Culture|Garage

Los Angeles- Who woulda thunk it- classic cars are being stolen at an alarming rate in Southern California, enough that authorities have had to sit up and take notice. WSATI, or the Western States Auto Theft Investigators Association is a coalition of law enforcement entities, rental car companies and auto insurers dedicated to decreasing auto theft trends in the Western region of the U.S.

“It’s been coming to light so much that we had to start a Web site,” said Jess Corral, supervisor of the WSATI. Evidently, the reports of theft of collector and classic autos have not been spotty, in fact, they have been quite regular. WSATI says that these thefts are most likely due to overseas interest.

“Eight to 10 years ago, people in Japan wanted lowriders,” said Richard O. Knapp, legal counsel for the WSATI Southern Chapter. “So they’d pop them in containers and ship them overseas. It creates a marketplace. That’s what people like. A lot of these are almost a for-order situation.” So far, several vehicles of interest have been logged as stolen, including a perfect trifecta of tri-5 Chevys- a ‘55 210 post coupe, brown with caps, and a 550 HP 502 Cu. In. engine, a purple and white ‘56 Bel Air, with Cragars and airbrushed flames, and a turquoise and white ‘57 Nomad , also rolling on Cragars.

So far, the WSATI website has only Chevys and one Ford listed, but there are undoubtedly more classic vehicles missing. However, just because a car is listed, does not guarantee that it will be found intact, if at all. On the “Missing Cars” page of the Live Car Shows website, a sunfire yellow ‘66 Corvette with an L88 engine (similar to the car pictured above) is listed as found. But in this case, the ‘Vette was found in pieces. The car had been cut up, being prepared for the chop pile. Prior to the car’s theft, it had been pristine, and was valued at over $300,000. As a factory 4-speed COPO car, the Corvette was definitely a piece of history, in fact, the engine was the prototype for the production L88, engineered and put together by Zora Arkus-Duntov and installed by Fred Gibb. The insult to the injury? The car had been cut apart with tools stolen from the car owner’s garage.

With any luck, the WSATI will thwart any further theft and illegal operations concerning these cars- but in the mean time, keep your eyes peeled and your cars safe, because you are probably not the only one looking to take your car for a spin. To contact the WSATI, see their website HERE.

via: WSATI, Hemmings Auto Blog, livecarshows, Los Angeles Daily News, crimeshieldusa, corvettetrader, big thanks to the Los Angeles Daily News and Hemmings Auto Blog for the info.

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