By Alesha Capone
The owner of a collectable car stolen from outside a Hoppers Crossing house is appealing for anyone with information about the theft to come forward.
Kevin said he purchased the 1973 Ford XA Coupe around five years ago, and – as a professional panelbeater and painter – was planning to restore the vehicle, doing much of the work himself.
However, last month Kevin was informed the Ford had been stolen from outside a home on Tarneit Road, where he had been storing it.
Kevin said the owner of the Hoppers Crossing property had informed him of theft in mid-June.
Kevin said he was not sure of the exact date the theft occurred but believed it may have been early last month.
Kevin said he had been left very upset by the theft.
“It’s destroyed me – I had been dreaming of owning the car since I was a kid and had saved up to buy it,” he said.
“I know I’ll never get another one again, it would cost around $40,000 to $50,000 to buy that car now.”
Kevin said the owner of the property from where the car was stolen believed the Ford was taken between the hours of 3am and 9am.
However, the man has informed Kevin that the security cameras at his property were not switched on when the car was stolen.
Kevin said he had visited a business located across the road from the Tarneit Road property and asked to see their CCTV from those hours and had seen nothing suspicious on the footage.
He said whoever had stolen the car would have made a lot of noise.
“You cannot move that car without making a noise and at least four or five people,” he said.
“You couldn’t move the vehicle quietly – the steering was disconnected, it had two flat wheels and all the car parts were inside, you couldn’t put it on a tandem truck within an hour.”
Kevin is offering a reward of $1000 for the return of the Ford.
Anyone with information can contact Detective Paul Stokes at Werribee police station on 9742 9444.
