Owner of a 1968 Corvette that was Stolen in ’69 and Recovered 37 Years Later Sells it for $40K

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Mitch Talley
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Owner of a 1968 Corvette that was Stolen in '69 and Recovered 37 Years Later Sells it for $40K


Back in 1968, some 78,000 cars were stolen in New York City, including one Corvette that turned out to be a very special case indeed.

Alan Poster had joined the C3 mania that year with the purchase of a LeMans Blue over blue 1968 Stingray convertible, but his pride of ownership proved to be short-lived.

After pulling a would-be thief out of the driver’s seat of his Corvette on Jan. 21, 1968 and letting him go, the 27-year-old Poster still found the car gone the very next day!

Owner of a 1968 Corvette that was Stolen in '69 and Recovered 37 Years Later Sells it for $40K


It would remain that way until 2005 when a routine inspection of a shipping container on the way to Sweden turned up an alert for a stolen car – Poster’s ’68 Corvette.

Unfortunately, the National Insurance Crime Bureau database didn’t have any information about Poster, not his name nor any other form of identification.

That’s when two detectives took over, spending four days in a microfilm archive room where they had to review 500 records and 20,000 files before miraculously finding Poster’s report on Dec. 23, 2005, barely a week before the Jan. 1, 2006 deadline set by the CBP or the car was going to Scandinavia anyway.

Owner of a 1968 Corvette that was Stolen in '69 and Recovered 37 Years Later Sells it for $40K


When contacted by the detectives, Poster at first thought they were kidding him, but it really turned out to be his beloved Corvette, though by now it had been painted gray with a red interior and a 427 engine resided under the hood in place of the original 327.

The return of the Corvette to its rightful owner was a big story in the media in 2006, and Poster fielded several offers from people wanting to buy it from him, including $100,000 from comedian Jerry Lewis.

Owner of a 1968 Corvette that was Stolen in '69 and Recovered 37 Years Later Sells it for $40K


He instead embarked on an effort to return the car to the way he had bought it, installing a vintage 327 from the same year and of course restoring its intended blue-over-blue color scheme.

Sadly, he drove the car barely 100 miles past the 60,000 that had been on the odometer when authorities discovered it in 2005. Now in his 80s, Poster recently decided it was time to let go of his prodigal Stingray, taking $40,000 and sending it to a new home.

Owner of a 1968 Corvette that was Stolen in '69 and Recovered 37 Years Later Sells it for $40K


In case you’re wondering, police were never able to track back the car’s history to discover who the thief was, and all of the subsequent owners after Poster were exonerated as they didn’t know they were buying a stolen car.


Source:
Bring a Trailer via AutoEvolution.com

Related:
Stolen Corvette Now Restored, Ready for New Life
Stolen Corvette Returned After 37 Years
[STOLEN] Texas Man Turns Himself In After Allegedly Stealing a 1968 Corvette 45 Years Ago

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