Caution, sentimental car story ahead. Reposted from my current "home" at 2002FAQ.
Growing up my father always had quirky cars. He had a real affection for the E9 coupes, so when his NachtBlau 2800CS was totaled in an accident, he replaced it with a 1974 3.0CS "Kingfish". It was SienaBraun over Tan leather with a 4spd. The exterior color was never his taste, so in the early 90's he stripped it down to the bare metal and sent it off for a 2-3 year stay at a local restoration shop. Shortly after sending it off, he passed away from cancer. I was 13.
About 3 months after the funeral, we received a call from the shop informing us that the "car was ready." By ready, they meant we had a beautifully painted Lapis Blau (close to Atlantik) shell to go along with the numerous boxes in the garage. While there were a few scribbles and diagrams, my Dad didn't leave much in the reassembly instructions department. The car had been left to me and so over the course of the following 5-6 years, it followed our family around. We always found a safe place to store the shell and all the parts. However, reality ultimately took hold and we knew we lacked the knowledge and resources to reassemble it. We made the tough call to trade it to a coupe enthusiast in California for a running '74 2002. That Amazon 2002 was my first real "restoration" project. It was my daily driver through college until an inattentive driver ran a red light and t-boned me at 50mph (amazingly I was unhurt). The buyer stayed true to his word and got Kingfish back together. Though I was back at school and unable to enjoy a ride, I was glad to know it was back on the road.
Time moved on: College graduation, service in the Coast Guard, a "new" 76 2002, marriage, life. I found myself back in California for duty and got a bug to hunt down the car with no vin or other critical info. With so much time passed, we had lost contact with the buyer. I only remembered his first name and that he lived in San Leandro. After running all sorts of combinations on google site searches through Roadfly, this site, and similar forums, I was actually able to track him down here! (Ron aka CS Specialist). Unfortunately, he sold the car to guy named Jim in 2000 and had similarly scanty information on the car's current whereabouts. Again I turned to Google, Linkedin, and Facebook. Once again I got lucky and found the owner, this time through LinkedIn. Even more amazing, he only lived 15 miles from our current home! My message to him was pretty simple: He had my father's car and if he would ever consider selling it, I'd appreciate the opportunity to be first in line. Three very long weeks passed before he responded. He had bad news: The car had been sitting outside for nearly 14 years with a busted ignition switch. The paint was peeling and the interior had dried up, cracking the leather seats. Still, he said he'd be happy to show me the car.
Last Sunday I went over to his house with a 6 pack of Lagunitas to see the car for the first time in almost 20 years. Short of the cosmetic issues it was all there. More importantly, it had remained rust free (a miracle if you know coupes). Jim had thoughtfully pickled the motor and kept it in as best shape as he could. I opened the trunk and found my dad's shop notebook with all his sketches of the disassembly. Each underhood sticker was placed on its own page with measurements of where they went. Needless to say I was a bit overcome with emotion.
This is the part of the story where I lost any leverage at bargaining. This is also the part of the story where my faith in gearheads and people in general was renewed. Jim had been in a similar position with his father's car many decades ago. Unfortunately, he was not able to get it back. He told me, "I've regretted that for years. So I know that there's only one place this car belongs, and that's home with you." He gave me an incredibly fair deal, well under market, even refusing to take as much as I initially offered. "The car needs to go home, and I want you to have the resources to treat it right, get it painted and enjoy it."
So this Father's Day, my wife and I arrived at Jim's with a uhaul trailer to bring Kingfish home. I spent the better part of the afternoon giving it the first bath it's had in over a decade. In the coming weeks I'll rebuild the carbs, change the fluids, R&R the brakes/hubs, and then hopefully enjoy a drive, likely with Dad's preferred organ music cranked up.
It needs a lot of love to get back to prime condition, but it's home.
Growing up my father always had quirky cars. He had a real affection for the E9 coupes, so when his NachtBlau 2800CS was totaled in an accident, he replaced it with a 1974 3.0CS "Kingfish". It was SienaBraun over Tan leather with a 4spd. The exterior color was never his taste, so in the early 90's he stripped it down to the bare metal and sent it off for a 2-3 year stay at a local restoration shop. Shortly after sending it off, he passed away from cancer. I was 13.
About 3 months after the funeral, we received a call from the shop informing us that the "car was ready." By ready, they meant we had a beautifully painted Lapis Blau (close to Atlantik) shell to go along with the numerous boxes in the garage. While there were a few scribbles and diagrams, my Dad didn't leave much in the reassembly instructions department. The car had been left to me and so over the course of the following 5-6 years, it followed our family around. We always found a safe place to store the shell and all the parts. However, reality ultimately took hold and we knew we lacked the knowledge and resources to reassemble it. We made the tough call to trade it to a coupe enthusiast in California for a running '74 2002. That Amazon 2002 was my first real "restoration" project. It was my daily driver through college until an inattentive driver ran a red light and t-boned me at 50mph (amazingly I was unhurt). The buyer stayed true to his word and got Kingfish back together. Though I was back at school and unable to enjoy a ride, I was glad to know it was back on the road.
Time moved on: College graduation, service in the Coast Guard, a "new" 76 2002, marriage, life. I found myself back in California for duty and got a bug to hunt down the car with no vin or other critical info. With so much time passed, we had lost contact with the buyer. I only remembered his first name and that he lived in San Leandro. After running all sorts of combinations on google site searches through Roadfly, this site, and similar forums, I was actually able to track him down here! (Ron aka CS Specialist). Unfortunately, he sold the car to guy named Jim in 2000 and had similarly scanty information on the car's current whereabouts. Again I turned to Google, Linkedin, and Facebook. Once again I got lucky and found the owner, this time through LinkedIn. Even more amazing, he only lived 15 miles from our current home! My message to him was pretty simple: He had my father's car and if he would ever consider selling it, I'd appreciate the opportunity to be first in line. Three very long weeks passed before he responded. He had bad news: The car had been sitting outside for nearly 14 years with a busted ignition switch. The paint was peeling and the interior had dried up, cracking the leather seats. Still, he said he'd be happy to show me the car.
Last Sunday I went over to his house with a 6 pack of Lagunitas to see the car for the first time in almost 20 years. Short of the cosmetic issues it was all there. More importantly, it had remained rust free (a miracle if you know coupes). Jim had thoughtfully pickled the motor and kept it in as best shape as he could. I opened the trunk and found my dad's shop notebook with all his sketches of the disassembly. Each underhood sticker was placed on its own page with measurements of where they went. Needless to say I was a bit overcome with emotion.
This is the part of the story where I lost any leverage at bargaining. This is also the part of the story where my faith in gearheads and people in general was renewed. Jim had been in a similar position with his father's car many decades ago. Unfortunately, he was not able to get it back. He told me, "I've regretted that for years. So I know that there's only one place this car belongs, and that's home with you." He gave me an incredibly fair deal, well under market, even refusing to take as much as I initially offered. "The car needs to go home, and I want you to have the resources to treat it right, get it painted and enjoy it."
So this Father's Day, my wife and I arrived at Jim's with a uhaul trailer to bring Kingfish home. I spent the better part of the afternoon giving it the first bath it's had in over a decade. In the coming weeks I'll rebuild the carbs, change the fluids, R&R the brakes/hubs, and then hopefully enjoy a drive, likely with Dad's preferred organ music cranked up.
It needs a lot of love to get back to prime condition, but it's home.
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