So nobody will believe this but I swear it’s true. My first wife was from Norway. Trondhiem a hundred miles north of the article circle. A friend of her came over on a business visa and opened a body shop in Napa, Ca. Later a couple of his buddies showed up to work at the shop. They all overstayed there visas an stayed for a couple of years. What they were really doing here was buying American cars and shipping them all over the world. One Sunday the three showed up in my driveway in a red Datona 500. Had a little brass plate stating it had been a pace car at the Iny 500.They bought from a dentist in Fresno who had it on a corner of his office lot with a for sale sigh in the window. We lived in Stockton and they stopped (two cars) at my place on the way back to Napa.That one went to Germany as I recall.This was back in the early 80’s. You can’t believe the cars they bought and sold overseas from California barns, small town car lots and widows. I helped ship a 1959 Caddy Baritz convertible to Norway that back then he sold for 40k. These guys cleaned N.California (no rust) of dozens of classic muscule cars and made a bundle. These guys forgot more about American cars than any dozen American gear heads would hope to know. I could write a book about these three guys.
That is a great story and book many gearheads would buy.
I’ve been to Napa Valley 4 times in my life. Friends live there today, local Napa Valley vinyard reporter and his teacher wife.
Lived in San Diego for 10 years, 90s. Hang Glider pilot for 9 of them. Mountain pilot mostly but stored my glider at Torrey Pines glider port and flew the cliffs often. Bonafide “Torrey Rat”.
I knew a guy thats Dad owned a Ford dealership, Ford had a program at that time that allowed employees to buy any car Ford was selling for $30 a month. This guy was in high school and bought a 427 Cobra.
He had been stock car racing and also Sprint car racing (without hist parents knowledge) He said the Sprint Car he raced had NOTHING on the Cobra.
His Dad finally forced this guy to let the dad drive the car.. When he got home the Dad kept the keys and said
“You are selling that”
2 guys from Sweden bought our ‘76 Colony Park station wagon.
They were buying the big cars and shipping them overseas to sell to doctors, etc. that didn’t care about high gas prices.
That station wagon would pass anything but a gas station... on a good day on the open road it got maybe 10mpg.
460 engine, heavy duty everything....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HflA-8svJE
The above link is to a muscle-car get together in Sweden. They are pretty popular over there.