Vehicle history detective work

[Zvough]

I have a '61 Apache that I inherited after my dad passed away a few years back. It has always been a California truck as far as I know and the id codes indicate it was built at the Oakland Chevy plant.

Dad bought the truck in the 80's (in San Jose, CA.), and I have no information about its history. While pressure-washing the tailgate, I uncovered some old paint with letters and numbers. It looks like it was part of a fleet or something. I know it is a long shot, but I figured someone may know what the truck was used for. This truck has had a long life, and it would be neat to learn some of its history. I think its too old to do a carfax.

Attached is a photo of the tailgate. To me, it reads: AX6-2569

Thanks!

Zach

[raggedjim]

That may be an old fashioned telephone number. Whatever it is, it's cool!

AX (AXminister, number code 29) city code for old style numbers comes back to Crenshaw and Leimert(Los Angeles) so I'm thinking I'm on the right track.

By number AX6-2569 is 296-2569

Cali used letters in telephone numbers until 1962, so I suspect it is a telephone number for a business in the Los Angeles area in 1961.

Actually the AX code is in Central Los Angeles so I removed the link. Sorry about that!

[66newb]

I did a look on newspapers.com for that exchange. I limited it to 1960-1964 and California. I did a few variations ("AX6-2569", "6-2569", "296-2569", etc) on the number but no hits for it.

[66newb]

I expanded out, this may be a red herring, but there was a classified ad match for "296-2569" from 1967. It's from "The Tidings, 20 Oct 1967, Fri ·Page 16"

Says it is for a 4 bedroom house located at 836 S Norton, Los Angeles. There is a Zillow listing for the house. It doesn't look like it's been listed/sold in a while. It was built in 1919, so likely the same house from the classified ad.

You may be able to do some property search lookups. I've never had to do that for SoCal. Might be something on the LA County Assessors page that will give you more insight on the history.

Probably also good to match up the exchange with the area and see if that lines up with the geography.

[66newb]

This is an article about Dr. William Fitzgerald who lived at that address with his wife and 8 children in the early 1960's. See "Los Angeles Evening Citizen News 12 Jul 1962, Thu ·Page 13".

Again, not sure this is the right direction but it was a match for the address.

[raggedjim]

You may find some advertising elsewhere on the truck if you start looking at the paint.

[Zvough]

Wow, thanks, Roger! This certainly gives me something to work with.

I really appreciate your efforts.

Cheers,
Zach

[raggedjim]

No problem, it would be cool to know who's old work truck you have!

[VictoriaHardware]

Go to DMV.CA.gov. Search for "INF 70". That's the form you fill out to get all past registration history- all that California has anyway. Give them the VIN, a little personal info, the reason why you're requesting (ie: historical research), and then mail it in. They are pretty quick and cheap too.

INF 70
Request for Record Information (WEB ONLY) (INF 70)
The Request for Record Information (INF 70) (PDF) form is used to request a DL/ID or VR record information on a one-time or occasional basis. A Vehicle Registration (VR) record contains information relating to the registration of a vehicle or vessel.

[Zvough]

This is all great information- thank you.

[Railroadman]

Although the Dr. Fitzgerald in that article is likely no longer with us, the article says he had 8 children. Find his obituary and perhaps contact one of his offspring to see if they know. Unlikely a college professor was driving around in a pickup with his number on it but maybe one of the sons lived at home and was self employed. Might be fun to try!

[66newb]

Given that it was rented out later in the 1960's, I am thinking maybe it was a tenant...

[Railroadman]

Originally Posted by 66newb

Given that it was rented out later in the 1960's, I am thinking maybe it was a tenant...

Good point!

Here's an obit, Dr. Fitzgerald passed away in 2013 leaving 11 children. If the house was not sold before being rented out, one of them might know something.

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries...ary?id=8124080

Says he was a Veteran, landed at Normandy.