05-04-14, 01:15 PM
I posted this on the A12 registry and thought I might share it here too
I'm lucky I know the history of my car.
In August of 1969, The first owner, a teenager named Jesus, from Cashion Arizona (a little town SW of Phoenix) has picking lettuce in area of Fremont California for the season. He ended up at Fremont Dodge and bought the only automatic A12 Bee they had on the lot. He finished the season and drove the car back to Az and promptly began street racing, from what he told me he won quite a bit of money.
Fast forward to 1976, I'm 17 and just out of high school. My brother had a 69 383 Bee 2 years before so I'm in the market for one. My grand parents lived just south of Cashion and I remember seeing a Bee parked at a house on Durango Street and on the way to the local Circle K. I found the car with this really cool hood scoop at the house and contacted the owner and made a deal for $1300.00, it had a fresh paint job. I basically bought the car not really knowing what it was. It had a 4 barrel on it and the intake and carbs were in the trunk. After some research and meeting other hard core Mopar guys I found out what I had bought. I drove the car for 3 years and sold the car to my brother who sold it a month later.
I always regretted selling the car and even spotted it going south as I was going north and spun around but couldn't catch up. I had a habit of cruising crappy old neighborhoods looking for cars and in 1986 I spotted the back of a Coronet at 9th Street and Pima. I pulled up behind it and recognized the license plate of my A12 Bee. I went to the door and found out it was not running and it was mine for $500.00. The hood and motor were gone with a filthy 383 in it. I didn't care, I ran home grabbed the cash and my trailer and 2 hours later it was mine again. I then started collecting parts. I also was able to get the owner history from DMV and found I was 2nd and 5th owner.
In 1991 my cousin told me about a 70 Roadrunner sitting on Durango. I drove out and found the car, it was from what I remembered within a few houses of where I bought the Bee originally. I contacted the owner of the Roadrunner. We got to talking and I asked him about the Bee that used to be on that street, he told me he was the owner but he had since moved into his parent house 3 doors down since then. I told him I still had the car and he told me he still had the original 440 motor from the Bee. He explained that the cam went flat and stuffed a 70 440 six pack in it when he sold it to me in 1976. He took me back into his shop and there was the motor, 100% complete from carbs to oil pan. We made a deal and a week later I paid him $1000 and we loaded it up. At that time it occurred to me to ask if he saved any of the paperwork for the car or the original wheels. The wheels were long gone but he went in the house and 5 minutes later he came out with the factory wholesale invoice for the car from Fremont Dodge. The 70 roadrunner was bought by a local flipper a few years later and it was flipped to a guy in New York on Moparts, we connected and he told me when he got the Roadrunner it had a leather Fremont Dodge key fob on the keys and he sent it to me.
About 3 years ago Dave Watt had me contact a guy that contacted him on this registry that supposedly had info on my car. I emailed the guy and during some research of old newspapers he uncovered the original newspaper ad from August of 1969 for the Fremont newspaper, it had my car for sale in it with the full vin and vehicle description. From what I understand my car is the only A12 with a factory dealer wholesale invoice and tied to an original newspaper ad.
I'm lucky I know the history of my car.
In August of 1969, The first owner, a teenager named Jesus, from Cashion Arizona (a little town SW of Phoenix) has picking lettuce in area of Fremont California for the season. He ended up at Fremont Dodge and bought the only automatic A12 Bee they had on the lot. He finished the season and drove the car back to Az and promptly began street racing, from what he told me he won quite a bit of money.
Fast forward to 1976, I'm 17 and just out of high school. My brother had a 69 383 Bee 2 years before so I'm in the market for one. My grand parents lived just south of Cashion and I remember seeing a Bee parked at a house on Durango Street and on the way to the local Circle K. I found the car with this really cool hood scoop at the house and contacted the owner and made a deal for $1300.00, it had a fresh paint job. I basically bought the car not really knowing what it was. It had a 4 barrel on it and the intake and carbs were in the trunk. After some research and meeting other hard core Mopar guys I found out what I had bought. I drove the car for 3 years and sold the car to my brother who sold it a month later.
I always regretted selling the car and even spotted it going south as I was going north and spun around but couldn't catch up. I had a habit of cruising crappy old neighborhoods looking for cars and in 1986 I spotted the back of a Coronet at 9th Street and Pima. I pulled up behind it and recognized the license plate of my A12 Bee. I went to the door and found out it was not running and it was mine for $500.00. The hood and motor were gone with a filthy 383 in it. I didn't care, I ran home grabbed the cash and my trailer and 2 hours later it was mine again. I then started collecting parts. I also was able to get the owner history from DMV and found I was 2nd and 5th owner.
In 1991 my cousin told me about a 70 Roadrunner sitting on Durango. I drove out and found the car, it was from what I remembered within a few houses of where I bought the Bee originally. I contacted the owner of the Roadrunner. We got to talking and I asked him about the Bee that used to be on that street, he told me he was the owner but he had since moved into his parent house 3 doors down since then. I told him I still had the car and he told me he still had the original 440 motor from the Bee. He explained that the cam went flat and stuffed a 70 440 six pack in it when he sold it to me in 1976. He took me back into his shop and there was the motor, 100% complete from carbs to oil pan. We made a deal and a week later I paid him $1000 and we loaded it up. At that time it occurred to me to ask if he saved any of the paperwork for the car or the original wheels. The wheels were long gone but he went in the house and 5 minutes later he came out with the factory wholesale invoice for the car from Fremont Dodge. The 70 roadrunner was bought by a local flipper a few years later and it was flipped to a guy in New York on Moparts, we connected and he told me when he got the Roadrunner it had a leather Fremont Dodge key fob on the keys and he sent it to me.
About 3 years ago Dave Watt had me contact a guy that contacted him on this registry that supposedly had info on my car. I emailed the guy and during some research of old newspapers he uncovered the original newspaper ad from August of 1969 for the Fremont newspaper, it had my car for sale in it with the full vin and vehicle description. From what I understand my car is the only A12 with a factory dealer wholesale invoice and tied to an original newspaper ad.
