Wild Cherry!

[DynoDave]

OK, this is certainly off topic to Dodge Chargers.

But to some of us here of a certain age, it may be of interest as a vehicle.

And most will have an opinion on the restorers actions.

Going through today's birthday list, there's a member who joined in 2012 but never posted. Username is wildcherry.

That made me recall this still-on-going saga, and I thought I'd post it here, just to see what you all thought. The story is out there many places, but I think one of the best places to find a summary would be at the link below.

Wild Cherry Lives!

[Admin]

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[hanks73340]

OMG! Great story. I have about a dozen 11x14 still shots that were taken of the Van Nuys Blvd cruise scene of 1 night from 1972. Van Nuys was the place to cruise back in those days. It started to fade once the Malls started being built. I will have to make sure to keep them in the Charger to show people. The guy that took the pictures back then was just out of college and decided to spend an evening taking pics of the cruising scene on Van Nuys Blvd. After he took the pics, he boxed them up and moved to Hawaii. 40 years later while going thru stuff in his garage, he came across the box of the pictures from that night in 1972. He was here in Michigan visiting a friend back in 2012 and he gave the pictures to his friend here in Michigan. Sad to say, this friend passed away in 2015. My neighbor happened to know the individual that passed and said that his wife was having an estate sale prior to moving to Florida. We went to the estate sale and I came across the pictures on a table in the garage. I asked if she was going to part with the pics and she said yes there are for sale. Got then for $10. Whats great about these pictures are the cars and the young kids driving them back then in 1972 because now they are all retiring from there jobs or very near that today. You'll have to check them out next time we run into each other( at least Frankenmuth). Thanks for bringing this topic up.

[DynoDave]

I would like to see them. Sounds pretty cool!

[Tom]

[DynoDave]

LOL...wrong Wild Cherry Tom. I like Foghat a lot though.

38 views, but not many comments.

[71se3834v]

Ok I'll comment. I like Foghat too but I lost my 8 track years ago. 😁

[DynoDave]

LOL...thanks.

It's sort of a lengthy story to catch up on at this point.

Cliff's notes version: The van is semi-iconic from a '70s B movie about cruising on Van Nuys Blvd. It disappears after a time, along with a LOT of vans and street machines of that era.

A few years back, a photo of the van, sitting in a desert, long abandoned, burned, and crushed by a tree surfaces on fakebook or someplace. Mr. Carter becomes obsessed with the idea of finding it and restoring it. He does eventually track it down with some info. and satellite imagery.

His story: He has researched it, and the vehicle is abandoned by CA. stds. and free for the taking, and a neighbor lets him onto the property to take it.

He then performs a rather astonishing resto, and with much support from the vanning community (including Go Fund Me bucks), he gets it all restored to much fanfare and applause. The dude has some serious dedication and skills. Wish I could get someone like that to work on my Charger.

Prev. Owners Story: Bought it from it's builder sometime after the movie, and had generally good times and memories in the van. They used to have a get-away home on their property in the desert, where they also stored the van. Fire took the home, but they never "forgot" about the van, and maybe even hoped to do something with it someday.

They find out about the van (through Carter's efforts to trace it's history IIRC), and call the police saying their van has been stolen.

Still confident he's in the right, Carter leads a caravan of fans and supporters on a road trip across America to Van Nuys with much social media publicity.

It goes down hill from there, with police arresting him at a divorce court date (talk about having a bad day), and he has racked up several additional charges against himself since then. The van disappeared briefly before his arrest, and is found afterward stripped and defaced.

And a raging internet battle of words ensues between those who think he did the right thing saving an iconic '70s van which was clearly never going to be restored, and those he think he's a car thief and deserves prison.

And yes, that's the briefest version I can offer you! It's been a wild story to follow from the beginning.

[71se3834v]

Interesting.

[DynoDave]

As theft suspect heads to court, owner of Wild Cherry van sounds off