It's not about a Chev but a great car song nevertheless:
Posted on 08/02/2012 8:53:43 AM PDT by Impala64ssa
Two purveyors of fake Chevrolet muscle are looking at trials on felony charges after their respective scams fell apart.
In Columbus, Nebraska, it was a 1970 Chevelle SS 396 which the seller, Mickey Dush, allegedly bought from a Florida collector-car dealer for $37,500, equipped with a fake build sheet he bought online and a 454 of unknown vintage, and then sold as an LS6 to an Iowa man for $87,000. It wasn’t until after the sale that the buyer’s wife found a VIN decoder and determined the car’s true origins. According to the Columbus Telegram, Dush’s lawyer will claim the buyer failed his due diligence in researching the car, but right now Dush is looking at theft by deception, a Class III felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
Investigator Gene A. True from the Nebraska State Patrol Auto Fraud Division said that it’s difficult to sell such white-collar crimes to prosecutors used to seeing violent crimes. “When I first got this case, I told the victim it was a crime, but we’re going to have to sell it to a prosecutor,” he said. ”There are shysters out there who know it’s safer to steal money with a pen than with a gun.”
(Excerpt) Read more at blog.hemmings.com ...
I friend of mine had a 4 door ‘66 Impala he got original from his granfather that had a 396. I rebuilt the quadrajet for him and helped replace the starter.
I missed out on the musclecar era; I wasn’t old enough to drive back then, having been born in 1967. And these days I can’t afford one now that the really good ones have appreciated.
The only V8-powered car I’ve owned so far was a ‘80 Cutlass sedan with a 260 under the hood. It made less power than the 1.6L four-banger in my Miata (although it did make a lot more torque), and it still only managed about 16mpg on the highway. This car holds the dubious distinction of being the only car I’ve ever owned that caught fire. Unfortunately, we saved it from burning to the ground...
I’m pretty sure the original Impala SS could be ordered with a 427...
After doing a bit of research, it appears I misspoke. The 427 wasn’t offered until ‘66; prior to that the top engine option in the Impala SS was a 409 (through mid-’65) or a 396 (mid-’65 to the end of ‘65).
I once bought a used GMC 3500 pickup & 33’ 5th wheel RV. The truck pulled the big camper well, but I didn’t think much of it. The Jimmy had a 402 Big Block, dually’s, 11,000 lb axle, etc.
One camping trip I dropped the camper (for the first time) at the campground and went to town for groceries.
Whoooeee, that puppy would get down the road!
It's not about a Chev but a great car song nevertheless:
There was a sticker on the air cleaner that said 396/425.
The 396/425 was not uncommon in ‘65 Biscayne sedans used as drag racers.
I’m not certain, but I think my ‘66 was built in ‘65 based on the motor. It had the massive 4 bbl, solid lifters and turned in an honest 8 miles per gallon.
Seriously, I know what you mean, There are probably more ‘67 “Shelbys” and ‘65 “GTOs” on the road now than were built. Who says you can’t turn lead into gold.
My 396/425 was in a ‘66 Caprice. I was the second owner.
The first owner had ordered it in bronze/red with white buckets and automatic on the floor. Full mufflers, resonators and white wall tires completed the “dad’s car” look. Until it was fired up and the herky-jerky idle gave it away, that is.
Ah, the sweet sound of a big-block with a big cam...
The owner of a particularly nasty GTO “Judge” found out.
As long as the subject has been changed from Chevys...
I had a girl friend (as opposed to a girlfriend) back in 1966 who went with her mom to the Plymouth dealer to buy a new car. Ended up talking her mom into a 4 door 426 Hemi Fury III. (Her dad had a few word when they got home, IIRC)
Suzi was a cute strawberry blond who would delight in pulling up next to some guy at a light, smile sweetly, and proceed to blow his doors off.
We called her the “Little old lady from Pasadena”.
With fake VIN tags and fake build sheets, it’s really hard to tell what is fake and what’s genuine. Once something becomes expensive enough there will always be talented crooks who will create a fake that is pretty much as good as the original.
The early Pontiac GTO was just an option package on the Tempest, so there are no special VIN numbers for those GTOs. One automotive expert once mentioned that out of the original 32,000 1964 GTOs there were only 100,000 still in existence. Caveat Emptor indeed.
Good song
Good story.
Those were the days.....
Hey, it’s 2012! Never mind the HPs, how did it rate for CO2 emissions? /sarc (I think)
whats most embarassing is that the guys wife decoded it after the sale - can you imagine the fireworks - You spent 87k on a fraud, honey - sleep on the couch
I had a girl try to blow my doors off, but she didn’t get past my rocks.
Yes, I came in here just to say that and leave. Sorry.
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