I have been away from the C3VR but just rejoined and I have a question that is not going to be easy but need some help.

I ran into a lady who thought my corvette used to be her father's.  My corvette is a 1978 Corvette light blue and so was her father's but in talking it was a 1979 same color but had both glass and colored T-tops.  She lives in the Allentown-Bethlehem area and back in 2005 her father passed away and she had no use for the car after having a child and sold it around 2005. I figured out it was Stoudts Corvettes in Reading who bought (stole it) from her and to this day she regrets it.  She is now trying to locate it.  She thought it belonged to someone in the Allentown Corvette club but after checking with the member no one has or had this car.  I called Stoudts and asked if they had any records on who they sold this car to and he mentioned they sold the company and he had to destroy all the records in the process????  SO we don't know where it ended up. I asked her any paperwork she had of the buy or sell that would have registration insurance vin number but nothing was saved.  I know  a member with JAWS license plates has a 79 and same color but what are the odds this is her father's car.

So my question other then contacting all Corvette clubs in PA and maybe getting lucky on someone having one or history on their car is there anyway else to track this car or try and locate it?????

I was out driving around on a nice sunny day and she somehow got my attention to pull over and she came up in tears thinking she found her dad's car and that"s how this all started.  By dumb luck we crossed paths again about a month ago and she was in tears again...I told her I would do all I can to try and find it but it would help if you had anything.  I know in the old days if you knew a trooper they could maybe look up a old tag but I'm sure they cannot do that with all the personal protection rights out there but the tag in 2005 was 79 VT registered in PA.  If anyone has any suggestions I would really appreciate it.  I just wish she had the vin.

thanks

Babyblue 78

If you know the VIN for the car, you can search the database HERE to see if a member(or former member) owns/owned it. Just enter in as much info as you have on the vehicle, and then go down the list of registered cars and see if one of the VINs matches the one you are searching for.

Be patient, Barry will chime in and verify what he can do to assist you. 

I sent BlueBarry a message..he should respond soon as he can.

Hey, this is Barry Grubb in Maryland who owned the 79 Vette that was known as JAWS79. This particular car was purchased from Stoudt Corvette in Reading , PA in February 2008 and was lovingly owned by us until April 2020 when it was totaled by Hagerty Insurance after being sideswiped by a van when coming home from a car show in November 2019 It took that long to get it into the body shop. Hagerty had given an estimate that it was fixable but when we took it to be repaired at Mike's Auto Body in Thurmont, MD he found a lot more damage and with the supplimental estimate it was almost to what we had it insured for. It was picked up by Haggerty at that location in April. I still have a lot of stuff from the car since I took everything out of it that I could. If it is the car you are looking for, know that we had 12 years of fantastic memories with this car. It went on trips to MAM in Effingham, IL. It went on a trip to Charleston, SC. It went to numerous car shows every year including many in the Allentown / Bethlehem Area (we have friends up there). We had fixed everything on the car and it was kept in great shape. I would be happy to talk to you about it. 

Thanks Barry!

Babyblue 78 , if you caqn get the VIN for the car you are searching for, post it here, or P/M me, and I can check to see if it is the same car. It is very possible it IS, considering Barry bought "Jaws" from Stoudt's, and you believe that is where the one you are looking for was sold...

Again I or Her do not have a VIN, so that is out . But it sounds close and I might have the year off but I thought2005 but maybe that's incorrect but yes it could have sat there for a period of time before selling it.  But that it was sold at Stoudts and it is the same year and it has the clear roof too many coincidences.  When I was a member prior and she told me about the car first I did recall the Jaws 79 car but with MD It did not click in my brain but I wished I would have checked. If Barry has friends in the area maybe she had someone tell her they saw it and she just took it was located here.  Ok Yes I would like to talk but I think more she would like to here more once we confirm its her Fathers old car.  I will call her let her know maybe we found the owner but how to break the bad news to her.....

I'm not sure what you kept from the inside but maybe something she might want if your willing to part with it.    Ok thanks a lot for the info. I will figure out how to PM Barry and get a phone number and ask her again for a timeline.  Maybe the father passed in 2005 but she did not sell it for a year or so.  Again as of now we don't have concrete evidence its the same car but what are the odds??

Thanks I will get some info.

Sterk03

Can the JAWS 79 Vin number be used to find previous owners or that's HIPPA type stuff....,can law enforcement track it ?  Just a thought!

Sterk03

I still have my notebook of paperwork from the car. Can you give me her name and her father's name? I could give you a better idea if this was the car you were looking for. OMG! I just found a reciept that has the tag  "79VT" on it! Hit me up and I can tell you more.

Barry

It would be kewl if it WAS the same car.....other than the being totaled part, that is!

These days, you cannot get a VIN search done. Even law enforcement can't do it unless there is a valid reason for it. The NCRS could check for a shipper copy and original selling dealer, but....ya kinda need the VIN. I'm interested now to find out if it IS the same car!