I am restoring my 1966 Dodge Dart Wagon. I am more than attached to Goldie. She is the car that I came home from the hospital in when I was born. My dad bought her off the factory showroom floor and my brother took care of her until I was ready to have her all to myself. (This picture has my brother.)

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RvrDelta

Hey, nice wagon! See this post.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Nice wagon and great story to go with it! Welcome to the site and keep us posted on how your project goes!

Cool! Nice to see another long term owner still driving and enjoying their Slant 6 A-body. My parents got my 68 Dart when I was 10 yrs old (1982) and I convinced them to sell it to me when I turned 16. Still have it, driving it, and making it better...

Best,

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

So I was going to start a blog about the restore....but since I have hit a negative trend in this project I nixed the blog.

Here's the highlights of the drama saga. My new neighbor is a body shop guy and I threw the work his way. Dropped my car at his shop and anticipated the return of my baby, Goldie.

I return home from overseas, (my second job), and find out my car is in impound! Neighbor moved shops, didn't take my car with him, and it got towed. When I bailed Goldie out (couldn't let her get sold!) she is now missing trim and chrome.

I am now hunting for 1966 Dodge Dart Wagon trim and chrome and am MORE THAN BITTER that I will now have franken-car. I had all her trim, plus luggage rack before I let the neighbor touch it......now I have to piece her back together with OPP (other people's parts). It is not easy finding 1966 trim & chrome.

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RvrDelta

I have some 66 Dart Wagon pieces that may help. PM me or post detailed descriptions of what you need in the wanted section.

Cheers - M

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. . . there was good sport at his making.

Aw, geeze, that sucks. I take it new-neighbor is all wide-eyed and innocent as far as it all? The missing pieces weren't removed by him in prep for body work, they were stolen after the car was towed?

Y'oughtta sue him in small claims court for recovery costs, parts replacement, and restitution.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Um, yuck. Sorry to hear that. Good luck with rebuilding...

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Ouch. That it really crappy.

OK, I am going to do something I try not to due since I can potentially get in trouble for it. I am a lawyer and I am going to give you some VERY GENERAL LEGAL ADVICE. By giving this advice I am not agreeing to represent you in any way. I am not admitted to practice in the State of California and I do not know much about California law, especially civil law.

First, YOU NEED TO CONTACT A LOCAL LAWYER. Most lawyers will give you a free one hour consultation about your case. You need to find a civil/tort claims lawyer who does contract litigation. I cannot stress this enough.

Second, my practice area is mainly criminal defense work. So take everything i tell you with a big grain of salt.

You should sue your neighbor and the tow truck guy. Both may potentially be liable for torts or crimes. Obviously you can't sue for a crime, but you can report it to the cops and they can pass it along to the prosecutors. What you can do is possibly sue for breach of contract (even if there was no written contract, there may be an enforceable oral contract. A local attorney can tell you more), conversion, trespass to chattels, unjust enrichment, and possible other torts.

You might go to small claims court, but I think there is a good chance that the amount of your claim will be beyond the jurisdictional limit for small claims court. 6 Dart wagon trim is not cheap or easy to find, and I don't know the limits of small claims court in your jurisdiction. Again, contact a local attorney.

Finally, don't wait around. Claims have time limits. You need to start making a paper trail now. Send letters to your neighbor and the tow company detailing your issues and save copies for yourself. Save any responses you get from them. Call the cops. Call your insurance company. AND CONTACT A LOCAL LAWYER.

I hope you are able to get this straightened out and get some kind of relief. I have had shops and tow companies steal things out of my cars, too. It really sucks.

Reading this thread, all of the comments seem true. My 2-cents: dishonesty aside, my experience has been that many folks in small businesses actually have good intentions and try to be honest, but are so "un-talented" at running a business that they just screw-up so bad that they lose track of everything. And are kicked out or they run away confused. Basically good honest folks, just wayyy over their heads.

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"Louise", a 1976 Dart Custom project, (now sadly reverted to being just an "organ donor" to our other project Darts.)

There's that, but there's also this: A large proportion of the auto body and paint workers I've met have been at least half a degree off plumb. That's a polite way of saying they have cognitive deficits, and that's a polite way of saying they're brain damaged. It goes with the territory: they work with neurotoxic chemicals all day, every day, and even if they take the utmost in protective measures (which many of them don't even come close to doing), those chemicals are very easily absorbed by the human body and the damage they do is cumulative.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.