Stolen car returned (restored) to original owner

[Damn True]

Awesome!

http://blog.sfgate.com/stew/2014/02/...ully-restored/

After 30 years, stolen Chevy returned — fully restored
Posted on February 20, 2014 | By [email protected]


Good things come to those who wait, and sometimes the best things come to those who wait the longest.

Enter Skip Wilson. The 65-year-old resident of Clearlake Oaks (Lake County) was recently reunited with his 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air, which was stolen in 1984.

Wilson bought the sought-after hot rod in 1975 from his nephew in Pennsylvania for a whopping $375 and used it as his daily wheels for years before it was ripped off from his front yard.

Wilson, who is retired and battling cancer, never thought he’d see the car again.

“I assumed somebody chopped it up and was using parts of it at the racetrack,” he said.

That assumption evaporated when Wilson got a call from a California Highway Patrol investigator in Southern California asking him if he had any documentation that could prove he was the owner of the long-missing ride. The CHP and U.S. Customs had found the car in a shipping container just days before it was to set sail, bound for a buyer in Australia.

Given the three decades that had passed since the car went missing, Wilson didn’t have the police report handy, but after some digging, he was able to produce the necessary documents that proved the car was his.

A few weeks and a $900 transportation fee later, Wilson was reunited with a car he hardly recognized. When the car was stolen it had no motor or transmission — both had been removed when the vehicle was stolen previously. What came back to him was a completely restored vintage classic.

“It’s got a new motor, upholstery, brakes, rims and tires, and the gauges — those are new, too — only say 9 miles,” he said.

Wilson said the state Department of Motor Vehicles told him that the car had been through four owners, but the serial number had never caught attention because a single digit had been left off. He said he feels bad for the previous owner, who likely poured a significant amount of money into the restoration, and for the buyer in Australia, but that he’s tickled to have his car back.

“Every time I saw one of them on the road, I thought it was her,” he said. “It’s just unbelievable.”

[WSSix]

Cool story!

[rjsjea]

Originally Posted by WSSix

Cool story!

Except for the guy who dumped $1000's into it, only to have it seized as a stolen vehicle from 30 years ago.

[intocarss]

Ca DMV wanted 30 years of back fees....

"Wilson had to pay just $900 in transportation, storage and towing fees. He said the DMV notified him that he is liable for 30 years of registration fees, but then backed off that claim".

[Vince@Meanstreets]

Originally Posted by intocarss

DMV notified him that he is liable for 30 years of registration fees, but then backed off that claim[/B]".[/I]

After I sent them an autographed copy of Fight club. lol..

that would be cool if they found the 68 Camaro that was stolen from me back in 1985.

[Rick D]

Originally Posted by Vince@MSperfab

After I sent them an autographed copy of Fight club. lol..

that would be cool if they found the 68 Camaro that was stolen from me back in 1985.

And it turned out to be Bad Penny!! sorry Steve!!

[ProTouring442]

It seems to me the MVA should bear some responsibility for the monies spent on the restoration. After all, the owner bought it, properly registered it, and the MVA didn't notice it was a stolen vehicle.

Amazing how you can be held liable for their screw up like that.

[Flash68]

Originally Posted by Rick D

And it turned out to be Bad Penny!! sorry Steve!!

That would be Yancy's problem now!

[Vince@Meanstreets]

I'd be ok with it.