Papa John Ups the Bounty for His ‘72 Camaro to $250,000

[Soup]

Papa John Ups the Bounty for His ‘72 Camaro to $250,000

Jun 29th, 2009 by Ross Edwards

Papa John set out a month ago on a road trip/publicity stunt to find the 1972 Camaro Z28 he sold to start the business back in the 80s. Originally Papa John offered $25,000 for his long lost Camaro, but apparently the search hasn’t been going as well as he’d hoped (or, if you’re a cynic, the publicity has been good). So John has upped the reward for his Camaro to $250,000.

Twenty five thousand dollars is a decent price for a good condition second generation Camaro. If the current owner has done some work to the Camaro, there’s a good chance it’s realistically worth more then $25k. Upping the bounty to a quarter million means that, no matter the condition, the current owner of Papa’s Camaro will get way more than it’s worth when they sell it.



Papa John has built a replica of the Camaro he sold to start his first pizza restaurant.

Normally I wouldn’t care about some millionaire’s publicity stunt, but this one hits close to home for me. In addition to living with an irrational love for a machine that clearly hates me, I have a good friend in a similar situation to Papa John’s.

My friend and former employer Mike also sold his prized 1980 Camaro (same body style as Papa’s) to buy a Pizza shop. Unfortunately Mike’s pizza place didn’t do as well as John’s and he was forced to close, but while things were going well he did buy another 1980 to restore that he’s currently working on.

So here’s hoping that Papa John does find his Camaro and some lucky person gets to collect that king’s ransom for it. If you need me I’ll be buying up every ’72 with a split front bumper, sunroof and positrac in South Florida.

Papa John Ups the Bounty for His '72 Camaro to $250,000 | PriceWheels Blog

[v_dub_ya]

Too bad that's NOT a '78 Camaro in the pic

[Memphis]

He is looking for a 72 Z28. I wonder what are the odds of his car being found since he doesn't have the vin

[JGT8229]

how will he even know its his car without the vin. lets jus build one?

[EVILZ33]

hes never gonna find that car its probably crushed and turned into a beam.

[fat_kid]

i bet joey crashed it and threw it in a ditch

[American Psycho]

Never had papa johns, Another reason not to give money to a fool

[mattlikespeople]

its decent 'fast food' pizza. better than pizza hut fa sho

[Soup]

Originally Posted by v_dub_ya

Too bad that's NOT a '78 Camaro in the pic

It's not? They're saying he built a replica, so he might not have bothered to use a 78.

[American Psycho]

Originally Posted by mattlikespeople

its decent 'fast food' pizza. better than pizza hut fa sho

Pizza hut is my favorite. Expensive yes. The local "ma and pa" shops slap together a pie. Pizza hut is consistent ! Reason why they are number 1 pizza chain.

Different strokes for different folks.

[Memphis]

Originally Posted by Soup

It's not? They're saying he built a replica, so he might not have bothered to use a 78.

The cost of making a 78 look like a 70-73 vs buying one wouldn't make sense, you would have to change the front end, rear end and the back window.

[American Psycho]

More money then brains. Stick with flipping pie.

[Soup]

I'm a dope, put the wrong year in the story.

[Memphis]

Free pizza tommorow for Camaro owners.

[American Psycho]

Papa Johns Pizza founder finds his camaro
Wednesday Free pizza

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009...Johns-Car.html


iled at 3:14 p.m. ET

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- The founder of the Papa John's pizza chain has finally reunited with the muscle car he sold years ago to help keep his family's business afloat.

John Schnatter sold the gold-and-black 1971 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 for $2,800 in 1983. The money helped save his father's tavern in Jeffersonville, Ind., and he used the rest to start what would become a worldwide pizza business.

But he still missed his beloved Camaro and spent years searching for it. He created a Web site on the search, held promotional appearances and eventually offered $250,000 to whoever found it.

It turns out he didn't have to leave Kentucky, where the pizza chain is based in Louisville. The car only changed hands twice from the original buyers, ending up with Jeffery Robinson in Flatwoods, about 165 miles to the east.

''When I first saw it I still wanted to look it over to make sure it was the car even though I knew it,'' Schnatter told The Associated Press. ''That kind of hit me emotionally. I was kind of numb.''

The original buyers of Schnatter's car heard about the search when he appeared in a TV interview before an NFL game this month. An online search led them to the car blog Jalopnik, which has followed the search and tipped off Papa John's.

Robinson, who bought the car about five years ago for $4,000, recently delivered the Camaro to Schnatter, earning the $250,000 reward. The original buyers will get $25,000 for their help tracking it down.

Schnatter says it looks very much the same as it did when he sold it in 1983, but with a larger motor and fatter tires for drag racing.

The car will be displayed at the company headquarters in Louisville, replacing a replica Schnatter commissioned while he searched for his original car.

In honor of the reunion, Papa John's planned to offer all Camaro owners a free pizza at stores on Wednesday.