Fathers Lost Yenko Chevelle #358034 Butternut

[Cworkman2]

No hard feelings at all Charley, I would like to point out I was 9 when I tried to file a police report with the description of a yellow chevelle....I applied for a lost title long before doing any research on a whim...where I was informed it wasnt in michigan and lastly youve had some dealings with the person from kentucky in the past, I have only references to ownership during the period after 88. And it would of been easier to have closure finding the car as a rustbucket in a field rather than this tit for tat stuff. My last post was unclear about that.
I hope that the cars owner is able to find the same information regarding the car up to 84 as I am looking for...I bare them no ill will nor do I bare you or anyone on this site and disrespect.

[twertsy]

Man, this thread <span style="font-style: italic"><span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="text-decoration: underline">almost</span></span></span> makes me hope I don't find my uncle's COPO..................this scenario is exactly what I hope NOT to encounter! I just hope everything works out fairly for everyone.

[Cworkman2]

I know the past few pages of this thread have taken a turn for the more abrasive and posturing. I need to apologize for perpetuating that if it came off that way.
It is a very delicate situation when you start questioning the history of any automobile because no one wants to be painted in a different light or cast any shadow over ownership.
If you start reading this thread from the beginning you will see that it has evolved from simple speculation to hard pressed facts. I believe Charley is representing the current owner in a positive and respectable light. It is from my understanding that the cars purchase was a completely valid and legal given the information at hand, and I'm positive they want the true history to be brought to light so that this can be resolved as soon as possible.
As far as I know, the car was never abandoned. My mother never received any information regarding the claim of abandonment. Mind you, she was never in Colorado at the time of my father, and has not been since. I am trying to remain objective and open-minded regarding all possibilities regarding the time from from 1978 to 84 when the car was purchased by Mr. Funk. It is unfortunate that his passing leaves a hole in the history of this car which I'm sure he would willingly divulge and put this thing to rest.
Once again, I need to thank Charley and the current owner for coming forward and contributing to this thread. I know it was their prerogative to remain silent and are only trying to keep the reputation of this car pristine with their comments and rebuttals.
I believe the truth is out there in some DMV microfiche or title history and will soon come to light.
Have a great day to all of you who have been reading and commenting. I believe the comments...either in support or critique or criticism is valid on each account. It what separates the wheat from the chaff and makes a truly epic story and journey.
Thank you
Chris Workman

[tom999q]

If it was stolen in the 1970's, then the current owner is in possession of stolen property, no matter if he has a title in his name or not. It happened to me... I bought two vehicles in good faith that turned out to be stolen years before. I lost the vehicles and all the $$ I had into them when the cops came knocking on my door...

[Tracker1]

There is no stolen vehicle report. End of law enforcement story. Somebody on the base in Colorado - perhaps in cooperation/cahoots with some of Mr. Workman's extended family or perhaps completely separate - pulled a fast one in 1976. Good luck finding documentation for that; it doesn't exist! From what I have read of this thread the car is not even on the military's list of Mr. Workman's effects upon his death, making it doubly hard to prove anything.

If the Colorado re-titling process was as &quot;loose&quot; as njsteve suggests in his examples, I think Chris is going to have to be happy knowing the car is safe and in good care cuz that's all he's going to get.

[Charley Lillard]

The title that Funk turned in when he bought it was title # 04P094649. No idea if it was Colorado or Michigan.

[Cworkman2]

Unfortunately they did not put the title number on the registration I have from 1975/76. Im sure we will find out soon enough where the information Mr.Funk had came from. Regardless, Thank you to Charley for posting the information.

[resto4u]

Did you find out who was in charge of his estate at the time of death? someone had to remove his belongings from the house. Did you find out if the house was on or off the base? were you able to get any military records. It's good to see the facts are floating to the top. This is the most open discussion i have seen on here with regards to posting informative and critical information that most people keep private. chris, i have known charley for years and would trust him. I believe he has no skin in the game, other than wanting to help you. He is the coolest car guy i have ever met.

[DW31S]

This is a very interesting thread and I check in often to see any developments. They say opinions are like.......well, you all know what they say. I'm not gonna comment one way or the other on the main topic here, but one of the latest posts did warrant a reply:
I'm 56, and have yet to meet a collector car owner (and I've met shieks at Pebble Beach--really) who wasn't eager to speak about their car with a fellow hobbyist, regardless of age. I have been around these cars all of my life (so far) and I &quot;encourage&quot; conversations about our cars. Even the wealthiest (some of the members here) owners, I have found very approachable. Maybe it was my upbringing from my dear dad (gone 10 years now), or my own desire to stir interest in &quot;newbies&quot;, but &quot;talking cars&quot; with anyone has always been easy and fun for me.
Now back to our regularly scheduled program.......

[iluv69s]

Very interesting thread... I want to commend all for thier politeness. (sometimes not the norm here)....

I will add to NJSteve's anecdote by saying that way back when I first started dealing with the old cars, I became friends with the employees at the local auto tag agency. To get a duplicate title to an abandoned car or a car w/ a lost title was no big deal. Then to get it changed over in your name was the same...Everything was very simple... The old titles back then even had the space to write your name as buyer and a few other names also...and then just flip the car to another person without ever going thru the state...I still have a few titles like that...

I guess the loss of tax revenue curtailed that... I am from Pa...

I'm not saying the car in this thread was ever actually 'abandoned'...just saying that it would have been easy for someone else to title the car back in the day.