Anyone know a Frank Mattei? I think he may have owned my car

[BarrettN]

Just trying to get some history on my car, the name is on several parts bags, as I the dealer had set them aside to be picked up and put his name on them to make them easy to recognize they were for him. 

 

Barrett

[Conserv]

Have you Googled his name, along with the state and/or city where you think he may have lived?

 

Do you know in what state your ‘02 was registered when this fellow owned it? In some states, you can request a registration history by VIN, and these sometimes show owners and addresses.

 

Regards,

 

Steve

Edited January 21, 2019 by Conserv

[BarrettN]

I'm working on getting what I can for a registration history, the car is an unfinished project car that has changed hands several times since the project stopped. I only have the name from the parts bag, nothing more - there was a mouse chewed receipt in the trunk, but the address on it was destroyed.

[Conserv]

Does the car have any license plates, inspection stickers, service stickers, bumper stickers, window stickers? Is there a title? If so, what state is it from? In what state did you pick up the car?

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

[BarrettN]

I picked the car up in Texas where it had been sitting outside in a field of a towing company - for a couple years reportedly, and believable based on plants growing up between the suspension. The owners did not have the title for it, supposedly had taken the car in trade for work they'd done and then weren't ever able to get the title. I had the VIN run and it came back clean, the VIN matches on the cowl, block and number tag - but the steering column piece doesn't match. The car has never been titled or registered in Texas, and the only thing I've been able to find in the car with any name on it are the parts bags I mentioned. In general the car is in good condition, whoever had it that cared about it last (they put some nice work into it) was in the process of putting in a getrag 240 - so when I bought it the driveshaft was missing. 

 

I'd love to find the person who has the title - going through the lost title process is a pain, but better than having the car sit in a field deteriorating with people who don't appreciate it. 

12 hours ago, Conserv said:

Does the car have any license plates, inspection stickers, service stickers, bumper stickers, window stickers? Is there a title? If so, what state is it from? In what state did you pick up the car?

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

 

[BarrettN]

I've been told that state tax offices can sometimes get better information than the sheriff office (that's what they said) - anyone ever tracked down a cars history that way? 

[Conserv]

2 hours ago, BarrettN said:

I picked the car up in Texas where it had been sitting outside in a field of a towing company - for a couple years reportedly, and believable based on plants growing up between the suspension. The owners did not have the title for it, supposedly had taken the car in trade for work they'd done and then weren't ever able to get the title. I had the VIN run and it came back clean, the VIN matches on the cowl, block and number tag - but the steering column piece doesn't match. The car has never been titled or registered in Texas, and the only thing I've been able to find in the car with any name on it are the parts bags I mentioned. In general the car is in good condition, whoever had it that cared about it last (they put some nice work into it) was in the process of putting in a getrag 240 - so when I bought it the driveshaft was missing. 

 

I'd love to find the person who has the title - going through the lost title process is a pain, but better than having the car sit in a field deteriorating with people who don't appreciate it. 

 

 

Whew! That’s going to be a hard nut to crack!

 

Not even a remnant of an old Quaker State oil-change sticker on the driver’s door jamb? My ‘73 had two stamped service plates soldered to the upper radiator tank (below). This was a common practice in the days of metal radiators. Both plates were traceable to L.A.-area radiator shops.

 

How’s the rust situation? If it’s really low rust, you could do VIN searches in New Mexico, Arizona, and California — just in case!

 

I would then:

 

1. Send both VIN’s (the chassis/engine VIN and the steering column VIN) to BMW Group Archives and request their data on the two cars. Your email should go to info.grouparchiv@bmwgroup.com .

 

2. When you get back their response, I’d publish it here in this forum, placing the models, years, and VIN’s in the title, as in “Looking for info on 197x 2002 (VIN 2xxxxx) and 197x 2002 (VIN 2xxxxxx)”

 

3. I’d enter both cars into this forum’s Registry, just in case someone finds an original service booklet or Owner’s handbook and takes a look in the Registry to find a current owner.

 

Admittedly, the steering column VIN is a long shot when it comes to finding info about your car, but why not follow every last clue you have — you have very few?

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

[BarrettN]

I got the bmw archives reply back just this morning - "BMW 2002 tii US VIN 2780966 was manufactured on January 16th, 1974 and delivered on January 22nd, 1974 to the BMW importer Hoffman Motors Corp. in New York City. The original colour was Granatrot metallic, paint code 025." 

 

It been repainted, to my eye if it's an original color it's now Verona. A good job was done on the paint job, and I'm finding surface rust on fasteners but I'm not finding any body rust at all (yet - there has to some somewhere). The other vin tracks back to a 76 non-tii 2002.

 

Im neck deep in cleaning out the fuel tank, later today I'll start a new thread titled as you suggest. 

[Conserv]

Great! The fact that it is a tii might draw a bit more attention. Granatrot metallic becoming Verona might also trigger some memories: two memorable colors. Post some photos, even if it’s not pretty!

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

[02Les]

On ‎1‎/‎20‎/‎2019 at 11:44 AM, BarrettN said:

Just trying to get some history on my car, the name is on several parts bags, as I the dealer had set them aside to be picked up and put his name on them to make them easy to recognize they were for him. 

 

Barrett

Ok, 2780966.

Matt Groner of Matthews Auto Sales, Houston, TX, was working on the car in 2008. You might want to contact him. At that time it was owned by Francisco Mattei.

 

HTH

 

Edit: FWIW - there's a Francisco A Mattei listed as resident in Houston, TX.

Edited January 21, 2019 by 02Les

[Conserv]

2 minutes ago, 02Les said:

Ok, 2780966.

Matt Groner of Matthews Auto Sales, Houston, TX, was working on the car in 2008. You might want to contact him. At that time it was owned by Francisco Mattei.

 

HTH

 

Edit: FWIW - there's a Francisco A Mattei listed as resident in Houston, TX.

 

We worship at your feet, Les! You the Man!

 

Best regards,

 

Steve

 

[02Les]

17 minutes ago, Conserv said:

 

We worship at your feet, Les! You the Man!

 

Best regards,

 

Steve

 

Steve,

 

Please, no publicity...…...however, 02 parts are always welcome?

[BarrettN]

Thanks for everyone's help on this!