C2 Vehicle History

[Roger P.]

I am trying to locate any past history information on my '65 convertible, VIN #194675S110981. I purchased the car about one year ago from a man in Maryland. When I purchased the car, he provided a pile of papers that gave me clues to the two previous owners before him. With some "detective" work, I was able to locate both owners - who both still live in Maryland (one temporarily relocated to NC, but moved back to MD. He was a GM mechanic for 6 years ). The search takes me back to about 1987, and all that I now know is that the pre-1987 owner worked in law enforcement in Maryland (he was not a police officer, but rather worked in another division of law enforcement). Unfortunately, the 1987 owner can't remember his name (perhaps I should offer to pay for hynosis ).

Does anyone have any information on how I can locate the names of the previous owners back to '65, and if possible, how I can determine the name of the dealership where the car was originally purchased. I'm looking for a needle in a haystack, but I am patient if there is a way of getting the job done. I am doing this for nostalgia value, not resale value. You wouldn't believe how excited the previous owners were when I contacted them about their '65 Vette! Not only did I hear some great stories, but I also learned many things about my car that I would have never known without them telling me. They are looking in their attics & basements for documents and photographs for me, and they truly enjoyed seeing photos of my son and me "cruisin' topless" with their old baby.

Your ideas and advice are appreciated.
Thank you in advance,
Roger Piper (50141)

[Tom H.]

Re: C2 Vehicle History

NCIB has the records of where your car was delivered new. Finding someone who can access it is a different story. Got any low friends in high places ??

[Roger P.]

Re: C2 Vehicle History

Tom:
Thanks for your prompt reply. I assume that NCIB stands for National Corvette Information Board?? Not sure if my friends are high or low, but I am willing to give it a try (I could pretend to be someone in a high place ). Would someone from GM's top-brass be given "high" consideration these days? I doubt it, so I guess I'm on my own. Do you have a phone number or an e-mail address for NCIB so I have a starting point?

Thank you,
Roger (50141)

[John H.]

Re: C2 Vehicle History

Roger -

It's NICB (National Insurance Crime Bureau) - they have the name of the original selling dealer, but that's all, and only law enforcement officers with a case or docket number can access the information (didn't use to be that difficult, but times change).

[Rick S.]

Re: C2 Vehicle History

Roger,

As John states, unless you know a law enforcement officer willing to jeopardize his job/retirement, getting any info from the NICB is slim. I speak from experience as a retired 30 year LEO (1997).

Rick

[Cecil L.]

Re: C2 Vehicle History

Ask your 87 owner if he bought it from a classified ad in the paper, Corvette publication,etc. Most newspapers and some librarys have old issues on file and you might get lucky finding the ad from that time.

[Roger P.]

Re: C2 Vehicle History

John, Rick, and Cecil:
Thank you all for your advice and ideas. It appears that the NICB is off-limits to the public, so I guess that is off the list. However, trying to find the original ad from the 1987 owner is a creative strategy that I will persue. Cecil, I like your thinking! By the way, I haven't checked yet, but if I have the tank sticker, would that give me any clues as to where the car was originally shipped? Or is it simply the "build sheet" listing all of the options? Is the tank sticker visible by looking in from the gas tank filler without having to drop the tank?

Thank you again,
Roger (50141)

[Mike M.]

Re: C2 Vehicle History

Tank sticker would work but 67 was the first year for the tank stickers.

[Roger P.]

Re: C2 Vehicle History

Mike:
Thank you for saving me the time of looking for a tank sticker that obviously doesn't exist. I will continue looking for the "needle in a haystack" until I either get lucky, or I just decide to "wave the white flag". It's all for fun, so I'll try a few more things before giving up the search.

Thank you,
Roger (50141)

[Tom H.]

Re: C2 Vehicle History

Keep digging Roger ! Don't give up. The info is out there, you just need to find it. Too bad NICB doesn't make this information at least AVAILABLE to us.

[Roger P.]

Re: C2 Vehicle History

Tom:
I've never been a quitter or given up easily, so the search will continue until all avenues have been explored. Consider that it took me nearly 2 years to find my Vette (the right car for the right price)... and that was after promising myself over 25 years ago that I would own a Midyear one day (I was about 18 years old then)! I will add to this thread and/or start a new post if/when I make any progress. Still searching for the winning lottery numbers, too -- haven't given up on that dream either.

Thanks for the encouragement,
Roger (50141)

[Michael W.]

Re: C2 Vehicle History

Roger,

Our last edition of our chapter news letter has a nice info on how our Hon. Treasurer (Ruud Zeller) was able to trace the full history of its 1963 Convertible. And he did it from his desk in The Netherlands....

If you want to get in touch with him then let me know.

[Roger P.]

Re: C2 Vehicle History

Michael:
Thank you so much for your reply. I would certainly like to contact Ruud Zeller to find out how he was able to trace the full history of his car. At your convenience, please get back to me with his e-mail address or NCRS # so I can contact him. I also see that you own a '65 red convertible like mine -- nothing better!

Thanks again,
Roger (50141)

[Gerard F.]

Re: C2 Vehicle History

Maybe see what you can do through the Maryland DMV, or the insurance companies which were active back then.

Just a thought.

[Roger P.]

Re: C2 Vehicle History

Jerry:
I already spoke to Maryland DMV and they didn't want to give me anything due to the "Privacy Act" of 1999?? Anyway, the woman was nice and confirmed the name of the person from whom I bought the car and told me there were no other records. The good news is that the prior owner, although also from Maryland, moved to North Carolina before moving back to Maryland years later. With Michael Westenberg and Ruud Zeller's assistance & experience, I am filling out a form and sending it with a check to the North Carolina DMV. Ruud's car traveled a similar path as mine, and he received a big fat evelope of title history information for his '63 Vette -- including titles from when the car was owned in neighboring states. Now that's exciting news! The completed form and $$ will be in tomorrow's mail, and I will be anxiously waiting to see what comes back from NC-DMV. I'll keep everyone posted when the envelope arrives.

Thanks for your input,
Roger (50141)