[FWDLK] The Dodge story

I have a neat story, bare with me till we get past the GM part. Last Sunday a friend of mine in the Cadillac club invited my wife and I to go on a dinner cruise with the Cadillac Club. They know all I own is Mopars... My 55 Dodge CRL and 55 DeSoto Sportsman show cars are stored for winter. The only older Mopar I had was my fun driver, a 55 Dodge Sierra station wagon. It's a 20 footer, but a great driver. It is red and black and shines up nice, and really stood out in the parade of Caddys. We were to meet in Perkins Resturant parking lot and line up for the tour of 107 miles. We arrived earlier than most, more time to talk that way. It was a very friendly group. Well, this 66 convertible pulled in and the driver got out, walked over to my station wagon, walked around it a few times. He had the _expression_, like he had just seen a ghost. He hesitated a little, and in a very serious voice asked me it I knew the history of the car. I told him all I knew was the car was owned by an old man and it was his pride and joy. It was always garaged, but somehow it was parked out in the weather under a tree for ten years before I got it. The engine was stuck, the clutch was stuck in a down position and the floor was gone and the accellerator was dangling under the car. No brakes etc. It needed everything. The word JUNK was spray painted on the side of it. It almost went to the crusher. The gentleman said it looked like his grandfathers car, who had died over 30 years ago. I said the car is a V8 stick, he said so was his grandfathers, I said no power steering or brakes... He said "That's my grandpa!" I told him it is very possible since the production figures for that model were low. He said the car was hit on the quarter many years ago pointing to the passenger side quarter panel.I said could it have been the driver side, he said, now that I think about it, It was the drivers side. I then showed him a very old repair on the driverd side. He said after his grandpa died It was put in his name and he drove it for 3 years. But before he sold it in 1979 the driver side header was cracked and he had it welded. We raised the hood and sure enough, there was the weld. I asked him where his grandfather lived and he said Newport, Ky. I have the info from the Build Sheet from Chrysler that it was sold at Newport Dodge. I asked if he knew about a piece o plexiglass that was in the rear upper hatch. He said yes, he remembers puting the Newport City Tax Sticker on it. This is" for sure" the same car. He is trying to find a extra set of original keys he kept when he sold the car many years ago. I am glad I had my camera. He posed for pictures with the car. He is also looking for old photos of his grandfather with the car. Who would ever guess finding the original owners grandson on a Caddy tour. It was really a great day and one I will never forget. P.S. The old Dodge kept right up with those Caddys, an those hilly backroads it stayed there in high gear all the way. Oh yes, and I got 17 miles per gallon on regular gas. I don't think any of them could do that.