Cars Stolen

[74 H/O]

I just heard that (4) Hurst Oldsmobiles were stolen out of a hotel parking lot last night at the Hurst Olds Nationals in Indianapolis. Where is hotel security when you need them?

[58thndy]

You can't rely on hotel security to police something like this. You need to have your OWN security set up, be it off duty cops, a Law Enforcement Explorer post, or your own people patrolling the grounds in shifts. We've done all three at our shows and never had a damage or theft incident, though we did confront several people whose intentions were obviously less than honorable.

I can't understand the H/OCA not preparing for a scenario like this.

Word I got is all the stolen cars were G-body, and the perps were caught on hotel security tapes around 0400. Guess what they were? Gangsta thug types who probably wet their pants at the sight of so many clean G-body Oldsmobiles in one place at one time. It's pretty well known these type people (term used loosely, they're too low to really be considered human) like the GM G-body car, and Oldsmobiles in particular. I can about bet they didn't even know what a Hurst/Olds is, but they saw a pile of clean G-bodies.

Now we'll see if Indianapolis police can nab these scumbags and get the cars back before they're chopped/damaged beyond repair or worse yet, donked.

Even if it were recovered intact, if it were my car, I'd take the insurance settlement and let the car go. It would be forever tainted in my eyes knowing someone like that had messed with it- even touched it for that matter.

[Hurstolds1973]

I can't beleive this actually happened in this day & age! Makes me sick! I can't even go to a local cruise in or car show and let my car out of site! I went of Friday to a local burger joint having a 50 -60 cars and I sat in the window watching my car the whole time I ate!
I searched for a newspaper clip to read about it but nothing??? Any one have a link I can make myself sicker on?
I would ony hope no one here has one MIA from the H/O Nats!

[58thndy]

Joe, "this day and age" is exactly why it happened. Thieves are pretty bold now because they know car theft is low priority police work (unless they suspect a ring or ties to drugs) and a GM G-body car is high on the list of gangsta must-haves- and they don't care how they get one. They're jacked pretty frequently even in this podunk area of southern Virginia.

I think you can say goodbye to four very nice Hurst/Oldsmobiles. If they're found intact, they'll have different VINs and will not look anything like a Hurst/Olds. I think the more likely scenario is they'll be chopped up for parts.

The G-body car is not my favorite, but this shouldn't happen to anyone no matter what they drive.

We can only hope this thing gets enough national attention that the law will ramp up efforts to catch them. I mean, damn, FOUR CARS AT ONCE? from ONE LOCATION? That's pretty bold even for a pro. And it may be the thieves' downfall.

Trouble is, they'll get a couple months in the slammer and then back out on the streets doing it again. Some of the Near East countries may have the right idea- a thief gets his hand chopped off over there.

[77442]

I live in Indy not far from where they were taken. Makes me so sick and pissed. :mad: Probably never find them in one piece. I saw a "kustom" shop yesterday that had slammed "lambo" doors on a 73 or 74 cutlass. It looked terrible and also had those rediculous hugh chrome wheels. They had also take a 71 or 72 cutlass and planted some poorly placed 4-4-2 badges on it. Again with the ugly hugh wheels. They are really catering to the gangsta crowd. I'll keep my eyes open for any H/Os. I always noticed any of those or any Cutlass/442 for that matter.

[keith455]

here's a link to the news story.. http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/crime/Four_classic_cars_stolen_from_hotel_20090808

It's just horrible that this happened.. I hope they catch these scumbags.

[W451973]

What a shame. They're probably in pieces by now. Hope they were insured well.

[dwtucker]

I doubt that these cars were parted out. If it was well organized, they are probobly on trucks, headed for ships out of the country. Selling them overseas to rich guys who careless about a title is big business. There is a classic car dealer by me that told me last fall, he sells more cars (legaly) to overseas clients now then he ever did and they pay asking + in many cases. All of our classics will be gone if we don't start hording them oursleves.

Think about it this way... We advertise our events, espeically the nationals well in advance and the events are overnight and days long. These guys know the cars are parked overnight for days, they are easy to get into and hot wire, and bam, in seconds, they have your car.

At the 08 OCA NAts, we told our security not to let anyone on the show field after midnight for exactly this reason. This way, they could stop anyone wlaking around and ask them for cridentials. Some people got pissed off, but if they think about the alternatives, this story says it all.

I hope these guys get there cars back, but I would think it a miracle if that were to happen now.

Off to the garage now to sit in my 76 and be glad it is safely locked in the graage.

Sad, very sad.

[W451973]

Well thats one possible scenario but given the demographics of who stole them and what was taken I would bet on stripped or retagged and donked. Had it been 68,69 or 72 then I might be more inclined to agree with you.

[brad442]

I received this from the Hurst/Olds Club earlier today...

"Please pass this along to the membership and anyone else you think of. I am sending it as both an attachment and in the body in case somebody can't open it.
*
Between 1AM and 4AM on Saturday, August 8, 2009, FOUR Hurst/Olds were stolen from 2 hotel parking lots adjacent to each other in Indianapolis, Indiana. There were over 125 H/O’s in attendance for the Hurst/Olds Club of America 25th National Meet. This was a calculated "hit", not a random crime. The thieves knew we were going to be there, they knew which cars they wanted, they knew what they were doing and they got us!

It took them less than 1 minute to gain entry to a car, have it running and leaving the parking lot. They used a white crew cab pick up truck and drove into the lot and parked like they were a guest. One person exited the truck and hit the car, then both left. They went back and forth from one hotel to the other, not raising suspicion. This was evident from reviewing the hotels security tapes. Following is a list of the cars with unique features about each. All of the cars had a roof option.
1979 Hurst/Olds black and gold

Rare factory moonroof

Rare black vinyl interior – drivers seat has a small hole from a broken spring

Chrome cover over the A/C pulley mounted with brass screws

Crack in the RH corner of the black dash pad

Switches mounted on the hood, trunk & doors from an old security system

Lock to actuate the old system is still located under the left parking light.

Also in this car that may be sold separately: 4) posters of Linda Vaughn and a 1983 copy of Hot Rod magazine with Warren Johnson on the cover w/autograph

1983 Hurst/Olds black

T-tops

All original 80K mile car

Complete numbers matching car

Maroon cloth interior

Small crack (¼") in the dash by the VIN

Eagle GT II tires with 500 miles

Black and white authentic 1979 Michigan plate with a 1983 sticker

1983 Hurst/Olds black

T-tops

Maroon cloth interior

Aftermarket stripes are more orange than the correct red

Jack storage decal in trunk has Doc Watson’s signature

H/O emblem on the dash has Linda Vaughn’s signature with hearts

Dash has minor crackling in the center area

1984 Hurst/Olds silver
Rare factory moonroof

Red light mounted in each wheel well for display purposes

Snaps around the underside of the hood used for attaching a cover.

Now it is time for us to find the thieves. Indianapolis News, channel 8 WISH TV did an interview with several H/OCA members including 1 of the victims. To view this clip go to WISHTV.com, click on "more stories" and then "four classic cars stolen". Anyone having information about any of these cars can contact Crime Stoppers at 317-262-TIPS or Judy Badgley at 517-645-7438 or djbadgley@gmail.com

Please pass this along to ALL of your car friends no matter what make and model they collect. Let’s make sure this doesn’t happen to someone else. KEEP TRACK ON EBAY AND CRAIGS LIST FOR THESE UNUSUAL CARS AND/OR PARTS!"

[damaged442]

This is a disgusting thing to hear. I hope they get these bastards and justice involves a prison cell with a guy who quotes from Deliverance.

[ragz442]

Sorry to hear. You think if it was just some hood rats wanting to donk some G bodies they'd just steal some drivers, seems there's still a few on the road still........doesn't make any sense. I bet they get caught.

[58thndy]

77442- for god's sake let the cops know where that "kustom" shop is. They may be totally innocent of this crime but then again they may be in on it. If they have nothing to hide, they're good. If they know something, the threat of arrest/jail time/shutting down their business may be enough to get them to talk.

[bmlvu97]

I was at the Hurst/Olds National Meet - one of the cars stolen was parked next to my parents '83 H/O. There was also a 5th car that was almost broken into (an 84, was dusted for prints, etc) but the attempt stopped due to the felons noticing some security devices on the car which was making it difficult to get the car started.

I heard last night that they were able to get a license plate on the truck that was involved (white heavy duty pickup) from the security cameras and that the truck bounced back and forth between the two hotels...lets hope that this leads to something.

One of the H/OCA members has issued a $10000 reward for the safe return of these cars.

Brian

[Firethorne77]

Just got back from being in Maine this weekend.

I am absolutely horrified to hear of this and feel soo sooo soooo darn awful for those owners of h/o's who had their cars " Kidnapped & raped ".
Quote me on that, because that is exactly what happened.

I am #$%^ bull #$%^% to see that this #$%& was done to our fellow Olds club members.

----------------------
So it puzzles me on the security side of things. What do owners do at a big meet? Do we pull batteries, wheel locks, steering locks.. LoJack??????
But once we modify our vehicles, it takes away from its originality, so besides outfitting our metal door handles with 1,000 volt tazer's hooked up to Optima batteries in the trunk, what can we do??? This is just depressing..

I hope the OCA membership gets alerted somehow.

[djb56]

The vin #'s would be a good thing to list. Woodward is comming up.

[MichiganMuscle77]

Our cars are highly sought after by the "gangsta thug" community. They don't know a f***ing thing about ownership, earning something through hard work, all they know is how to take something that someone else worked hard for.

I fear every day that my car will end up missing from my garage unit at my apartment. I have no doubt that if one of these "ghetto thugs" sees where I park it, an attempt will be made one of these days. This story just reminded me how easy it really is, and you bet I'll be taking preventative measures to keep my car tucked away nice and safe.

I wish the best of luck to the 4 H/O owners, I really hope the police can figure something out before it's too late.

[76Supreme455]

I am horrified as well as I hear more about this. I can certainly agree about these cars being highly sought after. I am in the process of getting my 88 Cutlass Supreme Classic ready to be my daily driver and I needed a few touch-ups here and there. I had it at a local body shop last week and the guy there told me, if I was going to drive it and park it everyday as a daily driver, that I better not leave home without a great alarm system, LoJack, and a club on the steering wheel. He said that without all that, it would be gone in a matter of days and he wasn't even sure if all that would stop them.

[sumrof75]

----------------------
So it puzzles me on the security side of things. What do owners do at a big meet? Do we pull batteries, wheel locks, steering locks.. LoJack??????
But once we modify our vehicles, it takes away from its originality, so besides outfitting our metal door handles with 1,000 volt tazer's hooked up to Optima batteries in the trunk, what can we do??? This is just depressing..

I hope the OCA membership gets alerted somehow.[/QUOTE]


Years ago I saw an as for a fuel line lock that was key opperated and could be discreetly hidden under a seat, floormat etc but have never laid eyes on it again and have been unlucky in finding it online. Any info from members here? On the same note this is a good thing to bring up, what can we do? I watched a news program once that spotlighted this. They loaded a car with every security device they could think of and let a "professional" thief loose on it, he had every device thwarted within minutes except one, an alarm with the wiring hidden entirely within the frame, probally can get around that now also.

[74hurstolds]

I think these online communities will help greatly catch these theifs. In the past networks like this didn't exist, but now there are 1000's of people keeping an eye out for parts that may turn up for sale.

Going forward I know that meets like this will have hired security and it is well worth paying the extra money for it and car theft devices. Also it won't hurt to have cameras setup, a German Sheppard and a friend named smith and wesson at home.

[keith455]

How about a key'd battery disconnect or some coil hot wire disconnect or just party/sleep in the parking lot ;)

[brad442]

I just received word the '79 H/O was recovered but partially stripped...
Hopefully the stripping or damage isn't too bad.

[Firethorne77]

Thanks for the update Brad

[Hurstolds1973]

Any one have any new info on these cars?

[brad442]

I had received this a few days ago:

"the '79 was found in Indianapolis, was missing wheels, interior, chrome, and the gold paint was rattle canned black..."

My guess is the thief knew exactly what they were looking for with stripping the Hurst goodies off the car. Wonder if they went on another car that needed them or they are soon to be sold on eBay, etc.

[74 H/O]

Were any of the other cars found?