SO YOU OWN A CLASSIC CAR. Do you really?

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1 SO YOU OWN A CLASSIC CAR. Do you really? During the sixties & seventies vehicle thefts were at an all-time high. The Metropolitan police were so concerned they had a dedicated Stolen Vehicle Squad. At the top of the criminal s wish list were cars like the Jaguar, Granada & Cortina. A well-known manufacturer produced body shells without Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN), the criminal fraternity quickly realised that if they stole a car or bought a write off they could re-shell the car & sell it as a used car. The criminals then realised if they stole a vehicle they could put a Registration Number from a write off onto the stolen car, cut out the VIN number from the stolen car, weld in a new section of metal & sell the now ringed car without the expense of rebuilding a write off or buying a new body shell. One scam using this process involved the criminals buying a secondhand car, Usually blue in colour, then buying three blue write offs of the same make. They would then use the original roadworthy car for several months, then they would contact the insurer & claim the car had been involved in a damage only collision. The insurer would send out its claims representative. By now write off No1 had been given the number plates from the roadworthy car, its VIN had been removed & replaced with a metal plate, this was not uncommon at the time as the vehicle repair industry would re-shell or repair & remove the VIN in the process. The number plates from write off ONE had now been put on the roadworthy car, the DVLA of the time was then informed the vehicle had been repaired & put back on the road. Every three to four months the activity would be repeated using the registration numbers from the other write offs. Easy Money. The insurer would pay out, there was no third party involved in the alleged accident or as a purchaser of the ringed car. It was almost impossible to tell which car was which so when the scam needed to end, the roadworthy car was scrapped. But it was never really destroyed! The crafty criminals would then take all the best parts from the three write offs & the roadworthy car, buy a new body shell from the manufacturer with no VIN number, then assemble a mongrel car. It would then have the speedometer from the lowest mileage write off fitted & be sold on the second hand car market. Other well-known manufacturers had screw on VIN numbers or riveted on VIN plates. These were easily removed & could be swopped around with Registration Numbers. 1

2 So do you really own a classic car? Or do you own a stolen ringed vehicle? You may feel your car is perfectly legal & is original, OR you may now be feeling a little queasy, you may by now have that nagging doubt as you consider that weld repair to the offside front suspension leg or the front chassis cross member. There are some simple tests you can undertake to put your mind at rest. 1. What is the colour of your car? Colour is one of the most difficult things to change on a car. In order to fully change the colour you will need to either re-shell the car or have it stripped & dipped. If we consider the re-shell the criminal has taken time, trouble & expense but you can bet s/he has cut corners on glass & trim. (To be discussed later) If they have only had the car re-sprayed then inside the doors, under the dash & inside the chassis box sections the original colour will still be present. Now we all know that classic car owners will spray a car & change the colour, but if there is provenance with the car it is usually possible to find out when the colour was changed & by which owner. IF you can trace the colour change then this is a hint that all is well. (A HINT) 2. Has the chassis been welded? OK, I know, all classics are likely to have had some welding. But has there been welding where the VIN number is/was situated? If so is there signs of why the welding was done? Has there been an accident? Has a large section of bodywork been cut out? If so would this be part of the cars history of repairs. EG: MOT fail on serious corrosion of a chassis leg or floor pan. The ability to track repairs & to trace them to a part of the car where a VIN should be helps to hint at authentic repairs. 3. Has the glass been replaced? Many people know that vehicle glass bears the date it was made. The dating is in code, but if all the glass (Apart from front screens that are susceptible to breakage) has the same kite mark with all the same information, then this is another hint that all is well. Changing all the glass on a car is an expensive process & criminals do not like to spend money. 4. Is the wiring original? Many classic car owners are unaware that all wiring looms produced by Lucas are dated. They are dated by the colour of the loom outer casing & the tags on the loom. If all loom sections are the same colour on the outer fabric cases & all the tags have the same colour & information on them, then this is another hint that all is well. Are you perspiring yet? 5. We now move to mechanical components. Are the mechanics original to the car? 2

3 OK, OK, I know! The chances of an older classic having its original engine are not as high as we might like. It was common for a new car in the sixties & seventies to need an engine replacement as soon as it was put on the road. The garage I used to work for had at least two engines in the stores for each model they sold. Gearboxes were more likely to break than the bulbs. As for the electrics. A prolific electric component manufacturer didn t have the reputation as the Dark Night for nothing. But it is not a well-known fact that almost all mechanical parts could be traced back to the place of manufacture. Bearings in gearboxes were given serial numbers by the manufacturers, items milled or cut on a lathe could be traced back due to the type of cut the tools had made. Steel sections of bodywork could be identified by thickness. Glass could be measured for density & clarity, this would determine where it was produced. Now I know you are not all forensic scientists. But you know your car well enough to know if it is fitted with the components that hint at the age of the car. Certain cars of a certain year would have a moulding on the bell housing, certain engines will be known to have a rough surface on the block, whereas the previous engine had a smooth surface, or the back axle has a certain type of filler plug for the year of the car. These are things we owners get to know about, they are things we look for to give us confidence in our vehicle or to cause us to be wary of early or sudden mechanical failure when in use. Back in the 50 s & 60 s the police decided to ask manufacturers to supply them with information about how cars were manufactured & how parts were supplied to each vehicle in the range. They also asked the Vehicles Excise Offices to provide owner details. When Britain had a Police Force that worked (My opinion) the police used common sense. This entailed a simple but effective thought process. If my car breaks & I need a part for it how does the garage know how to supply me with the right part if the car is at my house? How can I prove to the police I own this car? Simple questions. Not simple answers. When a car is produced it has its VIN number, there is a colour code & plate fitted to the car & of course it has a registration number. Now in these days of computers & data based information it s a simple matter of searching the data base by using the VIN or Registration Number. Hey Presto! A 2007 Ford KA fitted with alternator serial number: producing 14.5volts with belt pulley number (Simples) Now cast your mind back to films you have seen where the police have no radio when they are on the beat. There is no one in the local vehicle tax office after 4.30pm and the garages are closed at 5pm. Better still for the criminal, there is only one police car covering the entire City or County. If a police officer on foot patrol stopped a car after 5pm & he was suspicious about the driver being the owner he had little or no chance of getting information about the car from the garage, Vehicle tax office or any other person that may have knowledge of the car. He would have to take the driver & the car to the nearest police phone box, ring his station & ask if the car had been reported stolen. If there was no stolen report, he had to let the driver & car go. So, the police being cunning & using common sense, established in each force area a collator s office. This office was open 24hrs a day, seven days a week. In the office there was one man. A senior constable 3

4 with a wealth of local knowledge. It was his job to gather (Collate) information about local criminals, Place information on records that could be accessed at any time & obtain & store information from car manufacturers about their vehicles identity systems. When the collator was not on duty the officer in charge of the police station had a key to his office & could obtain information when it was asked for by the beat officers. The equivalent of today s PNC. This information centre proved to be very effective with many car thieves wondering how the beat P.C. could have details of the car s owner, VIN & other identifying features. Worse still the P.C. knew where he lived & all his previous convictions. (He was nicked) As time passed the manufacturers were more involved in the fight against car crime. They started fitting anti-theft devices such as steering locks. Keys became a little more sophisticated & door lock systems were changed to make them less vulnerable. The car thief was always walking alongside the manufacturer s updates & as cars were coming on stream the thief was already one step ahead & capable of breaching the security. In the late 90 s a certain executive car was a prime target for the car thieves. They stole the car, removed the chassis leg with the VIN number on it. Fitted a new leg & stolen number plates from a similar car, then sold the car on the auction circuit. It wasn t until the car was stopped by the police & the tax / ownership checked that it transpired there were two vehicles with the same Registration Number on the road. DVLA systems were unable at that time to recognise two applications for excise duty for the same car. This can t happen now according to the DVLA. (Seeing is believing) If you are able to afford & your car has all the required evidence to support it, it may be possible to apply for a Heritage Certificate. At the same time you can apply to the DVLA for the history of your car. To have this information in place will not only give you some security should there ever be a knock at the door, but it will also enhance the value of your classic car. For anyone in the club who may be interested, I have in my possession books used by the police to locate, on many makes of car, where the identification numbers should be. The books also provide information about the VIN numbers & what the codes mean. I also have information that guides you through the glass dating process. Anyone with a classic motor cycle may also be interested in similar information about British & early Japanese Motor Cycles. The books will be made available only on club nights & on a prior-notice basis. It would be nice if anyone wishing to view the books would make a small donation to the club charity fund. If you wish to discuss classic car security please send your questions to Bob at the PSCMGOC & I will attempt to provide you with some basic solutions. It is important whatever security system you use, you keep it to yourself. For those of you now perspiring profusely I have no answer to your concerns, other than if you are not happy with your car take it to a classic car dealer who specialises in your particular marque & seek their professional advice. REMEMBER the insurance company that have paid out on a stolen vehicle always remain the legal owner. It is up to the present keeper of the vehicle to prove to a Court they applied Due Diligence when they purchased the car & they acted in good faith. 4

5 Insurance companies are not well known for their generosity when re-claiming items they have paid out on. They usually negotiate a financial settlement with the present keeper, but this will be based on the present value. In the case of some classic cars this can be a lot of money. Finally once you become aware of the possibility you now own a stolen car, if you fail to inform the authorities you render yourself liable to prosecution for fraud. This is based on the act of failing to inform the insurance company & by this act you render the company liable to financial loss. Heavy Stuff. 5