1968 STOLEN SPECIAL... recovered within 1 hour

[Scott]

Woke to the unmistakable sound of the special revving through the tyre's howl at 1am this morning. Looked out the window to see that gorgeous tail head over the hill and woke Pam to tell her it had been stolen!

Reported theft on 000 (aussie 911). Pam then asked, "what do we do now?" at that point we heard the sound of 4000rpm echo through the valley of coogee and knew we just had to go get them...

Tool of choice for the pursuit was the newly acquired (thank you hitman performance car programming) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 7.5 GT-A [a 4 wheel drive twin scroll turbo monster from Japan] and we stalked the usual points of disposal for stolen cars in Sydney... Maroubra, La Parouse, Botany, airport, then we passed at speed on the divided road, Wentworth Terrace. The Special was moving but the sound of the valve train bouncing was terrible. The snots that stole it weren't old enough to drive and were in second at 100mph! At least they didn't get to top speed.

Being divided we had to cover another 1/4mile to the next crossing to u-turn and give chase. It took about 5 minutes to pick them up again. They ran and took out a curb (see photos) within two blocks! With the both LHS 12 slots collapsed, tyres gone, front suspension destroyed and the rear shock & diff dragging they stopped in about 50m and ran. I didn't give chase, waiting with pam and knowing the police weren't far away. The 5 minute delay to the police arrival was enough for the 5 of them to make off on foot.

No photos of damage yet, only the curb and the pursuit car.

Car out of impound tomorrow with forensic report.

 

[Ruppstang]

Man Scott I can't belive it. About your worst night mirror seeing you car drive a way.Its probbly best you did not catch them, you may have had to go to jail for killing them. At least you got it back in one piece. I bet you did not sheep a wink after all of that. Hope the damage is not too bad. Marty

 

[rvrtrash]

They should treat car thieves like they did horse thieves in the old west and just hang the *****. I hope they catch them and at least make their mommies turn over the kids lunch money to pay for damages.

Steve

 

[PonyGal]

Wow Scott! Quite a story! I'm glad you got the car back in one piece and were not hurt in the process. Hope there is not too much damage to repair.

 

[66hcs-conv]

WOW, what an experience!

Lets hope those unconscionable little ----- had the you know what scared out of 'em.

Good outcome, you got the car back and nobody was hurt.

Score one for the good guys!

Have fun, Dave

 

[Midnight Special]

...DAMN Scott!! 'The car you just restored???

If I had a long-range jet fighter, I'd go find those li'l bast__ds and blow the s__t out of them for you!! .....from HERE!!

Sorry folks (gulping coffee to calm down).... 'Anyone have a Red Bull?

'Sorry again - better now.... That just plain sucks! Please keep us posted.

 

[JohnnyQuest515]

Roger that Midnight!

Just let me know if you need any fire power !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbN-gQ4x8To&feature=fvw

Randy

 

[gazrox]

What are the chances of finding your stolen car driving around Sydney? Well done Scott, count yourself lucky - it could have been so much worse.

when will we see public floggings again? S**theads who do this deserve it, especially when its a CS!

 

[limelyt]

Yep, I would be but away for life if I ever caught someone stealing our car.

Glad to see it back in your hands

Gary

 

[Scott]

at the impound

Thanks everyone. It really does make it easier to cope with the support here.

It is the car I just restored although I've put about 10,000 miles on it since then - even after the restoration nobody believed the 2500 miles were genuine anyway.

Here's some photos of the damage. The oil pan was hit but didn't drop any oil. Notice the spray of oil on underside of hood - think it was coming from the dipstick... could it be from revving on the limit for so long it blew the stick out and sprayed oil??? Couldn't find the dipstick along route of the chase.

Real shame are the small chips I now see around the LHS door... looks like we'll be painting most of the car again as there's LHS fender, door and rear 1/4 with chips which means roof and RHS 1/4 too! Just hope the LHS rail isn't too far out of true. Should be okay, I've been in mustangs with worse gaps and door openings that win trophies out here.

Other obvious damage to LHS suspension, steering etc and rear wheel, axle etc will need to be replaced. Not sure on gearbox and rear end.

Motor being pushed so hard will need compression test and top end inspected for valve/piston contact and a set of springs. Has roller rockers which may have saved it.

Thanks again,
SS

 

[Midnight Special]

Boy Scott, I sure wish they would've chosen a different car for such a joyride :-(

You have amazing character to be so calm. I wonder who, or how they discovered your car. Any clues as to the perps?

 

[franklinair]

A heartbreaker. So sorry to hear of your trouble.

Neil

 

[Scott]

That's flattering Tim,

My car is hard to miss as I drive it so much. Often using it for my commute to work 4 times a week which luckily includes some pleasant roads. It is normally pretty safe for my old cars in my suburb due to the great wealth of my neighbours - things like Porsche GT2s, AMG Mercedes, Audi R8s (we even have a couple of v10 r8s in the neighbourhood) and I even saw an Aston Martin V12 Vantage before christmas and all of this lot are regularly parked out in the street!

So far I have sufficient information to be able to find them and their families within hours but it is a glory for a man to desist from a dispute.

The police officer assigned to the case will be on leave until Saturday. He was assigned the case on his first day off.

There is CCTV recording showing them fleeing through a nearby property with pretty good clarity. I haven't seen it but spoke to the security guard that turned it in. Can't get to see it until the officer in charge returns to duty.

The forensic report shows good sets of a few different prints lifted from the car and are confident of a match. That will probably take a month to come back though.

I suppose I'm not concerned by catching these boys as a result of my personal experience growing up with a close-knit but violent, angry and criminally-minded young men. A few of us have straightened up but not one that was caught and taken to trial ever did. Many who were caught are now dead through murder or suicide and the ones still alive are all insane - either terrifying monsters or pathetic shadows. My only hope is that I frightened one or two of them enough to change their associations.

 

[Midnight Special]

...............My only hope is that I frightened one or two of them enough to change their associations.

...Like I said; you have tremendous character and integrity...

 

[Northern Pony]

Scott;
Looks like they sure bottomed out that car on the curb. Glad for your sake you got it back so quickly and without more damage. From what you told us of your neighbour hood, you have a car for your neighbours to envy. One of my Stangs went missing for two months and I bought it back for salvage and re-built it.
Also, like that chase car! good luck with your insurance and getting all repairs done.
BoB

 

[robert campbell]

Scott,
You are a bigger man than I am! To have such restraint after a transgression of this magnitude says so much about you as a person.

After reading your threads on this post it comes to mind that maybe you should offer one of these young men the opportunity to help you fix your car? To lay under it and experience the hours and hours of effort that can be destroyed in a few seconds. To learn about cars and appreciate their care and construction.

I would not even think of saying this if not for your reaction to all of this!

I am truly humbled by your forgiveness. What a family we have at GT/CS.com! Would anyone on a Shelby site be so forgiving?

All said Scott, please post a list of parts that you need. If I have any, they are yours for free! And their shipping.

Rob

 

[Scott]

Thanks Rob, you are a TOP bloke!

Think I'll leave the work to the insurer's recommended repairer to avoid any confusion over who's responsible for the work done.

Met John, their recommended repairer this morning to discuss what's needed. A good guy and should be more than capable of the work by the look of the other jobs he's got in his shop. He's put me at ease over the engine's possible issues after being revved so hard for so long by saying that he'll remove the heads and confirm there's no damage to pistons and valve train before saying there's no engine damage and at the least he'll replace the springs. The insurance assessor said they'd have no part of it but I'm sure John's opinion will hold up.

Spotted a kink behind the LHS shock tower (see pic) and there is a bit of a tear in the driver's seat too. The more I look, the more problems there seem to be!

Thanks, SS

 

[Scott]

Bingle's Aston Theif Looks Familiar....

Saw this kid on the TV last night for stealing an Aston Martin off Lara Bingle (bikini model/famous for being famous type that lives near me) but how many 15 year olds this big can steal cars this effectively? Haven't seen his face but he fits the build, complexion and age of the kid that stole my Special!!!

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/ne...lleged-car-thief/story-e6freuy9-1225821391805

Can't get the police to do anything about it and am sick of them telling me how grateful I should be that they got my car back for me everytime I phone them and have to explain that it wasn't luck or police that got it back!!

 

[di81977]

You mentioned that the oil pan was hit. I would make sure you pull it and check the oil pump/pick up. Last thing you want is the car being rev'd high and run hard with no oil circulating.

Good luck with the repairs.

 

[Mosesatm]

Saw this kid on the TV last night for stealing an Aston Martin off Lara Bingle (bikini model/famous for being famous type that lives near me) but how many 15 year olds this big can steal cars this effectively? Haven't seen his face but he fits the build, complexion and age of the kid that stole my Special!!!

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/ne...lleged-car-thief/story-e6freuy9-1225821391805

Can't get the police to do anything about it and am sick of them telling me how grateful I should be that they got my car back for me everytime I phone them and have to explain that it wasn't luck or police that got it back!!

A few years ago I could have helped you out but we've since sold all our Australia cemeteries. :wink: