Early morning thoughts of Nostalgia *WARNING: NOVEL AHEAD*

"19JRC99" (19jrc99) 11/27/2016 at 05:25 • Filed to: Bronco, Nostalgia, VIN, Hunt, 2004, 1984, Ford, 351

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I hate doing this. My mind constantly switches its’ train of automotive thought. I just got the Dakota registered, and already I’m starting to want this again. “This” being to find the ‘84 Bronco my Dad sold April 20th, 2004. I was 4.

The real kicker? I have a name and an address. But it ain’t there on Google, and the guy has no social media. I didn’t get a number. And it’s in a fairly shitty area. Provided it’s actually still around. It was last registered in 2009.

About the same time, I saw it on Craigslist, spurning this whole hunt on. It really kicked in February 3rd, 2014 (According to the Craigslist publishing history.) I remember the thought. When it was for sale in 2008, the guy wanted $500. Dad didn’t want a project, and had just bought a ‘95 F-150, so he passed on it.

Back to 2/3/14. I was in 9th grade. It was first hour. Around 8 o’clock I think. Thinking of it (Why, I don’t know) when it hit me: I had the asking price saved up. The plan was really stupid, looking back; Dad kept the spare keys upon selling it. I figured I’d post an ad to find it, and if the keys started the truck, that was it. Otherwise, I’d keep looking. Pfft, like that would’ve worked.

I quickly realized the VIN (which I did not have) was a necessity. Tried the DMV, they said no on 3 separate occasions. Craigslist was all I had.

Fast forward to December of last year. My school counselor, who I commonly chat with, suggested calling the place that insured it. I’d tried to ask Dad before, but he said they wouldn’t bother since we aren’t insured with them anymore. Guess what? I got the VIN.

1FMEU15H8ELA93558. I typed that from memory.

I waited around a few more months, posting in Bronco groups and running my Craigslist ad, before I broke down and asked a PI to run the VIN for me. They did, leading to what I described at the start.

I don’t know what to do. I mailed the address (yes, really) but never got a response. Then, if I do find it and buy it, it’ll need a restoration. There’s no garage space. Maybe keep it at my Grandfather’s if he’s okay with it.

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > 19JRC99 11/27/2016 at 07:44

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I think maybe 6 years ago, my dad texted me and said there was an ‘87 Trans Am in Autotrader that looked exactly like my late brother’s former car. He was looking in the black and white paper copy, I hit the internet and saw that the car was blue like my brother’s and had the same wheels. There was also a picture of the back of the car, and when I saw 4th gen Trans Am exhaust tips, that basically confirmed it was Skip’s car. The old, partially scraped off RI inspection sticker that bore his old ‘SG273' plate left no doubt.

So we went and bought the thing for $500, and there was no part of that car that was worth $50, let alone $500. It was way too far gone, we ended up pulling a few things off it and giving it to a friend of ours to use for parts. I don’t regret buying the car, I’d rather that we got to see it again and decide its fate than some other jerk.

I hope you find the Bronco, and that it’s in more restorable condition than the Trans Am was.

19JRC99 > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms 11/27/2016 at 08:44

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Bummer that it was so far gone. That’s my biggest fear.