Most children of the 1960s and 1970s fondly recall growing up in some sort of station wagon or maybe a four-door sedan. Not so with My Hemmings user RamAirThree, who grew up in Greenfield, Massachusetts, in the back seat of a 1969 Dodge Daytona. As he tells the story:
This is the first car I remember riding in. My family sold it back around 76. It was purchased at Hartwin’s Dodge in Greenfield, Mass. It was “new” off the lot, but with 500 miles in it. I don’t remember the exact year of purchase, but my Dad had a near new 1970 SS454 Chevelle 4-speed he traded even for it, even though the Daytona was of course a 69 and still on the lot, never sold and never titled. It MAY have been the F6 with white one from Burlington, VT shifted to another dealer. Or it may have been one of the Mass. cars shifted to another dealer. The Daytona shipping list does not list on going to Hartwins. Anyways, Mom hated the 4 speed Chevelle, Dad was already mad about some delay in getting it, maybe due to a strike or something, and was further mad about some recall or problem with it. Mom was very happy with the 440 automatic in the Daytona.
As you might be able to tell from the signs, this is just a ways down the road from Bennington, VT where Hemming Motor News is. Dad owned the one bay, two pump Sunoco in town and was sick of working indoors. He sold the Daytona to get a down payment on a log truck, rented the Sunoco, and started logging to work outdoors. He sold it to someone in Bennington that I think had another Daytona. I have no record of the VIN. Of course I wish the car had stayed in the family and I had it now! Not just for the value, but I remember getting driven to pre-school in it, Mom taking my grandmother shopping in it, going to the 4th of July fireworks in Readsboro in it, Mom dropping me off at my other grandparents in Marlboro in it when she waited tables at Skyline on the weekends, etc. Lots of memories.
It looks like he’s done quite the bit of research to find the car. Any Daytona experts out there willing to help him out?
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