Catch a Thief!

[Mark Shaw]

You may not know Garyl Turley from Wichita, KS., but he is a past

national HCCA president and an originator of the REO 1 & 2 Cylinder

Registry. His car barn was burglarized a few days ago. They took

his red open trailer which was loaded with swap meet parts that he

had down at Chickasha last fall. There was an unrestored complete

1916 Model T engine, a power glide transmission, and an early rear &

front end off of ??? among other things on the trailer. They took a

considerable amount of brass. Included were a newly restored sets of

Solar No. 41 and Solar 41A sidelights. One set had magnifier lenses.

A repo set of brass E & J side & taillights for his 1912 Model T; a

brass Corcoran tail light off of his 1909 2-cylinder REO; ALL his

inventory of repo Vintique motometers, radiator caps, mirrors,

hubcaps, etc. that he took to swap meets (4 large blue plastic

storage boxes); all the brass (manganese bronze) castings he had

such as Neverout taillight brackets, castings for early 1 cylinder

Cadillac and 1 & 2 cylinder REO's (pedals, seat brackets, body irons

for the top, etc.), and early Model T's (1912 rear fender irons,

rear frame cast brackets). Approx. 3 dozen head, side & tail lights

(1920's on back) he had purchased from the Jasper Wigglesworth

collection. Plus his modern tools, 2 air compressors, paint guns,

buffers, and floor jack. If you see or hear of anything such as

this "surfacing", please call Garyl or Linda at (316) 832-0994.

Posted by Verne Shirk for Garyl. (For those of you who don't know

him he was left blind after an antique car accident in Y2K.) I know

this isn't directly Buick related but it is brass era. You never

know where this stuff may show up. He would appreciate it if you

could keep an eye out for any suspicious activity such as people

trying to sell a large amount of Vintique part, brass lights, etc.

Thanks!

Verne Shirk

Wichita, KS

Let's not let the thief sell that powerglide transmission on this site without getting caught!

[59 98]

I will definately keep my eyes and ears open! That angers me beyond words. Why can't people just do an honest day's work and make money to buy stuff rather than go and steal someone else's? I recently had two Buicks (a 58 and a 67) stolen from me here in Wichita, which I found the next day and promptly exposed a ring of car thieves (who were all arrested), so I have no patience for people like these. It most likely was someone who knew what he had or what he did for a hobby, but believe me that large amount of very unique items can't stay a secret for long. Even the brass and copper scrappers will smell something very fishy if someone rolls up with hundreds of 20's era automotive parts to sell.

I'll let you know if I hear anything,

Matt

[Dandy Dave]

Will keep on the lookout! A friend of mine had a rare carburetor one time that I knew he had. I was doing a restoration for a customer and needed it and called him to ask if he still had it. He said that he did not sell it and it was out in the barn. I went to see him to purchase it and it we found that it had walked away! He said that someone else asked about it only days before and he showed it to them but they were unwilling to pay his price. He thought that they must have come back when he was not home and took it. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />The problem is that it can not be proven. Dave!

[Mark Shaw]

Update:

Below is an updated list of what we know of that is gone.

20' Car Trailer with wood floor, red in color

Pair of Solar 41 brass sidelights with magnifier lenses - restored

Pair of Solar 41A brass sidelights - restored

1911-12 E&J brass head, side & taillights - complete set, new

Pair of Dietz "flat-back" sidelights - restored

Gray & Davis Bullet taillight - restored

Small side mount acetylene generator - restored

Steering Column single twist horn without bracket - restored

Approx. 1 dozen "no-name" headlights 1911-13 era unrestored

Model T engine/transmission - assembled - 1916 casting date -

unrestored

Powerglide Transmission - aluminum case unrestored

Rusty front & rear axle with spindles & hub - wood spoke hubs 1910? -

unknown brand

"Fordeaze" (sp?) Model T shock absorbers - front & rear

1912 REO rear fenders and carburetor

6 large light blue Rubbermaid tubs full of swap meet vendor items -

mostly Vintique items for brass era cars with prices written on the

box with felt tip marker. New Motometers; radiator caps, patent

plates, hubcaps for Model T's; round & rectangular mirrors; Model A

Quail radiator caps; bulb horn set-ups; brass speedometer cables;

cloisonne radiator emblems for Chevrolet, Durant, Star, & others;

brass scripts for REO, Buick, Cadillac, and Chevrolet that had been

cut out by water jet but not finished yet; and new 1-cyl. REO

hubcaps.

Castings: Neverout Tag Brackets; early Cadillac & REO step plates;

fender irons for 1912 Model T rear; brake, reverse pedals for early

REO & Cadillac; rear corner frame brackets for early Model T; head,

side & taillight forks off of various early cars; steering wheel

spiders. Most pieces have prices written on them.

2 plywood boxes - 3' square, 2' high misc. Unrestored Model T parts

Swap meet plywood tables with black/yellow plastic sawhorses

5 hp vertical Craftsman air compressor - red

Approx. 2 hp horizontal Craftsman air compressor - green

2 Craftsman paint guns, 1 Binks paint gun, 1 touch-up gun

3 Craftsman rolling tool chests with tools - one with a lot of taps

& ties, metal lathe tools, dial indicators, micrometers up to 5",

calipers

Skill saw, drill motors, air staplers, air sanders, polisher/buffer,

various Meguiars polishing compounds, extension cords

John Deere riding lawnmower Model _x85 and weed eater

Verne Shirk

Wichita, KS

Keep your eyes pealed....

[Mark Shaw]

As of 1/18/07, there appears to be some progress on the Turley

burglary. Detectives called to say there has been a major "bust" of a

drug/burglary ring which encompassed 3 counties in Kansas. It was

said that this is the largest of this type in the history of this

area. Apparently some of the stuff has already been identified as

belonging to the Turley's.

Verne Shirk

Wichita, KS

[Guest imported_Thriller]

That's good to hear. At least if they get caught and get appropriate penalties, perhaps they'll learn that crime doesn't pay...if they don't they probably don't want to get me angry in a dark alley....