What began as friendly conversation during a game of bridge ultimately turned into a treasure hunt for one Mount Ayr man. And the story behind
the detective work needed to find the long-lost "Emma" is one that would make Sherlock Holmes proud.One evening as Lorrie Haver and Mike Warin played bridge,
their conversation turned to a 1976 MGB convertible that Lorrie's son David Allen had once owned back in the early 1980s. Lorrie mentioned David had located
the current owner of the car in 2005 with an intention to buy it back, but the two were never able to make a deal. Warin explained that particular MGB had
been purchased brand-new in 1976 by his brother Bill at Dave Ostrem Imports in Des Moines. Bill had driven the car, which he christened "Emma," until 1980 before
trading it in at the Adams and Johnson car dealership in Mount Ayr.
Intrigued by the fact that Emma was still on the road someplace as recently as 2005,
Warin contacted Allen to see what information he had uncovered during his search. Allen said he had purchased the vehicle in April 1980 and drove it to his
home in Colorado Springs, CO. He sold it in June 1985 to a Col. Bud Morgan of Monument, CO. Morgan had kept the car until 1991 when records show ownership was
transferred to a Nancy Sawyer in Lewisville, TX. That's where the trail stopped.
Not knowing if Sawyer still owned the car after over 20 years, Warin
tried numerous times to contact her via telephone, but his calls were never returned. Not to be deterred, Warin used the Internet to search for the vehicle
using its official Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). Unfortunately, the 1976 MG had a 13-digit VIN, and today's search engines are programmed to look up
only modern 17-digit VINs. He enlisted the held of Lawanda Case at Glendenning Motors, but she too was unable to track the 13-digit VIN.
Despite having little
luck with conventual means of locating the vehicle, Warin turned to the Internet technology of Google Earth. Not knowing if Sawyer still lived at the Lewisville
address Allen had used in 2005, Warin entered the address into the program, which gave him a bird's-eye view of the address. Using the Google technology, he
was able to pan the "camera" to a street view of the address, and much to his pleasant surprise he could see Emma parked next to a garage on the property. At
that point he knew he was on the right trail.
Panning the Google camera up the street, Warin was able to read a name on the mailbox next door. Again
using the Internet, Warin was able to locate the phone number of the owner of that residence. He gave them a call and explained his search. He asked if the
Sawyers still lived next door and if they happened to be gone on vacation. The neighbors said the Sawyers were home but simply chose not to answer their
phone.
In mid-January Warin wrote Sawyer a letter in which he explained his connection with the car and asked if she would be interested in selling. He
closed his letter by stating he would like to restore the car to its original condition as a tribute to his brother Bill, who died in 2000.
Sawyer immediately
telephone Warin and told him that he is "the person who needs to have that car." She explained the car had been used as a school car by her daughter, but when
the clutch went out, the car had sat undriven for over 10 years.
After sharing his research with Sawyer about the value of the car based on its condition,
Warin and she quickly arrived at an agreeable sales price. "We didn't dicker 30 seconds on it," he said.
Since the car was undriveable, Warin traveled to
Texas and pulled Emma home on a trailer.
After sitting outside for 10 years, Emma is in remarkably good condition for her age. She currently sits in
Warin's garage awaiting a full makeover. He plans to complete a frame-up restoration, including pulling and reworking the engine and transmission, updating
the wiring, redoing the upholstery, applying a fresh coat of paint and installing a new convertible top. His intention is to restore Emma
back to the condition she was the day his brother Bill drove her off the Ostrem lot in 1976. He hopes to finish the project by summer 2016, her 40th birthday.
Warin is no stranger to vehicle restoration. He already has completed several total restorations of antique Ford tractors, a 1929 Ford Model A and a 1950
Cushman scooter and is in the finishing stages on a 1952 Chevy five-window pickup.
Despite his pride in each of those vehicles, however, none will compare
to the heart and soul he will pour into that little 1976 MGB known as "Emma," who after almost 40 years is back home in Mount Ayr where she belongs.
Photographs courtesy Mount Ayr Record-News
Transcriptions by Sharon R. Becker, September of 2015
