My '71 Classic has been STOLEN from a guarded car storage!

[strad]

IF and that is a big if you can get the persnickety judges to call it 100% proper after the rebuild that would be great but from my experience with my 67 Vette it will never get that judgment again. Sorry. It sucks, but that's the way they are.
I don't know that I would worry about getting to be stock again.
Those who have read my various posts will know the 67 Vette could never be judged as stock/perfect if nothing else because when I got it the hood and nose had been cut off at a 45° angle by a freeway chain link fence. All superficial body work but by bonding on a new nose/hood it lost stock value then and there. Not to mention converting from full length stock exhaust to stock 67 side pipes (quite the expensive chore btw) but didn't match the VIN numbers at that point so there goes some value even though it improved the car. They want bone stock. The Gulstrand suspension and Compomotive wheels and P7 tires even lowered the value while for me it made it a much more perfect vehicle.
Same with the 'Bird.
I believe I mentioned I was in the middle of installing a 5 speed and lowering springs when it was stolen .
To my way of thinking if it isn't bone stock to start with I don't worry much about what it will bring at Barrett Jackson.
Thus, and this is just me ruminating, since one can get the interior parts and fix things like door handles and locks etc and other cosmetic damage I would put a Art Morrison front clip under it and an Art Morrison IRS under the rear with coil overs all round. The stock engine is great no need for more than a freshening up, but it would then handle as well or better than a new Vette.
My 04 Mustang Cobra is lowered on Eibach springs and roll bars "they" wouldn't even like that even though it now handles 100% better than stock. I may throw coil overs under it if I can justify the cost.

[Manoah2u]

well as i have mentioned before i believe in this topic itself,
i'm not dead shot at 'year correct' and stuff resto's.
I do however feel the waste from having an object that was pretty much unmolested turned into 'a worthless brick' by hands of some tools and thieves.

i'm not so freaky in the sense that i would concider replacing every single part out there, as simple as a throttle cable by one that i could find online or other means as another either year-correct piece, or from a salvage yard that was original. I really fail to see that point. Man, my throttle cable wasn't original, nor were the headlamps, etc. etc.
I do find a car in it's true 100% unaltered fully original condition, including the friggin lightbubls, spark plugs, in showroom condition, with not even a thousand miles on it some thing insanely interesting and something that would deserve protection and attention - but in the end, it's an object that needs to be used to be fully appreciated - that's what it's for.

so quite frankly, it's not that broken cables, faulty mechanics etc. really bother me, and that i'm bothered with fixing this with repro parts, it's just sad that through so many, many many years (we're taling 46 years here) there's a sudden halt to the originality of it.

That being said, though there is no indication the car ever has been repainted - as far as everything suggests this had it's fully original color, it even had the stickers still present (like spare tire sticker, etc.). That doesn't neccesarily mean that it hasn't had it's share of replacement materials. tires, brakes, battery, throttle cable, gaskets, (head)lights, floormats, steering wheel, seatbelts, etc. have been 100% replaced in it's almost half-a-century lifespan. and let's be glad that happened. seats are absolutely correct with the factory delivery, not just the rear ones, also the front ones, but whether those ARE the very examples, is a question i have not an answer to, nor do i actually find it bothersome if it wasn't. Stuff that does 'irk' me are things like 1979 seats in a 1970 bird for example though.
but hey, these cars mostly shifted owners somewhere between the 80s and 90s when they became dirt cheap, and people - regretfully but in their darn right - did endless things to it. it is only of recent that fondness has grown over originality and unmolested beauty.
Still, i find it tragic. but hey. it is what it is.

[strad]

Seems whatever route you take it is going to be long and expensive.
Sure hope you get as much as possible from the insurance co. so you can afford the process.
Good luck. Here's hoping it turns out great.

[NOT A TA]

Sorry for your loss. It was really depressing to read about the cars condition. Here in the states the car would probably be considered a total unless you had appraised value insurance on it with a high appraisal. From your description of the damages I'd guess it would cost $20,000.00 or more to fix it here and take a year or more. Even then the insurance company would be hesitant to authorize repair due to the high probability of multiple supplements for issues that can't be foreseen and parts that are hard to source with widely varying costs. Sadly, you might be better off financially by buying the car back if they total it and parting it out.

[Shrieker]

So so sorry to hear what's happened to your car man. Sometimes in my dreams i see my shitty 125cc bike get stolen and find it in a junk state, and it feels horrible. Can't imagine what it must've felt like to you I can only hope the courts drag the faces of those responsible in the storage compound thru the mud.

[Manoah2u]

well the point is that the car has never been 'impounded' by the insurance company, so it has always been in my actual posession. I don't know if things go differently on the other side of the pond, but that's how it goes here, or atleast it went down in my case.

The issue now is that there are damages done to the car and the responsible party is the one which i entrusted it's care to when it was parked in his property, and fact is he became eligable for that upon agreement and payment. under his responsibility, the car got damaged. i now have the car returned thus with damages. so i will have to file a claim to the damages done to the vehicle. it essentially is their problem to deal with the thieves that have inflicted the actual damage, so a case of their insurance. it shouldn't be that big of a deal for them, really. there are police reports and all so it's crystal clear.

however, and this is where things get annoying and murky.

I have not a recent taxation report. the most recent one is about 7 years ago i think and that has expired.
that means that under law here, it gets taxated to a day value and because of age, model, etc. no matter if the car was covered in pure 24k gold, will be around 600 bucks at most.
now my own insurance company states that i should have enough material at hand to show that the actual value of the car is far higher than that. but then the problem still is, when this becomes a real legal issue, which is more or less unavoidable, then i can be guaranteed that the 'other party' will hold ground that i have no valid taxation report to claim that the car was worth that amount of money and thus damages need to be compensated.
i would need to get that covered in order to be able to aquire the amount of money needed to cover the damages, as the damage will be around 20k indeed if done professionally. but the problem offcourse is, without the proper taxation estimate, the car would be only 'worth' 600 bucks thus a total loss and i would get no money.

so, the best route to walk is to find a compensation or lets say make a deal with the park owner to find eachother midway i guess.

so like i said, i'm gonna have a hefty dent in it financially anyway. it is what it is.

[strad]

you might be better off financially by buying the car back if they total it and parting it out.

True in many cases over here.
HOWEVER, if you have pictures and an experts evaluation , that will go a long way in a legal battle.
I've thought about it lately in that if I were to total my Mustang many companies would want to just give me the value of a 2004 Mustang.
Luckily I have receipts for all the work done. It's actually been going up in value on KBB.
Like I've said, I hope and pray you can get a proper settlement that will allow you to put it back into near pristine condition.
It is a dream car for many.

[strad]

BTW my reference to how I would fix it up is a lot dream world. It would cost a LOT.

[strad]

Bet you don't really want to talk about it any more as it probably makes you sick to think about it..It would me.

[mrluke]

Making a deal to avoid going legal is a sensible way forward, you might get a smaller payment from them but you can weigh that up against your costs for pushing it through the courts and also the long drawn out aggravation associated with a protracted battle.

Its crap that through no fault of your own and despite taking all reasonable measures to secure the vehicle you are now significantly out of pocket with a car that will never be quite the same.

However, I am really sorry to hear about the state of it. No doubt once its not so "raw" you'll get the enjoyment of bringing it back to the beautiful condition you remember it.

Stick with it, it'll be worth it in the end