I get calls from customers in Salt Lake City occasionally, and even swapped emails with a guy in West Jordan just outside SLC where I bought the car.
Today I got a call from a guy that greets me with ‘Hi, This is John Lawson calling from Salt Lake City’. I say no kidding? I bought my 69 XR7 from a John Lawson in West Jordan. Stunned silence. It’s the same John Lawson! He has a '68 J code XR7 now and had some tach & clock questions.
Turns out he’s been wondering about the car I bought from him 18 years ago (Sept 2, 2000) and how the cross country trip from SLC to NH went.
It was really cool talking to him about it. We swapped email addresses and I sent him some pictures.
As an aside, it turns out we’ve had some other Cougar experiences in common, he’s here on CCCF and he’s originally from TX to boot. Talk about a small world.
I stay in contact with the previous owner of my car. He enjoys seeing the updates along the way and happy to see the car getting worked on and back to being road worthy.
I wish more people would stay in contact with an old car along its life but to most its just a car and nothing more.
Hello and let me introduce myself, I am the John Lawson that Bob is referring. I’m still blown away that we connected. 20 years ago I posted a add in the auto trader, I was the second owner of a very original 69 XR7. Beautiful car. It sat in a garage for several years at a company I worked for and told the owner that if he ever wanted to sell I wanted first crack at it. He was the grandson of the company owner and the car had been past down to him but he never really drove the car. It just sat in the garage and I would admire it daily. WE made a deal and all I had to do was service the car and give it a good cleaning. I loved that car and it was a daily driver for several years. Then life got in the way and with my two kids getting bigger and the house getting smaller. That meant the car was to be parked out side (uggh) then it started to rarely get driven. Bob answered the add in Auto Trader. I remember sending Bob a VHS video of the car. So I pick Bob and his lovely wife up at the airport, I remember he had a big bag of tools. I took him to the car and I remember feeling good that it was going to a good home. I followed him to the hotel and filled the gas tank for him, shook his hand and said “good luck, please let me know how the trip goes” I was a little worried because he was driving across the country to N.H. We never really got to know each other that well. I never heard back from Bob but I understand. But I always wondered how the trip went. fast forward… As we all know once you own a cougar you’re hooked. I picked up a 68 J code XR7 several years ago and restored the drive train, suspension, breaks, everything under the car. Now Im Doing everything else. When I pulled the dash out I found the jumper to bypass the tachometer, so doing a random search about Tachs on CCC someone put a link and wrote something like " this guy can help you with tachometer needs". Now this is were it gets to be a small world. I clicked a random link, talked myself into calling a guy in Texas, Bob remembered my name. (head spinning). Fate? Maybe? Bob I know you said you would never sell the car but I’m going to ask you like I asked the original owner…If you ever decide to sell her please let me have first crack at it.
When I bought mine the owner said he’d like to know about her. I sent him one update and he seemed over it. That was before I found the “extra” rust. I didn’t think he’d want that update.
I bought my '68 back in '88 from a guy who bought it as a project. His wife told him to get it out of the garage before he could even get the title transferred over from the previous owner. Fast forward through high school and college to my first “real” job. There was another “car guy” that I worked with that recognized it and knew the previous owner quite well. In fact, he had helped do quite a bit of work on it (which is why I know the differential is from a '59 Ranchero, among other things). I’ve since met the original owner and have gotten to know him. I usually see him a couple of times per year at different car events. He did say if I ever want to sell it to give him a chance, but he’s not too hopeful that it will ever be for sale.
