'67 L71 - Impossible Search? Philadelphia, PA

[Charles P.]

I think this may be impossible but nothing ventured, nothing gained, I suppose. I'm new to NCRS so I thought maybe wiser members might have some ideas.

I purchased a 1967 L71 Corvette convertable in the fall of 1967 at a Philadelphia dealer (no, I don't remember the name - NE Philadelphia, I think)). Probably financed through GMAC although I'm not certain. I had the car for approximately 10 months and then it was "totalled" when a woman ran a stop sign and hit me broadside. I loved that car - it was an accidental purchase - the dealer mistakenly sold the car I ordered, a 1967 red 327 - and this monster was all that was left in the showroom). I have never forgotten it, so many wonderful memories.

Then, after all these years, during a catch-up chat with an old friend, he happened to mention something that leads me to believe that the car was not actually "totalled" but was written off and perhaps purchased as scrap by the insurance adjustor. As I said, I don't remember the dealer and I don't have the VIN number, nothing but a memory I would like to pursue. It was registered in my name in PA which is all I have to go on.

I tried calling the PA dept of Motor Vehicles to see if there was some way to search the registration records for that year which would at least give me the VIN and a place to start. They were decidedly unhelpful (at least this woman was) although she didn't deny it was possible. I don't know if there is some sort of fee-for-search service that has connections. Maybe it's just too long ago.

Any ideas? Suggestions? Can the shipping report be accessed for area dealers without a VIN, just a date range? I would be most grateful for any help or advice. I'm fighting cancer right now and this could be an excellent distraction, plus I would love to know the truth, maybe even locate the car if it still exists. I kept no records because as far as I knew, the car was totaled, end of story and of course, it was 44 years ago.

Thank you.
Charles

[William G.]

Re: '67 L71 - Impossible Search? Philadelphia, PA

Sorry to say but your quest is almost extremely unlikely to succeed. Without a VIN you are sunk. Even with one it is difficult. The fact that it went to an insurance company is even worse to trace. IF you know the city it went to, and IF it is not too large a place your only option in my humble opinion is to place an ad in the local paper with all the facts with the ultimate goal of finding anyone who remembers the car . Your chance of success is probably 10% or less but it sometimes can be done. You can also contact all of the local gearheads and Corvette guys from that area and era . Be certain that there are people out there who remember your car.It is just very difficult to find them. Bill Gould

[Charles P.]

Re: '67 L71 - Impossible Search? Philadelphia, PA

Mr. Gould:
Thank you so very much for your reply. I appreciate your thoughts and advice. Actually, I pretty much understood that this was a pipe dream going in. I'm not even sure I would give myself the 10% chance that you mentioned. I now know the car came out of the Tonawanda plant and I have narrowed the dealer down to two possibilities - based on my recollection of eagerly racing, cosigned finance papers in hand, from my Father's office to get to the dealer before closing time. Funny how I can remember the direction I turned when leaving his office (which limits the possibilities of dealer) but it's totally weird that I can't remember the dealer's name. Even weirder that I have no remaining photographs or paperwork. The one person who was my best friend throughout the period when I owned the car, and might have been a great help, unfortunately passed away a few years ago.

I suppose what I was hoping/am hoping is that someone with a working knowledge of the Pennsylvania DMV might be able to advise me if it is even possible to look up a title from as far back as 1967 - when I called them they were noncommittal at best. Since the car was titled in my name this would at least give me some information to go onplus, of course, a VIN. Should anyone out there see this who knows anything about the PA DMV, I'd appreciate anything that might steer me in the right direction.

The other glaring problem here is that my suspicion about the "totalling" of the vehicle may be completely wrong; it might have ben legitimately totalled and sold for scrap/parts/whatever. Still, it would be nice to know for sure and it's not like I have a hundred other pressing issues at hand.

At any rate, thank you very, very much for your response. Best wishes for the New Year.
Charles

[Steven B.]

Re: '67 L71 - Impossible Search? Philadelphia, PA

Charles, a couple of things that may assist are looking in telephone directories and newspapers of the period for Chevy dealers. A dealer name may jog your memory. Contacting Corvette clubs, car clubs, and shops that may still exist in the area for someone who might remember the car. It is alot of legwork but has worked for me before. Also, describing the car, colors, etc. on the Technical Discusson Board and the Info Wanted section of the Driveline and ocntacting NCRS members in the PA area may bring some results.

Good Luck!

Steve

[Dave S.]

Re: '67 L71 - Impossible Search? Philadelphia, PA

Charles, a couple of things that may assist are looking in telephone directories and newspapers of the period for Chevy dealers. A dealer name may jog your memory. Contacting Corvette clubs, car clubs, and shops that may still exist in the area for someone who might remember the car. It is alot of legwork but has worked for me before. Also, describing the car, colors, etc. on the Technical Discusson Board and the Info Wanted section of the Driveline and ocntacting NCRS members in the PA area may bring some results.

Good Luck!

Steve

Charles,
I have a 71 Corvette from Matt Slap Chevrolet. It was located on Grant & Academy in Philadelphia. Maybe that will jog your memory. I believe Matt Slap was there starting in the 50's or earlier. He was a local froend of Vic Potamkin (sp?) who was a car dealer legend (also Chevrolet) in Pennsylvania and Florida.

[Michael H.]

Re: '67 L71 - Impossible Search? Philadelphia, PA

Have you contacted the insurance company or agent that you had back then maybe they can help with the VIN. Also check with the city or county as there might be some tax records around as well that might have your VIN. Maybe find a phone book from back then a the libary and see if there are some salvage company's near by that might have purchased the car from the insurance pool. Just some thoughts............

Never say impossible as I found my original 435 motor after going through the previous 14 owners and a year and half later, second owner still had it in his garage in another vet.

Mike