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Full Version: Missing NJ Camaro Turns Up 36 Years Later In California
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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.
SCo_hmmthink Very interesting story I could never get that lucky.
There's lots of stolen cars out there with doctored V.I.N's floating around, and I'm sure some of them were stolen eons ago. The two officers stand there posing like a couple of heroes. The buyer (or "almost buyer" as it turned out) actually deserves all the credit. In all likelyhood, this same car probably drove past these two cops a hundred times.
Andy Taylor and Barney Fife
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You're too funny!
Since Janice really wasn't interested until she saw it's worth, and since the real hero is Keith - I think that Janice should sell it to Keith for what it cost when it was stolen. Fair is fair.
Interesting story, I saw it on the news yesterday. I think it was CNN. Maybe we will hear more about who buys it. Keith Williams may not be as interested in it since it was originally a 6 cylinder if he was looking for a real SS.
(05-13-2011, 01:16 PM)gxr02190 Wrote: [ -> ]There's lots of stolen cars out there with doctored V.I.N's floating around, and I'm sure some of them were stolen eons ago.

Yeah, that's pretty scary. A friend of mine bought a '68 GTO convertible project a couple of years ago. Well, as it turned out, it wasn't really a GTO. The seller had affixed a GTO VIN plate to a Tempest or Le Mans convertible. When my friend learned the truth, he took the seller to court, sued him and won. Of course, the seller claimed he was broke and would have to send payments, blah, blah, blah.

My friend eventually found a very nice GTO convertible. Late last last year he blew the motor. I helped him pull the motor and now the GTO is undergoing a "freshening up".

The fake GTO body still sits in my friend's yard. When I look at it, it says to me, "Let's be careful out there!".

BTW, great story. Thanks for posting. I had not seen it anywhere else.

I am glad her car was found after 36 years . But it is even more sad she is just going to put the car up for sale . I would think she would keep the car after it is going to be returned to her . To many people feel stuff is just stuff . But I think we are car people here . I will wish her good luck . C . L . USA
this will help on some future purchase's https://www.nicb.org// just type in the vin or if you find a different vin on car to see if stolen or totaled
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