05-13-2011, 10:42 AM
Back in 1975, Newark resident Janice Maffucci's 1969 Chevy Camaro SS was stolen from the parking lot of the post office where her father worked. She never expected to see the car again...and certainly not 36 years later, all the way across the country. But authorities say that a Santa Maria, Calif. man bought the very same hot rod on eBay this past February, and they've now reunited the original owner with the car—but nobody knows where the car has been during those 36 years. Could it be like the muscle car version of The Red Violin?
Car enthusiast and buyer Keith Williams noticed that the Camaro's body was a collage of other parts, and contacted the California Highway Patrol. They were able to rebuild the original VIN number, and discovered the vehicle was stolen from Newark on July 8, 1975. Police are now trying to trace the registration in order to track down who the original thief was, but we have our own guess as to who might have been racing in the streets with that Camaro:
When a car has been missing for 35 years, you would hardly expect it to turn up at all let alone 3,000 miles away on eBay.
But the New Jersey owner of a 1969 Chevy Camaro SS got the shock of her life when a police officer told her that the car she had stolen almost 36 years ago had been recovered in Santa Maria, California.
In February, Keith Williams bought the car on eBay for $28,000 from a private seller in Tennessee but said he noticed there was something not quite right about it and it had features that did not match the original.
Recovered: Officer Frank Lewis, left, pictured with Officer Chuck Johnes with the 1969 Camaro Stolen 36 Years Ago from New Jersey
When he contacted the police, he discovered it was stolen.
Speaking to KSBY 6 he said: 'I saw some video of it. It looked pretty good. It was quite eye catching. But you research a car long enough, you kind of know what to expect and there were things missing.'
He said that certain features seemed inconsistent with a 1969 Chevy Camaro SS. Closer inspection confirmed that the car had been completely restored and its body was a complete collage of parts, with the six cylinder engine replaced with a 427 V-8.
Officer Chuck Johnes with the California Highway Patrol said: 'There's identifying numbers on the car in several locations and through those numbers, we were able to rebuild the original VIN number.'
The officers are trying to figure out who stole the car after it made its way from jersey to California
When they ran a check they found the car had been stolen on July 8, 1975. When it was stolen it was yellow.
Officer Johnes said that when he contacted the owner Janice Maffucci in Jersey, she hung up several times thinking it was a crank call.
The car had been stolen from the post office where her father worked 36 years ago.
She told KSBY 6: 'Being we're in New Jersey and this was recovered in California, I couldn't believe it, and I still can't believe it, but I think it's just great!
'I had given up hope and I never thought that this would ever happen.'
According to the police, Ms Maffucci was not going to bother arranging for the car to travel across the country thinking it was now 'just an old car'.
But when they explained to her that it was worth a substantial amount of money she changed her mind and now plans on selling it.
Mr Williams had fortunately insured his $28,000 eBay purchase and will get reimbursed for everything but the $875 transport fee.
But he told KSBY 6 that it was a 'modest price for a timeless tale'.
The CHP says this is one of the oldest vehicle's it's ever recovered and are investigating the car's registration history to find out who might have stolen it.
Very interesting story I could never get that lucky.
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