Need info 1967 GT500 #2540

This car 1967 GT500 #2540 was impounded by the Colorado State Patrol on May 29TH 2008 the State patrol will not tell anyone its location or who they released it to, I have been told the car was released to an insurance company and will be auctioned off, if anyone has information on this car please respond

Thank you

 

The details are very strange, Colorado DMV record search shows the car as never being stolen, Colorado state patrol records also showed the VIN never having a hold placed on it, the State patrol will only say they released the car to an insurance company but decline to say what company or give any report showing the car stolen, they are claiming the car as stolen and insurance company paid the original owner on it, the Detective handling the case has been very difficult, the car needs restoration, could the officer be involved in helping someone get the car ? I do not know the CSP refuses to release any information

 

Here is an update

Rare Shelby Mustang tied up in legal fight between insurer, restorer
By Felisa Cardona
The Denver Post
Posted: 05/23/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT
Updated: 05/23/2010 08:50:31 AM MDT

Tim Shuler checks the interior of a 1963 Ford Ranchero he's restoring at his home in Aurora. He restores cars as his hobby, but his other love is racing and a favorite uncle had a Mustang that could do 140 mph. (Andy Cross, The Denver Post )

A candy-apple red 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500 is at the center of an unusual court fight, and the car is lingering at a salvage yard until a judge decides who owns it.

Even stripped-down and without an engine, the body of the classic Mustang could be worth $30,000. If restored, it could garner $200,000 from an interested buyer.

The car was reported stolen in 1980 and, officially, never recovered. But Jeff Dove, the man who reported it stolen, died last year, leaving behind a tangled legal web.

Tim Shuler, an Aurora man who spent time and money trying to restore the car, and American Family, the insurance company that paid $14,000 on the theft claim 30 years ago, are at odds over who owns it.

Shuler, 42, fell
$30,000 Approximate value for just the body of a 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500, stripped down and without engine $200,000 Approximate value if fully restored ( Photo courtesy of Tim Shuler )
in love with Mustang muscle cars when he was 8 years old, riding in the back of his uncle's 1968 Shelby KR Mustang while speeding down Interstate 25.

"I remember standing up in the back seat when he was doing 140," Shuler said. "I was looking over his shoulder at the speedometer."

The mystique of the Shelby dates back to the 1960s, when Carroll Shelby, a race-car driver turned automotive designer, helped Ford turn the Mustang into a racer by changing the suspension and the design.

Ford made a million Mustangs by the mid-1960s, but only 3,000 of them were Shelbys, making them a rarity coveted among collectors.

"It is the cream of the crop of Mustangs if you are a Mustang enthusiast," said Joe Bolis, the Colorado president and regional representative of the Shelby American Automobile Club.

As a teenager, Shuler got addicted to racing cars at Bandimere Speedway. He loved racing so much that he sometimes slept only a couple of hours before waking up and racing again.

Shuler began restoring cars as a hobby, and when Dove came to his Aurora home in 1996 and asked him to refurbish his '67 Shelby, Shuler agreed.

Over a 12-year period, Shuler stored the car at his house, restoring only the steering wheel. Shuler says he also loaned Dove money with an agreement that the car was collateral.

"He has legal claims to the car because he held it so long and he had an oral contract with Mr. Dove," said Shuler's attorney Kevin Flesch.

When Dove first brought the car to him, Shuler asked Dove for the title, but Dove told him he had lost the paperwork.

Dove never returned for the car, and in May 2008, Shuler decided to title the Shelby for himself.

When Shuler took it to the Division of Motor Vehicles, a state trooper ran the car's vehicle identification number through the National Crime Information Center and it cleared, but when the trooper ran it through an online insurance-theft database, the Shelby came up as stolen.

Shuler said it's possible that Dove defrauded the insurance company, but he also believes that it's possible the car was recovered. According to investigative reports, the Colorado State Patrol questioned Dove before he died, and Dove told them the car had been recovered, but had been so stripped, they allowed him to keep the insurance payout.

Steve Witmer, a spokesman for American Family, said the company is certain that it paid out $14,000 to Dove on the stolen car, meaning that if it has now been found, it belongs to the insurer. He also acknowledged that American Family lost the file on the Shelby — including the title to it.

"It's not normal for information like a title to be destroyed," Witmer said, but the company does have some remaining documentation that a claim was paid.

That explains why Shuler and American Family are fighting in court. But why is the Shelby in an impound yard?

Shuler said that's because a State Patrol detective accused him of stealing the car and running a chop shop.

And that is because a second VIN was stamped on the Shelby — one that identified it as a yellow Ford Mustang. Detectives suspected the second VINs were from another vehicle.

The State Patrol seized the car from Shuler's house because Shuler refused to relinquish it voluntarily.

Shuler said he didn't trust the State Patrol's investigator because he allegedly was mistreated. Shuler eventually filed a complaint against Investigator Zach Murray with internal affairs.

In a letter to Shuler, the State Patrol determined Murray "had sufficient probable cause to investigate the lawful ownership of the vehicle."

"It's the principle of the thing," Shuler said of refusing to turn over the Shelby. "It's abusing their authority."

In December 2008, Shuler was charged with two felony counts of altering the VINs on the Shelby.

"I didn't do anything wrong," he said. "I've never been in trouble. I never hid this car from anybody."

The case was later dismissed by the district attorney in Arapahoe County and a judge ordered that the Mustang be released to Shuler.

But when Shuler went to the salvage yard with his court order, he learned the State Patrol and American Family had placed a legal hold on the Shelby.

The insurance company then filed a lawsuit against him in Douglas County. A hearing is scheduled for July 2.

If the Shelby is returned to Shuler, he said he'll be forced to sell it because he owes money to friends who helped him with his legal fees.

"I will find a good home for it," he said, "but I am not going to quit." Shuler said he already knows two interested buyers.

The fight over the Shelby isn't about money, Shuler said, because he's never made more than a few thousand dollars restoring cars.

"In this business, you have to have heart," he said.

 

Here is an interesting response to the article.



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Article Discussion: Rare Shelby Mustang tied up in legal fig

Postby Cops-are-Criminals on Yesterday, 8:18 pm
I would like to reply to a couple of the posters. I do not know Tim Shuler but I know other people who do. I have seen one the MANY copies of the documents related to this case. I was told Mr. Shuler has circulated numerous copies of his file to protect himself from any possible detrimental activity from the other parties involved.

To Alvin York and BoogieDown Brown:
Do you work for free? If a customer first borrows money from you, then asks you to spend your money and time on restoring a vehicle, NEVER gives you any of his money, and then disappears for 10 years. Are you going to keep working on their vehicle for free and at a cost to you? Are you going to give the vehicle back to him without compensation for; storage, restoration work done, expenses to do the restoration? All without ANY money at all? Then I have a vehicle I want you to restore for me! Alvin you are apparently saying there are never innocent victims.

Quote:
"12 years and only replaced the steering wheel? LOL!"
BoogieDown Brown

"I for sure know who I'm not asking to restore one of my cars.
Twelve years to do a steering wheel, and then he tries to claim it as his own. Riiight.
People with integrity seldom get caught up in stuff like this."
Alvin York

Colorado State Law is that a vehicle abandoned for more than 90 days is the property of the possessor of the vehicle if the "Transfer of Title" procedure is followed. A statement of issue, lien, bond, VIN and safety inspection are some of the other requirements in addition to possession to transfer title. None of which the previous owner of the vehicle has any rights to stop this process. Nothing short of civil litigation and Court ordered injunction (or other order) will stop this. This is where Mr. Shuler's car is now, a Motion for Replevin. Usually a Court Order won't happen til way after the title has been transferred (not in this case). Ever had a car impounded? If you don't pay the storage and tow and get possession of your car in 90 days, it's not yours anymore. It's the tow companies. The fees assessed are more than the value of the vehicle. Same rules apply here to this Shelby and to everyone and every vehicle.

The only 2 possibilities I can think of to explain these actions by AFI and CSP would be something illegal or there is paperwork that exists and AFI & CSP are not disclosing it. This could include Jeff Dove claiming that the restorer (Tim Shuler) of the vehicle stole his car and filed a fraudulent Police report. Jeff Dove was the owner of the vehicle in 1980 when it was originally reported stolen. Jeff Dove admits in a Police interview in 2008 that the vehicle was recovered in 1981. Also that the vehicle was stripped of parts and American Family Insurance let him keep the car and the money due to the damage. If the vehicle was officially recovered in 1981 as Mr. Dove States, the rightful owner of the vehicle is Tim Shuler (see Transfer of Title above and at the DMV). If the vehicle was or was not "officially" recovered, logically that shouldn't matter - see below.

If the vehicle was not officially recovered in 1981, how did Jeff Dove then have possession of the vehicle to have Tim Shuler restore it in 1996? There are only three possibilities: 1) Jeff Dove filed a false vehicle Theft Report in 1980 and the vehicle was never "really" stolen, 2) the vehicle was officially recovered - so not "stolen" anymore, 3) Jeff Dove never disclosed that he personally recovered the vehicle = Fraud by Jeff Dove. In either of those 3 circumstances the rightful owner of the vehicle is still Tim Shuler. 1) False vehicle theft report = vehicle was never stolen (that's fraud by Jeff Dove) and Mr. Shuler's car. 2) Officially recovered = Tim Shuler's vehicle as abandoned property. 3) Car recovered by Jeff Dove and not reported to AFI = car recovered and not reporting this to American Family is fraud (not stolen anymore) by Jeff Dove in the 1980 theft claim. Subsequently Jeff Dove abandoned an "unofficially recovered" vehicle in Tim Shuler's possession (1996) and therefore Tim Shuler's car (see Transfer of Title above an at DMV).

If possibility 3) is true then AFI's claim would be with Jeff Dove for the vehicle, and/or money and probably criminal charges. They NEVER did that while Jeff Dove was alive. If the last possibility is true and AFI wants possession of the vehicle then AFI owes Tim Shuler fees associated with the storage, restoration and research done on that vehicle. Not criminal charges and threats.

Don't forget that Tim Shuler took the vehicle to Colorado State Patrol TWICE before all this happened. This was before any litigation and before the impound of the vehicle from Tim Shuler's house. CSP made no claim that the vehicle was stolen at either of those times when VIN inspection was performed. If it was stolen and not officially recovered, it would have been in the CSP database and the vehicle would have NEVER left the CSP at either of those times.

Shelby American received an email from Jeff Dove admitting that he had taken the Shelby to Tim Shuler for restoration in 1996. That is why Shelby American considers Tim Shuler the Rightful owner of the Shelby. As Jeff Dove abandoned the vehicle for 10 years with no payments to Tim Shuler. I have seen these documents with my own eyes.

American Family Insurance would have a claim of Fraud against Jeff Dove and his girlfriend (on the original insurance claim) in instances 1) and 3). Which they did NOT do. Police filed criminal charges on Tim Shuler ONLY. Why and for what? Possession of a vehicle from the factory that had been issued TWO-VIN numbers? I have seen this with my own eyes described in the Shelby American Registry. It is FACT. Something apparently the detectives at CSP don't know about, which they should, they are supposed to be experts on vehicle VIN numbers. Or at the very least NOT file criminal charges against someone without checking their information from the Ford Factory and from Shelby American.

It is possible the insurance company, agent, government officials, or others are in collusion in attempting to make unsubstantiated claims on the ownership of this vehicle. It is more valuable than your average classic car. Sammy Hagar's restored 1967 Shelby GT-500 sold for $250,000 at Barret-Jackson a few years ago. His GT-500 (same as this car) was custom and not original. Original is worth much more money in a normal economic situation.

I have seen with my own eyes the corruption of government officials and insurance companies. Does AIG, Rod Blagojevich, Iran-Contra, or Watergate ring a bell anyone? Lets not overlook that possibility.

ps. There is a "Z" preceding some Shelby Mustang's VIN, you can verify this with Shelby American

Cops-are-Criminals
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