I bought my 1962 Valiant from the original owner in 1989. He would only sell it to me if I agreed to restore it. I had the car at home for 6 months and I took it to a "Reputable" restoration shop to have it brought back to its beautiful (?) shape.
To make a very long story short, the car was stolen from the shop, along with a few other cars. So I waited to see if it would show up. It didn't. I kept the paper work on it, had to have something to show for all of the money I spent.
Now the great part, last month I got a call from I.C.B.C. asking me if I was the registered owner of a 1962 Valiant. I had to think about that, so I said yes I was, but that the car was stolen over 15 years ago. Then the girl tells me that someone is trying to register it and could I bring in my papers to prove that I do own it.
I was floored, it was like one of those stories that you only hear about, it only happens to some guy that some guy knows. Well I am now one of those guys!
The car was taken from the shop and stored along with all of the other cars that were taken. It seems that the owner of the shop decided to create his own collection. But when he died, the cars were sold by one of his friends. The people who bought them were told that the paperwork on them would have to be gotten from I.C.B.C. as they were misplaced. He took their money and ran, but he only got to run to court and then to jail for 2 years. (Ya gotta love it when the good guys win.)
The sad part of this is that my car is in worse shape than when I sent it to the shop. I guess an old Valiant didn't rate protection, it was left out in the field to grow old and rusty. The young man that bought it was starting to repair it when he tried to get the registration, only to find that he didn't own it at all. So I agreed to give him my Granddaughter's project car, a 1983 Plymouth TC3 with a G.L.H.S. power train. My Granddaughter thinks that I should give her the Valiant when I get it redone. She thinks it is the BUTT ugliest most awesome car she has ever seen (I got her a '84 Charger 2.2) I keep the Butt Ugly and love it.
