Thanks car show thief....

... For reminding we don't live in a Pollyannaish world.

... For reminding me bad things can happen to good people.

... For reminding to stay with my car at the show.

... For reminding me to lock my doors and windows.

... For making me think to leave my car home since it won't trophy anyway.

... For taking my cigar lighter since I don't smoke anyway.

... For reminding me to check e-bay so I can bid on my stolen part.

thanks everybody, I feel better now.

Steve

What the heck is going on at the Washington swap meets, lately? We need to be more alert. That's the second case of theft I have heard about from there in the last few months.

I hope it is defective and it explodes in his hand. I was at a little local show a few weeks ago. Really nice Buick somewhere around a 62-62 (can't remember). AACA junior award winner. The guy parked next to him was leaving and his kid opened his door right into the Buick and chipped the paint. Drove off without saying a word. Luckily there were lots of witnesses and they got his plate number and called the police. Maybe the driver didn't know. You would never expect that someone displaying their car would have such disregard for another persons car. That is why my 41 Desoto is not perfect (haha, at least that is what I tell myself so I don't have to paint it).

Yep, you always take a chance unfortunately. While none of our past or present collector cars would be "perfect" I feel the same. We had our '68 Cutlass at a local cruise night, another similar car next to us, so we get talking - well, the other car's owner's daughter gets impatient, she kind of climbs/leans on her family's car, and kicks backwards into ours, while no damage was done, clueless/afraid to discipline parents just sat there. Last cruise night we have attended with anything. Generally we stick to the shows that draw the older stuff, and marque specific events not usually open to the public. Not a gaurantee but a lot less "pawing" - not unlike the "public property" thread, I am just not so sure I need to be an "ambassador for the hoby" anymore with the general public... On the theft, amazing boldness of some of these people, if it is not bolted down, it is not safe, unfortunately...

I used to hit the cruise night scene hot and heavy. Where I live near Chicago, you literally can not only attend a cruise night every night of the week, but you have your choice each night of which one to go to. Now I haven't been to a cruise night in 3-4 years. For the most part, they seem to be hot rod infested, the other car owners have already formed their cliques, and the general public is clueless and careless. I much prefer attending an actual show. Generally speaking, the other people who attend a show at least have some interest in the cars, and even a token small registration fee seems to help keep out the riff raff.

on saturday i went to a show here in SC and it was suppose to be top 30 winners (80 cars) picked by someone all us guys never saw.what a joke. one pick was a 2013 GMC P/U and not my frieds beautiful 31 chevy . and not me either. how can they pick all these street rods (which are very nice) but no old original or restored cars. just had to vent.

on saturday i went to a show here in SC and it was suppose to be top 30 winners (80 cars) picked by someone all us guys never saw.what a joke. one pick was a 2013 GMC P/U and not my frieds beautiful 31 chevy . and not me either. how can they pick all these street rods (which are very nice) but no old original or restored cars. just had to vent.

Not to hijack but I had a similar experience. 770 cars and 7 pre 1954. All winners were hot rods my 1931 Cabriolet never got a mention.

Wayne

Guys, I think it is a question of venue. If you like muscle & hot rods, or later model modifieds, cruise nights seem to be the way to go; along with certain shows (at least in our area) that draw those cars. Nothing wrong with that, but if you like unmodified Antiques, Full Classics or Sports cars; best to focus on the venues that cater to those types of cars. Not saying one is better, just that the hobby (if it is one hobby) is so big, you will be less likely to be dissapointed if you are selective with venue. I also agree with the comment that a fee, even if nominal, makes a big difference in crowd.

Then again, some guys like to show up with an interesting antique, just for something different at a cruise night type event. If you just cannot stay away maybe you will make a new friend or two who appreciates your car and knowedge, etc. that may be more fun than receiving a ten dollar trophy from somoene whose knowledge of the hobby is limited to his cousin's Mustang with fancy wheels on it that he rode in occasionally 20 years ago... ;-)

The thieves are with us everywhere. Forty years ago we had a camper business. In March we took 4 fold down campers to a RV show at a mall. We opened up the front and folded the flaps back to show the interior. I caught a guy inside one taking the door handles off with a screw driver. I was about 30, didn't handel it well, and someone called the mall security and police. This was in a town of about 40,000 at least 30 miles from a town of any size.

When I show a car now, I normally stay with the car to talk with people. Never thought of the need to deal with thieves.

Then, again..... years ago at a custom and rod show... a couple low-riders and rice racers showed up. ALL of them had those 1000 stereos which they cranked up every half-hour or so. When time came for trophies, one young teen felt overlooked and threw a fit because "I spent $20 grand on my stereo and didn't win a trophy!" I reminded him it was a car show, not an audio show. The promoter asked them all to not return next year, as they were louder than the band he had hired to entertain the crowd.

You can run into careless "me first people" anywhere you go, even at AACA Shows. 35 years ago I had my first 34 Ford in a AACA Show and didn't leave my hood open and was away from the car. Some A----le named Frank P----es decided to open my hood an judge my car. Well he didn't remove the flag holder under the Greyhound (Radiator cap)and it scraped the paint knocked the Greyhound off and broke his leg off.

I don't blame AACA or the Show, I blame that A----le and usually I say his name, but on the Internet, I'll be polite. I kept going to shows but try to mark my windshield card "Please DO NOT JUDGE!!!". Never had anything stolen and fingerprints usually come off with elbow grease.

It's true that the cars and the people are younger now, but that makes it more fun to talk about the really old cars.

Where in WA did this happen? I've noticed that overall crime has worsened in the Vancouver area.

Where in WA did this happen? I've noticed that overall crime has worsened in the Vancouver area.

Do you mean Vancouver, WA near the Oregon (Portland) border or Vancouver, CA? Vancouver, WA is now just a suburb of Portland with all the crime, drugs and gang issues that come along with it from what I read in the news.

Do you mean Vancouver, WA near the Oregon (Portland) border or Vancouver, CA? Vancouver, WA is now just a suburb of Portland with all the crime, drugs and gang issues that come along with it from what I read in the news.

Vancouver WA. Washingtonians would like to think that Vancouver is not a suburb of Portland. It's separated by a state line and a major river. The only thing connecting it to Portland are the I-5 and I-205 bridges and the crime coming in from Portland.

Vantucky, WA

This thread doesn't have to be so negative, guys.

The person who scratched someone's paint years ago

probably realized right then and there, whether he

admitted it or not, that he made a tremendous goof.

No one holds grudges for a lifetime, I hope! That

malignant thought hurts the hater far more than the hated.

"As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."

Reading this thread, would anyone realize what a great hobby we have?

This thread doesn't have to be so negative, guys.

The person who scratched someone's paint years ago

probably realized right then and there, whether he

admitted it or not, that he made a tremendous goof.

No one holds grudges for a lifetime, I hope! That

malignant thought hurts the hater far more than the hated.

"As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."

Reading this thread, would anyone realize what a great hobby we have?

The theft occurred at the Everett waterfront car show. I wasn't with my car for virtually the whole day, so shame on me. I had a great time meeting other owners and friends, next time I'm away like that I'll lock it up. If this is the worst thing that happens to me in my life, I'm laughing! I try to imagine who would have dunnit? A kid? A sleaze bag? A sleaze bag kid?

I like what John S said about grudges. If you hate someone, does that mean you win? So I am begrudgingly removing the pins from my voodoo doll and going on with my life. This is a great hobby and nothing will change that.

and with all due respect it was not the wisest thing to do leaving your car unattended for the whole day ! Maybe not asking for trouble but very close !

Wayne

The theft occurred at the Everett waterfront car show. I wasn't with my car for virtually the whole day, so shame on me. I had a great time meeting other owners and friends, next time I'm away like that I'll lock it up. If this is the worst thing that happens to me in my life, I'm laughing! I try to imagine who would have dunnit? A kid? A sleaze bag? A sleaze bag kid?

I like what John S said about grudges. If you hate someone, does that mean you win? So I am begrudgingly removing the pins from my voodoo doll and going on with my life. This is a great hobby and nothing will change that.

I strongly suspect that someone with a similar car needed some spare parts and had exhausted all other methods of acquiring them. I expect that every time he drives his car with your stolen parts in it, he will feel a pang of regret/sadness/guilt/remorse, but probably not joy. Ill-gotten gains are never sweet, no matter how hard someone's heart.

I recall going to the 75th anniversary Buick meet in 1977 with my father and his good friend in Flint, MI. That friend had a gorgeous 1936 Roadmaster convertible sedan in whose back seat I rode most of the way from Cleveland to Flint. After a night in our hotel, we came out to find the metal sidemount covers and center posts for the convertible sedan top had been stolen. That was not random thievery or mischief, it was a guy missing those absolutely unobtainable parts from his own car stealing them from someone else. The absolute lowest of the low. I was only 7 years old, and I spent the rest of the weekend scanning the crowd for those bright cream-colored sidemount covers. I was as furious as a 7-year-old could be at the injustice and indignity of the whole thing.

I don't feel like we should have to guard our cars at shows and I don't want to live in a world where we have to. Things like this are still rather rare anomalies. They totally suck and I, too, would be outraged, but I'm not going to blame the victim for not locking his car up at a car show or babysitting it all day. Perhaps there's less respect in there world today than there used to be, but I'm not yet ready to throw in the towel on humanity in general and car guys in particular just because of one or two sad events. I parked our 1947 Dodge Power Wagon at last Sunday's show with the hood open and the doors open (literally, not just unlocked) then walked the show, got some lunch, and did other things. I refuse to live afraid.

I'm still sorry to hear about this, it really stinks.

I hear what you are saying Matt but I bet you don't leave your house unlocked when you leave for the day ! Is there really a difference and if you did and returned to find your television gone would you think some of the fault rested on your shoulders ! I know I would.

Wayne

I yearn for the days when a person was hung for stealing a horse. Swift and sure punishment for your illegal or immoral deed.

I'll bet that guy who was caught stealing the door handle off that camper didn't do it again! I think all the fingers of his hand broken with the words 'Failed Thief' in bright red on his cast for a month or so would be a significant deterrent to any future theft.

I've always wished I could catch someone running their keys down the side of a car or truck.. lets just say that I'd probably be in jail afterwards.

But that person would never 'key' a car again.

The lack of respect for other people's property from some of the people in our country is amazing.

Thankfully I live in a fairly rural area where this type of behavior is rare. And I rarely go to big public events.

GLong

We all long for and pray for a perfect world but our jails, youth offender facilities and prisons are full of opportunists that have proven us to be wrong and naive. Now that we know it is not a perfect world we must protect ourselves against the efforts of the opportunists and one of those measures is to safeguard and protect our valuables. When we leave our valuables unprotected we are virtually asking for trouble.

Wayne

I picked up a copy of a 1936 newspaper of the city ( same year as my car) at an antique store a couple years ago. Inside was an special section celebrating the new Weyerhaeuser mill on the waterfront. The mill is now gone. This car show is on that same ground and I carefully laid the paper open on the front seat so people curious enough to look inside might be rewarded by a little area history. I saw a lady peering inside reading it and asked her about it. She was delighted to find this connection!

I will return next year to this show and maybe play amateur historian again. But I'm unscrewing the shift knob and puttin it in my pocket.

sad to say we are seeing, as the years go by, a general loss of what my generation called "civility". These days, I am not sure, when my collector era car is in a public area, which is the greater danger, thieves, or just people who do not have the same standards of good manners that my generation has (or had ! ).

My recommendation is to recognize the above - which simply means we have to be more vigilant. And, remember, folks, no matter how much YOU value your car, it is only property, and you dare not think of violence to protect it.

I appreciate the sentiment about forgiving but until you have been violated by a thief, you can not understand. I have had things stolen and a couple cars that mean the world to me taken. There is no way I could or would stand idly by and shrug it off. That is what enables a thief to continue. this is one of those things that work on paper, but in real life, not so much.

When I leave my car the hood ornament goes in the trunk show or now show.

A friend of mine had a rare part stolen from his vintage Rolls Royce at a RR event! Goes to show there are scum bags at every level of society. When I was a child, people left their houses unlocked not just their cars. The world has changed and not in a good way but on a more optimistic note, crime in Britain has been falling consistently for several years now.

I just hope I don't wake up tomorrow to find half my Country has been nicked. (Scottish independence). :mad:

Ray.

An isolated very small town where I used to work,

where people feel comfortable leaving their car keys

in the ignition when parking on the street, is small

enought that people all tend to know one another.

It was the 1990's, I recall, when some crooked out-of-towner

must have thought the town's sole bank would be a pushover

to hold up. While the would-be thief was in the bank, a couple

of men on the street sensed that something wasn't right. They

moved their car so that the thief's parallel-parked vehicle was blocked.

When the thief saw his getaway vehicle unavailable, he ran out of

town into the nearby woods, where townsfolk pursued him. He

threatened to shoot, but since they saw no gun, they were steadfast

in pursuit. They knocked him to the ground and he was caught!

The town has about 800 people and is surrounded by mile after mile

of deep woods and camps. There can indeed be unity and justice,

and crime never has the last word.

Just heard today Seattle Police announced auto theft has increased 44% since the first of the year. I just need to be glad I still have my car!

My over all experience with the car people, especially the pre-war group is that the are the greatest demographic group that I have been associated with. Of all of the transactions, etc, there has been only one person that has not done what he said he would do. Overall a good average. Now when you get into the newer stuff I believe there is a shift.

A friend of mine has a 67 Chevelle and was at a car show. As he sat on one side of his car watching it and the show, someone stole the hub caps on the other side and almost made off with the shifter knob.

Crazy stuff.

It's unfortunate that issues like this can happen... I learned the hard way.... I spent 14 years ( when time & money was available ) restoring my '69 Chevrolet. There was a big Concours Car Show event up in Vermont that summer, my wife and I decided it would be a great to take the Chevrolet to it's first show. Due to the distance, we decided to rent a open car trailer and stay over night. The Saturday show was great, had a lot of people coming up to me and asking questions about the car and thanking me for bringing the car to the show - it made me feel great ! After the show, I loaded the car back on the trailer and parked it in the designated parking area for car trailers only. The following day while checking all the tie down straps before making our trip back home, I noticed that someone went down the entire drivers side quarter panel and over the trunk lid with their hand... a hand that had a ring / wedding band attached.... needless to say, the person scratch the clear coat. Talk about being heart broken... this happen 3 years ago, I took care of the scratches and I continued to take the car to some of the local car shows in my area to this day. I would be lying to say that I got over it, it still bothers me that someone would be so inconsiderate of someone else's property , now I never leave any of my vehicles unattended!

It really saddens me to see people who don't Appreciate the time love and effort that goes into these cars, and the stunning art that these cars exemplify and embody, It truly does. Even as a quite young antique auto enthusiast, it pains me to see the people who disregard the craftsmanship and honest work, that represents these automobiles, just to make a quantitive albeit illegal sum of money. The world needs more people who really care about these cars, enough to understand that these cars mean more than numbers, that these cars tell both the stories of times past and of those who cared enough look past the rust and dents and rips and tears to see the soul that lay within. Those who cared enough to tow them away a rusting hulk, to love them as if they were new. Those who kept working even as the sun dipped below the horizon, their grinder casting sparks onto the pavement. We need more of those people, the fact is the world needs more of those people. Compatriots, it is in times like these when we see the dark side of humanity, that we realize how blessed we are to be seated among friends, where I can proudly hold my head high, start my engine, and ride off into the sunset, knowing that you people here truly care for the core of the real automotive experience.

Thank you AACA

-Freddy

"we shall fight them on the beaches,

we shall fight them on the landing grounds,

we shall fight them in the fields and in the streets,

we shall fight them in the hills;

we shall never surrender.........";)