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





Recent Photo:

Hi Dan. Very excited for you about the upcoming visit with the original owner. Sounds like you have a great plan already. A couple of thoughts would be to put a small photo album together for him to take back home. Some of the on-line photo shops can create a really nice bound version that would look very professional that I’m sure he’d cherish. Second, you might find an small A12 die cast for him as well. I’m sure he’d enjoy either.
If he’s like the rest of us, he’ll love sharing his stories with someone genuinely interested and that will be a treat for you both.
Share some pics with us of the reunion & wishing you & both families an awesome time!
Tom Kelly

Sounds like a great event. Congrats to you for being so lucky to find the original owner. I’m sure you’ve thought this over plenty to make the Most out of it.

Darrell Steiger races NHRA Stock eliminator and had cars that qualify near the top of the list. He has a 1970
Challenger 340 6 pack that is really fast. He had an 80 Volare 360 in the past. Probably been racing his whole life and knows about many race cars.

Results below he is barely losing a heads up final round at the 2017 US nationals to a 69 340 dart of a moparts member Larry Gilley.
To those that don’t know drag racing this was quite an accomplishment by Darrel and losing by .0077 is heartbreaking. He beat one of the best in sportsman drag racing in the previous round Dan Fletcher. Look at his numbers from every round, he did an excellent job all weekend.

Thanks for sharing,
What a great story and how exciting for everyone involved!
That you've researched and flown out to visit these prior owners is a testament to your, and their dedication.!

The day Carl sees the A12 will be special no matter what you do..
- You'll take him for a ride.. I assume you'll let him drive it himself too? ..assuming there's nothing preventing him from doing so..
- Birthday presents - There must be some decent 1:18 scale die cast A12's.. can you get one in the same colors, or have it painted to match, give it to him?
- There will be plenty of photos taken at the time, but how about printing and framing some really nice photos beforehand too and having them framed for him to take home.
- Buy some vintage A12 brochures? Are there any memorabilia from the dealership?
- You could name your event something and print up some T-shirts.. mimic some vintage promotional material on the T-shirts? (Beware there can be a lead-time to print T-shirts).
- The weather looks nice where you are - so book a group lunch at an outdoor restaurant you can drive to, invite some other Mopar people..
- Invite the local newspaper.. make a story out of it.
-

Cheers!
- Art

PS - I was able to track down the original owners of our '65 Satellite, but never connected.
I was able to reach their pastor (there was a Sunday service program in the glove box). He was kind enough to accept and forward a letter to them on my behalf.
I included photos, and some xeroxes of the purchase documents from their time that stayed with the car.
Never heard back, but I'd check around online every now and then.
Over time, both the husband and wife's obits appeared.
I have their sons' names on various gas station and service receipts, so I know they drove it some, but never took it any further.

I raced quite a bit with Gary and Darrell back in the 80's. Attached is a pic of Gary and I at the head of staging one Sunday afternoon. I'm in the black coat with the Belvedere and Gary is leaning on the A12 in the background. During this time frame, Darrell was running an A12 Super Bee. He was also runner up at the US Nationals in that car one year. Seems like just the other day and 100 years ago. Where does the time go.

quick rotate for you

Is that A12 in the pic the same one in the OP?

Dan, I was happy to have assisted you with the purchase of the Road Runner. You have been a worthy owner.
I was wanting to buy it at the time, but the timing was bad for me personally.

The only time I saw the car race was at Muncie (Indiana) Dragway sometime in the late 80's or early 90's. It was in gray primer and from what I remember, it already had the Centerline wheels. It made a pass and as it crossed the finish line, something broke in the front suspension (tie rod) causing it to go off the side of the track into the corn field.
When it arrived back in the pits being towed by a wrecker, I struck up a conversation with Darrell (didn't know him at the time) and that's when I found out it was a real A12 car.
It wasn't until 10 years ago that I found out the car was still in the area, then went to look at it for documentation purposes.
After talking with Darrell, I listed the car for him and worked with Dan to assure him it was the real deal, early build A12 Road Runner.

Yes, and yes, Gary raced that car for a good while in primer. I thought it was red primer, but I sure could be mistaken.

Thank you Tom and others for the kind words and really good suggestions. I like the idea of putting together a professional type photo album or book that I can have made for Carl. My wife had a few of our vacations photos made into books at Shutter Fly (a web based company) and they came out great.

The diecast model is a great idea, but would you believe Carl told me over the phone that he bought two of them, "the really expensive ones" years ago, identical to the car -and he mailed me one of them! He's such a cool guy!

BTBelvedere,

Wow, thank you posting that photo! (and A990 for the rotation)! I absolutely love seeing photos of the car, especially at the drag strip and with it's previous owners. That's awesome!




Here's a photo of me and Gary Bastin after spending several hours talking that day. He doesn't look all that happy, but he was a pleasure to meet and talk to about the car. First seeing the car at age 14 at the drag strip and eventually coming across the car by sheer luck later in life, Gary has his own story to tell about coming to own and eventually racing the Roadrunner himself. It's a great story.

Very cool story. Glad to have spent a little time on that car. I'd love to find the original owner of my GTS convertible, but haven't found anything. I do have his name, but haven't found him. He owned it less than a year, though.

Thanks Jim!

Finding an original owner can be hit or miss. How common or uncommon a last name is can play big a part as well.

I appreciate your help with the front end of the Roadrunner! I might have another one for ya! I have a 68 Dart sitting here

Might have time to fit it in. I've decided that I'm done bringing other people's cars in as they always turn into project creep, but doing parts is a different story.

For those of you who were interested I wanted to update you all on the planned visit (yesterday and today) of the original owner of my A12 Roadrunner.

On January 27th, just two days before Carl's planned visit his daughter sent a text saying they were canceling due to Carl not feeling well lately. This came as a shock as nothing was said prior about this possibility. I was aware of his heath issues but was told he had been feeling better as of late and was extremely excited about the visit. The news of course was a huge disappointment but of course also understandable given his age and past health issues. I called Carl on the phone that same day and we spoke for about an hour. He still seems very optimistic about coming out in the near future, "as soon as possible" he says, but to be honest, I am not so sure. Planning this visit was a year or so in the making with his daughter and I'm just not sure given her availability and the volatility of his health if he'll be able to see his car in person.

I certainly won't give up on this goal of mine. I still have some wonderful audio interviews with Carl, but I'll continue to pray for his health and do what I can to ensure he's reunited with this meaningful part of his youth. In the end if this plan doesn't happen, I made the attempt and gained a friendship with Carl as well. He is such a great guy to speak with and his stories are always fun to hear.

Thank you for your interest and kind words guys and I'll be sure to post an update if we're able to reschedule the visit!

-Dan

Has there been any thought of making a video of the car for him to see and hear it? Photos are great, but they're static If his health is failing, it might put a smile on his face to hear the ol' girl running.

Don't go nuts worrying about a movie quality production, but do try to find someone that knows how to work a camera so you're not ending up with a lot of sound and not much else. How 'famous' do you think that idiot that jumped the RAM TRX would be if his guy behind the camera looked down the moment the truck took off? Understand?

And if you have someone make (edit) the video for you, for the love of god and all things holy, DON'T put any DOO WOP music in it ANYWHERE!

Reuniting the car with the original owner sounds like an important goal of yours. Any chance of hauling the car to his neck of the woods?

Satalite73,

I agree that making and sending / posting a video for him to see the car would be next best thing to seeing it in person. I have thought about that quite a bit. I'll be sure to leave out the beach boys music in the background

Mike,

I would totally bring the car to him if it made sense. Summer of 2019 I traveled to PA for Chrysler Nats and the A12 Reunion. I toyed with the idea of transporting the car, but it would be a huge ordeal and risky as well. Had I done that, I would have absolutely stopped by Carl's home on the way there. Heck, I would have offered to bring him along to Carlisle!

If you do a video, make sure you can do a burn out. If the guy and his brother were drag racing the car when it was new, a burn out video would sure be appropriate. An in car trip down the strip with the sound of the 6 barrels howling would be a great reminder of pretty happy days gone by. What better way would there be to remember an old drag car? Gene

Just a thought...not knowing all the concerns with bringing it to him (understanding its a pretty good distance and expense) do you think he may contribute to the expense. It is going to cost him a plane ride out and back and at least one nites accommodations plus meals for not just him but a travel companion as well. Considering also his health concerns maybe there is a solution there??? Again just a thought.

WIN,

They did take on the expense of the originally planned trip, but that wasn't my intention. I've offered to pay for the flights or help in any way I can to make the trip happen. They thanked me for the offer and eventually bought plane tickets and never said anything about needing any assistance. I lightly mentioned "letting me know" if I could help with any costs a few days before they were supposed to come out. At this point I don't think the cancellation was financial. I just didn't want money to get in the way of being able to come out. I think this was purely a health concern at this point.