Car returned after 40 years

I've never had a car stolen [/knocks wood]

But This Guy had his big Healey stolen 40 years ago........and finally got it back!

It's hard to feel bad for a car dealership in Beverly Hills, but I suspect that they believed they were buying the car from a legitimate seller. Of course, I'm surprised that they bought a car without a VIN plate. I guess all bets are off with vintage cars.

I'm glad the guy got his car back, though.

In 1972, you couldn't always identify a car by it's VIN because it wasn't until the late '60s that manufacturers were even required to put the VIN in a fairly conspicuous place on the car. And if the car was involved in a crash, it was often the case where the VIN plate (usually attached to a door or a door pillar) would be lost/misplaced. In a vintage Healey, I would think the VIN plate would be located in the engine compartment...and easily altered.

It wasn't until about 1968-1969 that the feds made car companies put the VIN under the windshield in a (not always successful) attempt to make it theft-proof and hard to alter.

I only got this far:

"I used to always look at Austin Healeys parked on the side of the road," Russell said.

Then I LOL'ed.

If his insurance company reimbursed him back then for the loss, they're going to be very interested in this article...

No Way! A car was stolen near Temple University in Philly! That never happens!