LOCAL Andy Coatsworth is on the search for a part of family history, and he’s after some help.
Having last been sighted with the family 16 years ago, Andy has been on the lookout for a particular blue Dodge pick up truck, previously owned by his late father-in-law, Dennis ‘Barney’ Watson, to re-purchase and restore.
Through research and numerous callouts on social media, Andy received photos of the vehicle and confirmation that Barney was the last man to have registered the vehicle when he last owned it in 2007.
Andy said he is incredibly keen to find and restore the blue pickup, and is offering a $500 finder’s fee for whoever can locate the vehicle.
“About 14-15 months ago I was on the couch surfing the web just looking for old cars and I saw an old Dodge, it was red, it was similar, but it wasn’t the same and I said to Kylie ‘I want to find Barn’s car’,” he said.
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“It’s sentimental, they’re a nice old truck but there are a lot sexier trucks out there to restore and do up but that’s not what drives me for this one.
“We’ve tried local and surrounding Facebook pages and whenever we put it out we always get plenty of good will… there have been no definite leads or sightings at this point.”
Andy said Barney owned the Dodge for about 10 years, mostly running errands around town.
“He would take people for a ride in it, take the kids to the basketball or down the street, not that they really wanted to be seen in the Dodge,” he said.
“It was Barn’s [car], that’s the whole driving force, it’s got a bit of a history in the family and if I find it we’ll do something about it.”
It’s believed Barney sold the car to a farmer around 30km from Wangaratta, who intended on using the Dodge around his farm.
“I think he just had enough of it, it wasn’t running beautifully, he’d be going down the street with the kids in the car and would go ‘here’s a trick’ and the gearstick would be in his hand,” Andy said.
The family own a collection of old Fords from XRs, XDs and XWs while also owning a 1975 Volkswagon Kombie van.
Andy said it was time they became owners of a Dodge.
“Finding it has been the hard thing, obviously because it has been so long since we decided to look for it,” he said.
“I’ve always liked old cars; they’ve always done something for me… but I’ve never had an old car that’s actually got a story and I think that’s where I’m coming from.”
Anyone who may have information on the vehicle can reach out to Andy via mobile: 0447 228 488.
