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 owned a ‘66 full size Chevy with the L-78 motor. It was a 396 rated at 425 horsepower at the time. Probably closer to 500 HP...
1) I didn’t realize Chevy was still selling the 396 in 1970.
2) I believe GM’s fastest car was the Buick GS455 Stage 4.
3) I had a friend who had a 454 in a land yacht 4 door Impala and it still moved along.
4) When you buy a classic car, the first thing you do is check the VIN. Ideally, you want the engine serial number to match the VIN although if you deck the block, you can punch in any number you want. The VIN tells you the trim level, the engine, the paint code, year and of course serial number. I don’t have much sympathy for someone who failed to check the VIN against the numerous Internet sites that will decode it for you. I would laugh if the engine code showed it actually came with a six cylinder.
Now that Chevy’s a divison of 0bama motors, if I ever buy another new car, I seriously thinking of going Korean, Hyundai or Kia.
I had one of those... it was amazing
Put a bullet in each knee cap, then start discussing getting totally repaid or you move to other joints. /S
Not that I am condoning that.
I believe the 396 was never rated over 400HP and the LS78 was 375.
I don’t know what year they changed the HP rating, it was rated at the crankshaft and now is real wheel HP.
I think (from memory) the 427 tri power was rated at 425. The Mopar 426 Hemi was only rated at 425 as well and the 440 6-pack was 420.
You’re right about them not releasing the real horsepower, they tried to fool the insurance companies by de-rating their engines. Didn’t work.
Yes, many car clubs know how to read the VIN’s, cowl tags and broacast sheets that were usually placed in the rear seat coils, thought oftentimes they pratically disintegrate with age. My 64 Impala was originally a 283, like most of them. A previous owner dropped a 327/250 engine in it. It looks like it came out of the factory that way, but AACA members know what to look for and can tell it’s not original.
Yeah, my '70 Chevelle had a 307, but I still loved it...
IIRC, the L-78 was rated at 425hp in the Corvette but 375hp in every other car Chevy offered it in.
I’d imagine an L-78 Vette would be rather valuable, as it was only offered in 1965...
From 1970-72 it was technically a 402, but the ones that went into the Chevelles and Camaros were still called the 396. In t he big Chevys they were called 400 big blocks. My uncle had a 71 Impala with that engine. It moved nicely for a 4500lb+ car.
“1) I didn’t realize Chevy was still selling the 396 in 1970.”
Well, sort of. There was a “396” sold in Chevelles, Novas and Camaros that actually displaced 402 cubic inches. This same motor was called a 402 in their full-size cars.
“sold as an LS6 to an Iowa man for $87,000.”
“Sure, it’s a GEN-U-INE ROLEX!”
“A Fool and his money are soon parted”
I know Chevy put Big Blocks in Novas, Chevelles, and Corvettes. I don’t know if Impala (even the Super Sport) had a Big Block option. I remember trying to drop a 396 into a 66 Super Sport that had a factory 327 and finding some compatibility problems.
It used to be it wouldn’t be worth the money to try to make that conversion look legit. Nowadays the 454SS are huge dollars, especially the convertibles. When I bought my ‘70 Chevelle 25 years ago the SS were barely cracking $10-15K. To me it is the ultimate musclecar.
Unfortunately, a lot of people consider the 396 to be a second cousin compared to the 427 and this is unfair.
I forgot about the 402 big block. Anytime someone mentions a 400 Chevy I think of the 400 small block with the Siamesed bores that had a reputation for overheating although the reason was people using the wrong head gasket.
I had a truck someone dropped a 396 in. It was awesome. I love the 60s-70s Chevy trucks.
Any mid year Vette is worth a lot of money while the C3s small blocks still go for a reasonable price.
A guy with find a totally rusted out rare car that is just gone or an old race car that had everything cut out of it. Instead of repairing it they will find a rust free small block car and transfer everything over including the vins...the really smart ones will also transfer hidden, welded in vins as well but guys now are starting to remove the heater cores etc and see if the vins show signs of being welded in.
There are experts out there faking build sheets, engine block stamps etc etc.
Buyer beware especially when forking over $150-250K
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