Classic car owners, including people that have muscle cars, street the fishing rod, hot the fishing rod, older binoculars and vintage trucks, are facing uncertain times as giá xe hơi car thefts are on the rise, and actions from thieves are becoming more bold and brazen.
I just came across a tale published by a man who owned a Daytona Blue 1963 Corvette Coupe with all matching numbers. The all-original classic sport car had an immaculate dark blue interior where only the carpet had most people have struggled replaced. The 327 engine was said to make a rhythmic loping that not only brought a smile to your face, but got you day thinking of having this beauty parked in your own garage. Then disaster strikes and you’re snapped from your dream and into his nightmare!
Online resources this beautiful part of American history took his revered car as to the he called a small “backwoods” show that a friend and he decided to go to in the spur of the moment. As owner Jacob black Morgan, of Bakersfield, LOS ANGELES described, “The event was an annual but instead unofficial gathering of classic car lovers and I was thrilled to bring my car down. Unfortunately, the part of Florida that the event was being held was extremely dry due to drought. About three or four hours after arriving, a man who owned a red GTO (I could not tell you the year because honestly Used to do not care afterward) decided to start up his ride for the vistors. It was just one backfire but it was enough to start the dry your lawn ablaze–and guess where my Corvette was parked?
Nearly 30 classic cars were consumed by the blaze started by that backfiring GTO and my Corvette was one of them. Of course I had the vehicle properly insured but they just aren’t making 1963 Corvettes any longer and the only person I could find that was similar cost $10, 000 more than my policy’s compensation. I guess if there is a meaning to my sad tale, it is to avoid wilds car shows without exceptions because they are unregulated, disorganized, and extremely dangerous to classic cars like my beloved 1963 Corvette Coupe. inch
This isn’t always your traditional way of losing your revered classic car, muscle car, street fly fishing line, antique car, vintage truck or other collectible old vehicle, but it does drive home the purpose that we need to exercise care in even the most innocent surroundings like a car show! Fanatic accidents like Mr. Morgan experienced can and do be the cause of many losses to enthusiasts — not just theft or vandalism.
Sadly though, theft isn’t a rare thing and the methods are becoming more peculiar. Guy Algar and I have had pieces thieved off one of our own vehicles that we were towing back to our shop while we stopped for a quick bite to eat! We’ve had a good number of hubcaps taken over the years. And, we actually had the brake lights cheated in our car hauler while we were in a parts store one day picking up parts for a customer! We’ve had one customer tell us the story where he previously taken his wife out to dinner and had carefully parked his 1969 Corvette at a local restaurant, under a big bright light, and in what was first a “safe” area, just to come out 45 minutes to an hour later to find all his symbols and trim taken quickly the vehicle! Thieves have been known to take the entire car hauler (with the classic sitting on top) quickly the tow line vehicle’s problem ball and transfer the hauler to their own tow line vehicle when people are on the road, at a car show, or some other type of event. These are bold moves by people who do not fear the consequences.
Other thefts which have been reported around the country have included:
Doctor. Phil just had his ’57 Chevy Belair convertible thieved from the Burbank repair center he previously brought it to for repairs.
A 1937 Buick, valued at over $100, 000 was extracted from a gated community parking garage in Fortification Worth, Tx.
He of New Mexico reported the theft of two of his collector cars to Hemming. He owns about half dozen collector cars altogether, and to store them all, he hired out a storage unit. Unfortunately, when he went to check on them recently, for the first time in about six months, he found that two were missing — a 1957 two-door Chevrolet Belair and a 1967 Mercury Cougar GT.
There was also a written report of a man from Jefferson City, Missouri, who actually retrieved their own thieved car, a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro that had been thieved 16 years before, after seeing it in a Google search!
In a Los angeles suburb, a lady came home to a garage empty of her revered 1957 Chevy Bel-Air which had been valued at more than $150, 000. The beautiful convertible had been featured in several magazines and Television shows and won dozens of awards at car shows around the country. A the next door neighbors monitoring camera caught those things of the thieves and revealed that the Bel-Air was pushed downtown by a truck which had pulled into her entrance just minutes after she had left. The thieves likely loaded it onto an awaiting trailer home. It’s thought that the thieves picking out the vehicle at one of the car shows, followed it home afterwards, then waited for the chance to steal it.
A Seattle collector was the victim of a targeted “smash-and grab” from the storage place where he kept his cars. The thieves apparently ransacked the building and had off with a 396/425 four-speed 1965 Corvette Stingray; and a 20, 000-mile 396/four-speed 1970 Chevelle SS.
A 1959 Chevrolet Impala was thieved during a Cruise Night. The proprietor got good news-bad news when the police monitored down because while they did recover the classic car, he previously put in a claim for the theft regarding his insurance policy after the theft many months before, so the car went to the insurance company rather than being returned to him. Apparently detectives retrieved the Impala from a chop shop nearly eight months after it was thieved, repainted and modified.
Hemmings News also reported of a reader whoever 1970 Honda Maverick was thieved from his home in Missouri. The vehicle was found and returned, but the investigation apparently revealed that the burglar had been watching the proprietor for 2 years, with the purpose of obtaining it and deploying it to race with. Relaxing thing to find out.
A 1979 Buick Electra 225 Limited Edition was thieved out of a grocery store parking lot in suburban Detroit with the burglar getting out of with an urn inside the shoe that contained the remains of the master’s stepfather!
After saving for over 40 years, a man from Virginia bought the vehicle of his dreams, a 1962 Dodge Lancer. Buying his dream car, he began his restoration project, which was about 60 percent complete when he relocated to Tx. Without a garage to keep it in after his move, he stored it in a 24-foot surrounded trailer home along with a 1971 Dodge Colt he planned to turn into a race car, and kept the trailer home parked at a storage lot. At the end of Come early july, the trailer home and everything in it faded.
The last story actually has a happy ending because it was retrieved due to alert shop owners being suspicious of person wanting to un-load a Lancer for only $1, 500 including the many boxes of parts. After some research, the proprietor was reunited regarding his car. Guy and I have been greeted on numerous occasions by people wanting to sell their vehicles. Some have trouble stories and the callers are willing to un-load the vehicle for a real bargain. We’ve always walked from these offers, primarily because we’re not in the business of buying and selling cars (we’re not dealers or re-sellers), but also because we’re cautious of a “too-good-to-be-true” price. One contact particular did make us very suspicious, as the woman harasser was adamant that the sale must be completed by Mon (she called our shop over the weekend) and the price was extremely low for a rather rare model Mustang. Alert shop owners can be crucial in supporting in the recovery of thieved classic cars.