is my story:
In the summer of 1970, at 21-years-old my dad worked at his 90 hour a week job in the local dairy. He was trying to save enough money to purchase a vehicle that few his age could. The decision came down to just two cars, a Corvette and a Mustang Mach1. After careful consideration he discovered that the Mach 1 would be more financially responsible due to the difference in insurance cost. He waited patiently and continued working through the school year. He found a new 1970 Mach 1 on a car dealer’s lot. After looking over the vehicle he decided to talk to his father (my grandfather) to get some advice. His father was a bank manager and it turned out that the dealership had a business relationship with his bank. His father phoned the owner of the dealership and explained that his son had been in earlier looking at a 70 Mach 1. The owner said because my dad was his son that would change things a little. He told my grandfather that he had a brand new 1971 Mach 1 that he would sell to my dad for a better price than the 70. My dad paid cash for the Mach 1 and drove away happy.

My dad drove the Mach 1 for many years and made so many great memories with it. After he got married to my mom and thoughts of a family began, the car was starting to look less practical. He sold it to his father in June 1977, when I was five months old. My grandfather drove the car for many years. Several of his 9 other children had the fortune of driving the Mach as they came of driving age. There are many wonderful family stories about the car. Over the years my grandfather received many offers to buy the car. Eventually he ended up selling it in the mid 1980’s. The stories have continued to be shared; obviously the car was a great source of family memories.

In 2007 my dad passed away and I decided that I would try to find my dad's car and restore it. I have been looking for it for the last 16 years with no success.

• I have gone through the California official DMV process to track it down - results came back with no records.
• I have hired a PI and a car museum professional to try and track it down - results from both came back with no success.
• I sent a letter to the address of the party my grandfather sold it to - results were no response.
• I know the VIN number.
• I have a few photos (not good quality) (taken in the 1970's)
• I have the odometer reading from when my grandfather sold it.
• I have the deluxe Marti Report
• I have the name and address of the person my grandfather sold it to (North Hollywood Ca.)
  • The owner of the address it was sold to is still the owner of record today (since 1981)

Any assistance or advice would be greatly appreciated.


Thank you so much and looking forward to being a part of this family.

 

[tpj71mach]

Welcome to the forum from Chicago! If you post the VIN maybe someone on the forum will be able to help. Also post some pics, that's not necessary to help find the car per se, we all just like pics.

 

[ib4stangs]

Welcome...and do post the serial# here in case the current owner Googles it, finds this site and reads that story.

Did you tell Marti Autoworks you're searching for it and ask if someone ever requested a vin report? You are not the first person to search for a long-lost family car and won't be the first to actually find it.

Good luck in the hunt...

 

[wcsii3]

Thanks all for your encouragement and advice.
I will reach out to Marti on that.
The VIN # is 1F05H156368
Like I said, the photos aren't great, but they are the only ones I have.

 

[72MustangSprint]

Thanks all for your encouragement and advice.
I will reach out to Marti on that.
The VIN # is 1F05H156368
Like I said, the photos aren't great, but they are the only ones I have.

Post the Marti Report in the Marti report forum so we can see what to look for. If California has no record of it , does that mean it wasn’t crushed ?

 

[Sheriff41]

Welcome and best of luck with your search.

 

[wcsii3]

Here is the Marti Report. I am not certain about whether it was crushed or not. The DMV only stated that the VIN Record was not on file. From my discussions with other folks in the past, I got the impression that the last record the DMV had was prior to the transfer from microfiche in the 1980's and the vehicle may have been moved out of state or country, and potentially is not on the road anymore.

 

[Don C]

Have you tried online searches, like Bumper.com? Some of the VIN searches don't work with older cars that have less than 17 digits in the VIN. They supposedly search most state DMVs.

 

[wcsii3]

Thank you for that suggestion. I tried Bumper earlier today and received no results.

 

[72MustangSprint]

The good news is this site has active members all over the world so you never know what they can find. Worst case you can’t find that car but it looks like it can be copied fairly easily.

 

[Stanglover]

Hello and welcome from SW Ontario, Canada.
That is quite the family story and I wish you luck finding the car.
I bought my car in California in 2008 and in my search for the history on that car, I contacted the Cal DMV. The report I got back was helpful and although the original owner was listed, the original date of registration was not there, showing only 00/00/71. That owner had the car until sold in the early 2000s. I do have subsequent names and dates. I was actually able to contact all but one po, but he only had the car a few months.
So, from that, I would say there are no records remaining on file from the early 70's.
The sad part is, the car you're looking for may well be long gone, but I hope not.
Happy hunting.

 

[Hemikiller]

Another avenue would be the Facebook group Lost Muscle Cars. I see them reuniting cars with owners or family members several times a week.

Has an in-person contact attempt been made to the listed owner?

 

[wcsii3]

Thank you for that. I will check out the Facebook group. No in person contact attempt has been made to my knowledge (maybe by the P.I. though) because the person the vehicle was sold to is not the owner (according to title) of the address they listed. They share a last name, and I have always been a little weary about just showing up and asking after 35+ years. I wrote them a letter, and I have driven by to see if the car was there. I should push some energy in that direction though, because most people probably don't have that option, thank you for pointing that out.

 

[James Bond]

Welcome from Oregon, hope you find your car.

 

[Mister 4x4]

Wait. I've seen that car. It was involved in a high-speed police chase in Southern California that lasted almost an hour. I heard it took a lot of damage as a result, too. I think this is a snippit from the video capture - sorry, super old footage:


Sorry - couldn't resist. When I saw the 2nd photo, I instantly thought of Eleanor. I had originally fallen in love with a Grabber Yellow/Ginger '71 Mach 1 H-Code, but the owner had abused the car and eventually traded it in and I never saw it again.

Good luck tracking it down, but you might have better luck finding a similar car (that was a very popular color combination) and just enjoy reminiscing and making some new memories (if that's an option).

Welcome from West Texas, BTW!

 

[Steve73QMach1]

I contacted Wes at Lost Muscle Cars about my old 73 Mach1 that I sold in Southern California back in 1984. He was able to determine that my Mustang was shipped from Southern California to New Zealand in 1994. I would contact Wes with the VIN and see if your Dad’s car went the same way.

 

[Bill Perkins]

Welcome from Opelika, Alabama
Hope you find your Dad's Car

 

[wcsii3]

Wait. I've seen that car. It was involved in a high-speed police chase in Southern California that lasted almost an hour. I heard it took a lot of damage as a result, too. I think this is a snippit from the video capture - sorry, super old footage:
View attachment 83289

Sorry - couldn't resist. When I saw the 2nd photo, I instantly thought of Eleanor. I had originally fallen in love with a Grabber Yellow/Ginger '71 Mach 1 H-Code, but the owner had abused the car and eventually traded it in and I never saw it again.

Good luck tracking it down, but you might have better luck finding a similar car (that was a very popular color combination) and just enjoy reminiscing and making some new memories (if that's an option).

Welcome from West Texas, BTW!

I enjoyed this pic and your post. Thank you for all of it.

 

[wcsii3]

I contacted Wes at Lost Muscle Cars about my old 73 Mach1 that I sold in Southern California back in 1984. He was able to determine that my Mustang was shipped from Southern California to New Zealand in 1994. I would contact Wes with the VIN and see if your Dad’s car went the same way.

Thank you for that information. I will reach out for sure.