I'm really excited about this!

A year after locating the original owner of my 1969.5 (A12) Roadrunner, (Carl) is flying out to be reunited with the car later this month on the 29th, which happens to be his 75th birthday. He hasn't seen the car since 1972! The car has some interesting race history and I'm really excited to reunite Carl with his "old" car. The best part is how excited he is to see the Roadrunner. He's actually flying quite the distance for this event. His daughter is coming along to assist him with the trip out.

I want to ask the Moparts members for some suggestions or ideas on what would make this event extra special. How can I make the most of this experience for Carl as well as myself? What would you do? Anyone done something similar with their car? Having the ability to speak to the original owners of cars from this era isn't always going to be possible and I'd like to both celebrate and document the occasion.

What I have planned:

1) Record video of Carl seeing the car for the first time in 38 years.
2) Take a lot of photos
3) Take him for a drive (GoPro in car)
4) Interview Carl on video and document his memories with the car.

Those are the things that come to mind, but I'd enjoy hearing other suggestions. Thank you.


More about the story if you're interested:


I purchased the Roadrunner 9 years ago with the help of Dave Watt (Runs the A12 Registry) who already knew of the car and was assisting the current owner at that time in selling it. I got the car to California and after sitting idle for a few months began striping it down in preparation for a full rotisserie restoration. After about a year or so the body work and paint was complete. I moved on to the mechanics, rebuilt the engine, 18 spline 4 speed, Dana 60 etc and put the car back together. The car has basically been "done" for a few years now, but I haven't finished everything quite yet. Life has gotten in the way a few times and slowed me down a bit. After taking a three year break from working on the car, I got back at it in early 2018 and I decided to research the name that was labeled on the door windows, from its drag racing days, "Gary Bastin".

I was contacted by Tom Kelly, a really cool mopar guy who seems to know all the car guys in his area. He put me in contact with Gary Bastin and eventually I flew out to Indiana to meet up with both Gary and his previous race partner, Darrel Steiger, who I actually purchased the car from but had never met. I had lunch with both Gary and Darrel and we talked about the car in detail. Darrel left on business after lunch, but Gary and I sat there at the Steak & Shake table for about 5 hours. I was able to gain some very helpful and interesting information as well as history about the car from Gary, who by far was connected to the car for the most amount of time. He brought old photos and many stories with him. It was clear the car meant a whole lot to him. I truly enjoyed our visit that day in August of 2018. One of the key details I learned from both Gary and Darrel was the name of the original owner, Dan Carolus, who they mentioned had been dead for some time. I was of course disappointed to hear about his passing, but given the car approaching 50 years of age, I wasn't that surprised either.

I got back to West Coast and continued working on the finishing details, windows, glass, interior and trim. I decided to search for information regarding Dan Carolus who I was told bought the car new, raced it, and eventually sold it in 1972 to make room for a boat that his wife had won in a beauty pageant. That's the story I was told. I found Dan's obituary online and it said he was survived by a brother, Carl. After doing some research I was able find a phone number associated with someone by that name. I called the number and left a brief message on the automated voice mail service after no one picked up. Later that day I got a call back from a man named Carl and boy was he excited. Not only was it the correct Carl Carolus, but Carl himself was the original owner of the Roadrunner! His brother Dan who had passed away years ago, worked at the dealership where the car was purchased and was heavily involved in racing the car with his brother Carl. Carl had no idea where the car was, but let me know that not a day had passed without him thinking about it. He loves this car.

Carl and I hit it off great over the phone and have had a few memorable conversations over the past couple of years, although I haven't spoken to him recently. I've been in contact with his daughter and nephew trying to plan a reunion. It looks as if that reunion will take place later this month. If it all goes as planned, I'll certainly post the finished video sometime in February here on Moparts. As mentioned above, any suggestions or ideas would be appreciated given this very unique opportunity. Thank you!

-Dan


The day the Roadrunner arrived in December of 2011





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