CHARLTON, MASS. (WHDH) - A Charlton car dealership is revving its engines and working hard to reunite a man with a priceless possession.
Dave Egeland and his coworker are returning a 1969 Thunderbird to the family of its original owner and it has been a long road to return the family heirloom — it has not been in the family for more than 25 years.
The employees at Gary Jackson Motors first noticed an inscription on the dashboard when they purchased the vintage ar a few weeks ago.
“We did a little research on who the original owner was and we found his son on the internet,” Egeland said.
“I knew the car well, I was very fond of the old car, my father and I put many miles on the car together back in the day,” Dr. Allen Cowley Jr., whose father once owned the car said.
Cowley was already looking for a classic car to buy but had not found one he liked.
Mostly, he said, because he wanted to find a car just like the one that belonged to his dad.
“The last trip to Pennsylvania as they were getting ready to move to Florida dad and I took the old t-bird out and went for a wonderful drive, it was a fall day,” he recalled.
Recreating that fall drive is now at the top of Cowley’s to-do list.
“The first thing I’m going to do is spend a few nice fall days driving around Wisconsin,” he said. “Hopefully it will drive, I’m sure that it will.”
Egeland said he is happy to see the car heading back home where it belongs.
“It’s enjoyable to have such a romantic car story. As a car guy, we never get to hear about this kind of stuff where a 50, 60-year-old car goes home to its original owner after they lost it forever.”
The car should be back with Cowley by the end of the month.
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)