Ot-Stolen stuff

[JIPJOBXX]

I thought it would be interesting to here from other people on this site about stuff stolen out of there cars or have there whole car stolen.

My story goes that I had a 86 Chevy van with a tape deck that didn't work! Well one morning I got up to go to work and thought something was different as my engine compartment hood was moved back. And then I looked up and low and behold no radio. I just kind of laughed and thought about it for a second because who ever spent the time to take that out got a piece of junk! And then I reported it to my insurance company and they gave a 100 dollars to buy a new one.. So I went down and bought a 25 dollar radio without a tape deck and I was back in business. Thanks you very much dishonest crook.

[48P15Annie]

I had my first car stolen out of my driveway, 2 days shy of having it a year. It was a blue 1974 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu two door. I got it in July 2006, my dad and I restored it over the winter, and it was stolen out of my driveway July 2007. A couple weeks later, I got my 1974 Monte Carlo Landau.

[RobertKB]

I had a radio stolen out of my '85 VW Jetta and as in another post, it also did not work. The dash was damaged so it had to be replaced and a new radio put in, all at the expense of the insurance company. What really p..sed me off was that I had just been to Disneyland with the kids and the thief also stole my California baseball cap. That felt more personal than taking the radio. That was nearly 20 years ago and I'm still look for people with California on their minds.

Edited December 1, 2010 by RobertKB

[BobT-47P15]

The only thing that comes to mind is the stolen car cover mentioned

in a different post today.

I have heard old car owners talk about

someone stealing their cigarette lighter or some other dash knob at

shows.

On a national basis, there have been quite a few cars stolen lately.....of

various types. Some rods and customs have been reported on the HAMB.

Trailers get taken, as well as both the pickup and the trailer attached to

it, with whatever may be inside.

[JerseyHarold]

As a former resident of Noo Yawk City I've had my share of car thefts.

Our family car was a 1965 Dodge Coronet 440 sedan that got stolen on Valentine's Day 1969 and re-vinned and repainted into a gypsy cab (sort of a semi-legal taxi). My father found it on Good Friday morning parked at the curb a few blocks from our home. We had a hard time getting it back from the NYPD because it was a juicy morsel for their Police Auction (proceeds to the Police Pension Fund...). The car was painted back to original by the insurance company. It was stolen and recovered twice afterwards, but both times by joyriders with no real damage.

My '70 LeMans (one of the top 3 POS's of my automotive ownership career) was stolen from in front of our house in Staten Island one night. Three days later, the police in Brooklyn called to say they found it. It was parked at a fire hydrant most of that time. When we picked it up, the lady who lived near the hydrant said she had called many times about the car but the police ignored her. Only damage was the yanked-out ignition lock.

When our son was born in 1993, our '91 Crown Vic ex-trooper car was stolen from in front of the hospital and never recovered. The car was a bargain, and the insurance company paid us full retail, so we were ahead of the game on that one. Still miss it.

Lastly, my aunt had a '55 Buick that was stolen and recovered several times. The ignition switch had an 'off but unlocked ' position that made theft really easy.

Harold

[Oldguy48]

Had a 1966 Dodge Coronet that I had installed an 8 track deck in. Went to

E. Rutherford, NJ for some training. In the morning at the motel, got into the car and realized someone had ripped me off. I had also installed an aftermarket oil pressure gauge with 1/8" nylon tubing. Well, the tubing got ripped out too, so I had to find a hardware store to get a fitting to plug off the oil pressure port on the engine, lest I have a real mess on the floor. Reported it to the local police, and they kinda laughed. They really had no interest in investigating the theft. Said that sort of thing happens all the time, and it would be impossible to recover it.

[Big_John]

The only thing that comes to mind is the stolen car cover mentioned

in a different post today.

I have heard old car owners talk about

someone stealing their cigarette lighter or some other dash knob at

shows.

Some of the Mopar muscle car owners have reported thefts of the underhood data plate at car shows!

[41/53dodges]

this may not be automotive related, but still kinda funny from a few years ago. i went to the local rec plex, a gym/track/pool/indoor game court, etc. to use the pool. there were no locks on the lockers, so some LITTLE **** STOLE MY UNDERPANTS, they left all my other money and clothes in the locker!

[JIPJOBXX]

Your underwear? Now that a low blow!

[JIPJOBXX]

Now before the radio incident I had two 57 chevy's stolen and when I got each back they were worth NOTHING! But of course this was back in the early 70's when you could buy a 57 for a few hundred bucks. What really got me upset was the cost of getting each car out of the impound the first time was bad enough but the second well I was just a little bit upset. Oh yes I had an aluminum row boat stolen from me and again the insurance paid for a new one in that case. So far for the last 20 years I have had nothing lifted and hope it never happens.

[Big_John]

About 1981 or so, I had a 66 Dodge Dart that I wanted to sell. It was pretty rough, but still ran great. I got a call from a guy I had sold some other parts to and he said he wanted to buy the car. He wanted to test drive the car and as I was headed off for the weekend I told him I'd leave the car in front of my parent's house and would hide the key. I also told him to just leave the car there and I would call him when I got back. He gave me a phone number.

I got back and the car wasn't there. I figured... well... maybe he just took the car home. He asked if he could do that and I did tell him no, but whatever, I'll just give him a call.

Well... no answer at the phone number and after trying several times, I did get an answer.... turned out to be a pay phone at an apartment house! OK... still trying to give the benefit of the doubt and it was only a $100 car, but I was a bit annoyed. I made a couple calls to friends that had dealt with him and found out where he lived. That night when I was out on a date, I drove by there on the way home and spotted the car on the street.

I pulled the distributor rotor and sure enough... the phone rang the next morning. "Hey... the Dart won't start". I asked him what was going on and he said he wanted to buy the car, but... ready for this... wanted to just use it for a little while first. "Ah... no, I'll be up to get the car" and he went into this whole speech about how he was developing an electric car and he wanted to pitch the idea to this big deal developer and needed a car to go see the guy. Yea... OK.

I grabbed the car the next morning and there was a note on the car... John! I can't believe you won't help me with the most important project on Earth!

I bought another Dart the next week that needed an engine so I pulled the engine out of the 66 and scrapped the car.

[old stovebolt]

I recently had some SOB hop my back fence, go on my carport, lift up

the car cover, and unbolt and steal the rear deck lid off my '54 VW. Then, they

put the car cover back just as it was. I have had the old bug since 1974,

and it really made me "less than happy". Sad society we live in today...

[41/53dodges]

it is kinda sad to see that some people think its perfectly fine to just go and take your hard-earned belongings.

[littleman]

Heard a story once about a cop that used to like to catch em in the act, but his best was after retirement, no "IA". Sons car alarm sounded early AM. Nimble family arises and responds. Son driving with father at shotgun able to pick up active pursuit. Son/car better then bad guys/car overtake. The father alights from pursuing vehicle and ruins forward view of scums bags

by cleaning their windshield with a alum BB bat. He said they still drove off blindly, but pursuit became much slower, and active law enforcement was able to intercede. Son and friends were able to convenience SB and friends from any repeated actions.

Able to relate this story since the teller has pasted away.

AL

Probably cleaned up a lot of auto burgs in area at that time.

[daddyo23]

In the early '70s I had a '56 Buick Special that I put a c.b. in. Well, somebody wanted that c.b. so they smashed the drivers window in my driveway to take it. I wouldn't have minded losing the radio so much but the door wasn't even locked! It cost me more to replace the window than the c.b. cost. That's the way my luck usually runs..... Wayne P.

[BobT-47P15]

One Saturday afernoon, several years ago, I parked my Dodge Caravan

in our driveway, but didn't lock the doors (which I usually do) since we

planned on going out somewhere that evening.

In the back seat of the van were a couple lightweight jackets and

two new pairs of shoes I was going to return to the store as they

didn't fit just right. (I had bought two pairs 'cause they were on sale.)

Also in the front seat was a small camera case containing the 7

harmonicas I use when I play music. Was going to take them with

me on Sat night.

Well, we decided at some point we were kinda tired and wouldn't go

out after all. So we eventually went to bed, and I forgot to go lock

the van.

Best I can tell, some neighborhood boys came walking down the

street trying doors of cars to see if they were unlocked. Of course

mine was unlocked, so a coat, two pairs of shoes and the harmonicas

were gone the next morning. After walking around the 'hood in various

directions, I found in a ditch a partial pack of cigarettes they took, and

apparently didn't like. But they didn't seem to throw anything else

down. The main aggravation was the harmonicas, which I had to

replace since I use them regularly........way back when, they cost

about $1.98. Nowadays they cost more like $30 each. So 7 harps

cost a little less than $200 as the music store gave me a price break.

I guess it could have been worse.....they could have taken the van.

[austinsailor]

Back in about '69 my brother in law's Torino got stolen. Reported it to the police, they looked for it for months. Took the insurance company 2 months before they'd admit it was gone and would pay anything for it. 2 more months down the road they held a police auction for all their impounded cars. Surprise - the torino had been in their lot since the morning after it was stolen. All in the 30,000 pop. town, all the same police department.

[BobT-47P15]

Sounds like a classic case of "Who's on first???"

[Andydodge]

Yrs ago I had a red knitted wollen jacket stolen from the Rocky Mountain Ram hood mascot on my 1940 Dodge........does this count?......true story.........I've had to talk nicely to Rocky ever since........luckily he has had a nice new sheet of chrome plate on him that keeps him warm now........lol.......andyd

[JerseyHarold]

Back in about '69 my brother in law's Torino got stolen. Reported it to the police, they looked for it for months. Took the insurance company 2 months before they'd admit it was gone and would pay anything for it. 2 more months down the road they held a police auction for all their impounded cars. Surprise - the torino had been in their lot since the morning after it was stolen. All in the 30,000 pop. town, all the same police department.

This seems to be a standard tactic among Police Departments. My friend's Pontiac Fiero was stolen and a few days later I saw it being towed by the impound-company tow truck. I called my friend immediately and he and his father went down to the towing company the next morning.The car was completely stripped, so they handed over the title and walked away. Two weeks later, they got a letter from the police saying the car had been found and they owed 2 weeks of storage on it. What a scam!

[Big_John]

About 15 years ago, my buddy had a customer's Honda broken into and the stereo stolen. They broke the passenger window to get in. After calling the cops and breaking the news to the customer, he taped plastic over the window. The car had some "issues" and the customer had money problems, so the car had to sit there. Everyone figured the stereo was already gone, so it wasn't a big deal for the car to sit there for a few more nights.

I guess someone else had an eye on the stereo because the next night, they broke into the car again, this time they pried the driver's door open! It destroyed the car! Best part was not only was the stereo already gone, the passenger door window was still broken, covered with plastic and wasn't locked. The dumb crooks never looked!

[Jim Yergin]

When I was a teenager, my dad had a 1967 Pontiac Firebird convertible that he used to drive back and forth from the commuter train station. We installed an 8 track under the dash (this was in the early 70's). While parked at the train station someone slit the top and stole the 8 track. My dad got another 8track and we built it solidly into the glove compartment. The next time, rather than taking the 8 track, the thief took the entire car. It was found a couple of weeks later in the neighboring town completely stripped.

Jim Yergin

[tysouthwick]

Recently (over the summer) my brother parked his car in a parking lot and some A****** broke the window and stole a original pressing of the Beatles Abby Road album that I bought the day before!

[captden29]

freind of mine had his 67 chevy stolen in 1971. 4 years later the car was found parked on the side of the road somewhere in maine [ was stolen in ny ]. the car had been well maintained and kept clean. he got it back, used it a short time and sold it. never found out who took it. capt den

[martybose]

My favorite theft story is in three parts, and involves a Saab 900 Turbo, which came from the factory with a nice Sony stereo.

The first time the thief tried to use a slimjim on the door, and set off the alarm. Minor door damage, nothing else.

Three nights later he came back, removed the rear hatch window (which is BIG), set it down on the lawn, crawled in over the tops of the seats, started to remove the radio, AND SET OFF THE ALARM AGAIN! This time I was up like a shot and chased him down the street where he jumped into his car and took off.

Several months later someone parked next to the car in a raquetball club parking lot, smashed the side window, took a crowbar to the dash and got the radio. The funny part is that we sent the car to the dealer to repair, only to find out that 3 nights before the dealership had been broken into and they had lost 25 of the Sony's; we had to wait until they got a new shipment!

Marty

Edited December 2, 2010 by martybose
a typo, as usual