Looking for a Black1939 Cadillac 60 Special that was sold in Northern California

[thejaws]

Hi,

I'm looking for a 1939 Cadillac 60 Special that I used to own in the SF Bay Area. I bought her in the mid eighties traded it in the late 1990's and found out the guy ended up Donating it to Charity, probably in the Sacramento or S.F. Area. It was painted black and at the time was a non runner. It was originally sold at Don Lee CAdillac in S.F. and was originally painted Franconia Beige Metallic. Does anyone know the whereabouts of the car? I have some parts that I would like to pass on. It kind of saddened me to hear it was donated to charity, hopefully someone out there is/did restore the old girl.

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

Jawman,
 Run the VIN thru the Ca. DMV & see if it is still in the system. Good Luck.
HTH, Bob

[Brett Cottel]

How do you run the vin Bob? Is it an online thing?
Brett

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

We all WISH it was an online thing. LOL! There are several ways. Any cop can run it for you, or there is a DMV hot line. You can get that # on line. Bear in mind they will only say whether it's on file or not.
HTH, Bob

[Mark Lowery]

Bob,
Just want to weigh in on the idea that a Cop can check the Vin for you;  That was true about 20 years ago, but now, they are restricted to doing this type of research only if it is associated w/ a law enforcement activity.  So yes, they could do it but these inquiries are all traceable, and you would be putting your officer friend's job in jeopardy if he (or she) was foolish enough to honor your request.  Best to stick w/ the DMV.

Mark Lowery, CLC#25216

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

Mark,
I'm sure you're correct in a by- the- book situation.  I said any cop CAN do it, I didn't say any cop WILL  do it. Worst case the cop respectfully declines the request & you go with the DMV. The reason for you asking is to see whether the car is stolen because you're considering buying it.  A legitimate request.

Bob

[Brett Cottel]

Jeez.....can't we do anything a "little sideways" anymore? I am so sick of politically correct, too strict laws, etc.   Oops, I am being politically incorrect!
Brett

[Mark Lowery]

Brett / Bob,
I thought about the strict constructionist meaning of your question before I replied, and yes, any cop can do it.  That said, I just wanted to alert anyone reading  this post that you would be asking an officer, perhaps a friend or acquaintance, to do something that could get them into hot water.  It has nothing to do w/ political correctness etc.  I'm talking about not putting someone in an uncomfortable position.  I don't believe that checking a vehicle's status because you, a private citizen, want to buy it rises to the level of a criminal investigation.  But enough said, I'm not a cop, I only worked w/ them throughout my professional career.   Best check w/ someone who is actively serving as a sworn officer in the State of California, or better yet, if there is a member of the club that fits that status, perhaps they could enlighten us all.

Mark Lowery, CLC#25216

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

Mark,
OK, so you're not a cop.  However,you're starting to sound like an... attorney. LOL

I've lived in this state for over 40 years & have been through every possible scenario re old cars. Here's my example. A person wants to buy an old car. The "owner" has little or no paperwork. You contact the DMV. It's off file so they are no help. The buyer really would  like to know if the car might be stolen. So... you're saying that a private citizen can't ask someone in law enforcement to check that VIN for him. I think it's a very valid reason. You are inferring that some big brother is going to come down on that officer for doing it? I sure hope things are not that bad!
Bob

[Mark Lowery]

Bob,
Well, just to set things straight; no, I'm not an attorney and don't pretend to be one.  And it isn't Big Brother that the average beat cop or even a parking meter maid needs to be concerned about (yes, they have access to the same data base).  Rather it is their immediate superior and on up to the police chief.  The same people that sign off on their performance reports (or not) and decide who gets retained or laid off in the current employment climate.

So again, I make these comments to keep any CLC member from having false hopes or on the other hand, to keep them from putting someone else in a difficult situation.  I know how things were done 20, 30 and even 40 years ago, and I don't dispute that.  If you have any respect for law enforcement in this State (CA) and you understand the current law as I do, you would not even make this request.  On the other hand, maybe I'm wrong!

If that is the case,  someone that is in a position to know, please speak up.

Mark Lowery, CLC#25216

[Glen]

What brought this on is road rage.  Someone gets cut off on the freeway, gets the offender’s license number and calls DMV to ask who owns.  Then goes to their house and….  The information is now “private” and can only be accessed for official reasons. 

Over here we can contact the DMV and give them a license or VIN number and the name and address of who they think is the owner.  The DMV can only answer yes or no.  Or at least it was that way a few years ago. 

Glen

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

Glen, I'm sure you're correct, but that is not the point of this discussion. No information is being requested.
 Bob

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

Mark,
 I'd really like to continue this discussion. However, I'm not going to do it until you answer the question that I asked about the stolen car issue. What does that guy do???
Bob

[Mark Lowery]

Bob,
Well to really get into the hypothetical about "what if the car is stolen?",  would need some more specifics about this pending purchase.  However, at the very least, I'd ask for the current registration or Planned Non-Operation (PNO) certificate from the seller.  Logically, you'd want to make sure the address matches the doorstep you're standing on while conducting the negotiations over sale.

But let's get back to the original question;  How does the original poster (Thejaws) go about locating his car?  If the car was crushed or parted out, I can't imagine why he would want to donate any parts or documents to the later owner(s).  So lets say he is interested in it only if it is currently registered or under a PNO.  In either case, a trip to the DMV plus $5 (that's what it used to be) would yield the answer.  At one time, you could get the name of the owner but not the address by submitting the same form that verifies registration status.  My understanding is that even that information is now restricted to law enforcement under the same restrictions that I mentioned in an earlier post.

The thing I would recommend in the near term would be that the fellow making the original request (TheJaws) post the VIN on this thread.  Then anyone that has a 39 or knows of one could do the leg work for him.  And all at no cost, and perhaps more importantly, no trip to the DMV.

BTW, before making this response today, I check w/ a retired police officer that is a friend and who speaks candidly about such matters w/ me.  He was a bit more adamant about the possible consequences of law enforcement personnel honoring a friendly request to get the owner's name and/or location of a vehicle by starting w/ the VIN or license number.  He said "That could get you fired".

So again instead of us flapping our jaws anymore; isn't there anyone in the club that is a sworn officer or perhaps works for the DMV in the State of California?

Mark Lowery, CLC#25216

[Jeff Maltby 4194]

Back in 97, I had a local peace officer check the vin #'s on both my 67 and 69 eldorado via the Dmv Verification of Vehicle form.