Fathers Lost Yenko Chevelle #358034 Butternut

[Cworkman2]

Thank you so much for the PM.

Let me clarify a few things so that people understand what I mean by "mysteriously disappeared"

At the time of my fathers death, my mother and I (6 month old) were residing with my mothers parents. My mother has health conditions that were aggravated because of my birth and she was recovering in Michigan. My father was stationed at Fort Carson, and that is where the car was at the time of his death. The car was still registered in Michigan until 1976, but my fathers death was in August of 1975. After my fathers passing there was alot of bad blood between the family, not because of the car, but because of other issues and finally my mother cut ties with the Workman side of the family entirely. In her correspondence with the Army she asked about his car because it was not listed among his belongings. The officer at the time stated the car was going to be picked up by a family friend named ROBERT ASH, to which my mother responded that she had never heard of or known a Robert Ash. I have the original letters she wrote and the letters the army sent in return. The last letter stated that the listing of "personal effects" was final and no other communication would be made. From there the trail goes cold as to where the car ended up because my mother did not pursue it any more. Mind you , she was 19 at the time, ill, had a newborn, and just lost her husband.
When I turned 24 I was informed that my Grandmother on the Workman side had passed, I had never known that side of the family and made a point to try and connect with them during this time. I questioned people about the car at that time (still not knowing it was a Yenko) and was told that "we were told your mom had it" to which I knew she did not. I informed them that I was told that "they" had it. No one came forward or admitted to knowing anything about the car...or this Robert Ash..so once again..I thought it had been a bad turn of luck and it was lost to antiquity.
The beginning of this July I was contacted by Jerry Strong via Facebook. He said that he was a friend of my fathers, he asked me if my mother had ever told me about his "Yenko Chevelle" and how he used to shut em down on the street with that car while he lived in Lake Orion, Michigan. I knew my father had a lead foot from my Aunts, but my mom was a little more reserved. ( I think it's because I'm a lead foot also, and I have my dads passion for cars and motorcycles). I never knew of it being a Yenko, just that it was yellow and fast. I had googled the vin in the past, but nothing ever came up except Chevelle. It wasnt until Jerry suggested that I compare the registration to the VIN list is when I realized it was no.2 on the list.
Whatever happened to the car I know it never made it back to Michigan, I went to the Secretary of State in Michigan last Monday and asked if I could do a title search. Because of the short VIN they were weary of running it, but after I showed them my information they did what they could and said it was not in a listing of Michigan cars. So thats why I am here, I just want to find it. To know its out there. I started looking at pictures of this car when I was 9. If someone has it I want them to know the story of the car. Somewhere in 1976 it got lost in the fray. I know many of you have questions, and I will answer all that I can, I just am happy that many of you have responded. I just everyone to know I'm not out here trying to make a buck or scam anyone out of a car. I just want to know if it's rolling on rubber or a heap in a scrap yard.
Thank you
Chris

[Mr70]

Do you know what year that classified ad is from?
That's roughly half it's new car price,so I'm assuming if that is your dads car,it's probably early to mid 1970's.

[Mike]

Have you tried a Private Investigator in Colorado? Some PI's can access DMV records for title searches or title histories. It may be worth a shot.

[Cworkman2]

The listing head says it's in 79, but I just took a real close look at the corner of the listing and it may be 1970, which would not fit the time frame, I have sent the webmaster an email for clarification. I dont want to jinx myself if it's an earlier year.

[Cworkman2]

I just pulled up the title search information for Colorado, filling out paperwork right now...hopefully it will help.

[Cworkman2]

Does anyone have a build sheet in their notes when it comes to decoding the VIN? I need all the pertinent info for filling out the DMV stuff for Colorado, the more information I can get the better. I see in the VIN listing it had a 4 speed...and one member stated it had an AM radio. Any other info would really help.
Thank you

[scuncio]

Keep in mind the MI title search only goes back 10 years max, so it may very well have been here in the 1970s.

[Woj]

Here is a VIN decoder for 69 Chevelle. http://chevellestuff.net/1969/vin.htm

Your VIN is only going to tell you specifically that your car is a 2-door with a V8. Check out the link. It is very simple.

Good luck with your quest and keep us informed as to your progress.

Phil Woj

[Tracker1]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Mr70</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Do you know what year that classified ad is from?
That's roughly half it's new car price,so I'm assuming if that is your dads car,it's probably early to mid 1970's.
</div></div>

They describe it as a close-out sale of &quot;late-model&quot; cars and the list is comprised of mostly '68-70 cars so I would bet it is 1971 at the latest...?

'53 Vette for $1000 - cool.

Chris, best of luck with this. I can just imagine how important this is to you. Have you tried finding Robert Ash?

[69hurstSC]

At the very best Chris it still might be the same car regardless of the year of the ad. With 99 Yenko Chevelle's built I can't imagine there were much more than 1 or two in CO around that time. Especially considering that there is just over 2 hours distance between the dealership that sold it and where your dad was stationed.