ATTENTION Canberra and Sydney folk!!!

[MR22ZZ]

Guys and Gals,

STOLEN in Canberra!!!!! From the BENTLY off canberra ave Manaka.....

Help in the recovery!!!! ACTION REQUIRED NOW!!!!

Luke Stitt's (the Stitt, Stitty, etc) wagon was STOLEN from his motel in Canberra last night (9 July 2006) sometime between 10pm and 6.30 this morning.

If you have any information that will help in its recovery please cantact the Toymods Board on Board@toymods.org.au or Call Stitts Mobile 0401 624 192.

This is the much loved resore jobs of one of the Toymods board members, lots of work has been done on it in the last year+ and had a long way to go yet. This is an awesome car that will be sorely missed if not recoved.

If you could all be on the lookout!!!!

for up to date information check this thread

http://www.toymods.net/forums/showthread.php?t=9533

STOLEN FROM THIS HOTEL:

The Wagon was stolen Last night 10-7-06 in canberra from the BENTLY off canberra ave Manaka any info appreciated call 0401624192 reward

[MR22ZZ]

The time of the theft has been narrowed to between 3-5am this morning when security were not present in the underground carpark it was located in. If anyone hears or sees ANYTHING (rumours or otherwise) please bring it to Luke's attention. He is an great, easy going guy and I hate to see this happen to him. :(

[SuiCid3]

That's the problem with restoring oldies.. :(

Some people will target it because of the age.. :*(

I'll keep a lookout.

[Dead]

I shall keep an eye out Dylan. I'm all too familar with that hotel and the surrounding area.

My bet is that it could be in Narrabundah somewhere and dumped. Kinda dodgy suburb in areas. Close to the Bentley as well.

[CORZZA]

Holy!!!!

thats the van with the one with the M7 motor?

[MR22ZZ]

Holy!!!!

thats the van with the one with the M7 motor?

I assume you mean 7M-GTE and yes that's the car... many man hours have been spent on this car and all of Toymods is gutted by this... :( :( :( :( :(

whoever did this should rot!!!

[CORZZA]

yeah the 7M - GTE

I will keep a look out for it in sydney! im on the roads all day! at the moment in the eastern suburbs& city where it would most likely end up if they were to bring it to SYD.

[MR22ZZ]

Update on the Toymods site.........

Hi Guys,

As a late update there are several of us in the CCG currently out cruising the Southside streets still trying to find Stitt's car.

As this thread is now so long I haven't had a chance to read all the posts, but the Wagon was spotted around 5.30ish this afternoon going at a great rate of knots around the "Gilmore" area of Canberra.

If anyone (locally to Canberaa) is able to get out now for a cruise and a look that ouwld be most helpful. There aer still several people out looking as I type this up.

Phil

If any of the Canberra guys are reading this and think they can help out... try and get a group together to hunt this car down :)

[Dead]

Update on the Toymods site.........

Hi Guys,

As a late update there are several of us in the CCG currently out cruising the Southside streets still trying to find Stitt's car.

As this thread is now so long I haven't had a chance to read all the posts, but the Wagon was spotted around 5.30ish this afternoon going at a great rate of knots around the "Gilmore" area of Canberra.

If anyone (locally to Canberaa) is able to get out now for a cruise and a look that ouwld be most helpful. There aer still several people out looking as I type this up.

Phil

If any of the Canberra guys are reading this and think they can help out... try and get a group together to hunt this car down :)

Suburb: Macarthur...the **** of the Tuggernong area. Next to Gilmore. It is full of govies (and crack addicts etc) I shall cruise out there tomorrow if I can before our canberra meet. Can't get out tonite otherwise I would.

I hope it's found. I hope the people are found. My friend and I like using duct tape and jumper leads on people.

Edited July 10, 2006 by bADbOYz

[selyaT]

And I'm that friend :)

Edited July 10, 2006 by Tayles

[MR22ZZ]

good to hear guys... Rob, give Stitty a call and let him know you want to help. From what I know he's been out on the streets all night tonight looking, but if the car's in a garage, it doesn't really help.

[Dead]

good to hear guys... Rob, give Stitty a call and let him know you want to help. From what I know he's been out on the streets all night tonight looking, but if the car's in a garage, it doesn't really help.

Wait wait, I wear glasses for a reason.

I see it. Buzzing him now.

Just spoke to him. What a nice guy.

I'm going to kill this little rat fark that stole his car.

Then I'll call the police...

Going to geez at macarthur tomorrow.

Edited July 10, 2006 by bADbOYz

[MR22ZZ]

check out todays Canberra Times for a story on Lukes car and his ongoing woes...

[CORZZA]

Dylan if you get a copy of the article please post it up.

[MR22ZZ]

the article says

Car fanatic Luke Stitt sacrificed every spare moment over the past eight months to painstakingly restore his pride and joy -- a rare 1968 Toyota Crown station wagon.

So you can imagine his distress after the turbo-charged hot rod was stolen from a Canberra hotel last Monday and was spotted roaring through the city's back streets.

"I was gutted -- to me my car is my life," the distraught 23-year-old from Sydney said.

While he was staying at the Forrest hotel, the car was snatched by thieves

from the underground car park between 3am and 5am last Monday.

"I was only in town for less than five hours and I wasn't gallivanting around saying: 'Wow look at me'," he said. After Mr Stitt reported the theft to the police, the distinctive vehicle was reporteLily seen travelling at 160 km/h along Hambidge Crescent at Chishohn at about 5pm that day.

"It's so distinctive, it's almost the wrong car to steal," Mr Stitt said.

An ACT Police spokesman said authorities had cracked down on car theft and urged motorists to better protect their older vehicles.

"ACT Police would strongly urge anyone who owns a pre-1994 car to fit an engine immobiliser or at least a steering lock or security alarm," the spokesman said.

A recent nationwide survey found Dickson was the car-theft capital of the ACT with Woden, Yarralumla and Kingston also high on the hit list.

The AAMI survey highlighted that Australians were more likely to have their cars stolen close to home with a staggering 54 per cent of thefts occurring in the home garage or street.

Unfortunately Mr Stitt did not have insurance on his highly-modified vehicle, which has a NSW number plate DST-17T.

Anyone with information should contact the police.

there is a 2nd column that didn't come out when the guys copied it that goes...

LEAVE THE LABOUR OF LOVE

Call it an outrageous moral-equivalency, but CC regards car theft as aseribus human-rights violation.

Alright, that’s exaggerating. But Canberra is a car-driven city, which makes car theft a particularly annoying crime.

To be deprived of private transport here is to be deprived of mobility. And to be deprived of mobility anywhere is to be deprived of liberty.

And Residents of New Hampshire will tell you, to be deprived of liberty is to be deprived of life.

“Live free or die” proclaims the state’s official motto — a sentiment, incidentally, displayed on the number plates of New Hampshire vehicles, True, Canberra has a public transport system. But like time travel, cryogenic freezing or INXS without Michael Hutchence, it remains a largely untested proposition.

Nobody really believes in it.

And buses — like UFOs or the Loch Ness monster— return the favour by materialising only for the deeply weird, The lonely or the drunk. So you can imagine CC’s dismay when we learned of the theft of Luke Stitt’s 1968 Toyota Crown station wagon. ‘

We were also rather shocked. The Toyota Crown is hardly what you’d call a high-performance vehicle. How did the thieves get it up to 160?

Did they drive it clown a hill? Did they put weights in the boot?

No, according to Mr Stitt the car has been “modified”.

“It’s got a late model ‘88 Toyota Supra motor in it,” Mr Stitt told CC, “It’s got a bit of go in it.”

Clearly.

CC urges whoever stole this car to stop playing silly buggers with it and park it by the side of the road.

It’s hard to imagine there’s a booming black market out there for vintage Toyota Crown car parts.

This thing was a labour of love.

The owner’s not a happy-chappie without it.

[CORZZA]

Thanks for that dylan!

Man poor guy i really feel for him!

So now news on the where abouts of it?

[MR22ZZ]

check the Toymods thread for the latest news.

not recovered yet, but they are still out looking.

They havd informed all Servos, most Wreckers, Tow companies, cabbies etc of the story and most are willing to help out if they see anything. I think the guy is lying low for now with all the heat on this car at the moment. I'm sure he is now ruing that it was Stitt's car he took... why steal such a rare car?

[CORZZA]

Exactly the car sticks out like a sore thumb! What a silly bugger!

Im starting to think that a possible strip has been performed on it. :(

Cos he knows if he gets caught with it hes gonna get hurt Badly!

[MT]

but pete what would be the point of that either? who would wanna buy toyota crown parts, apart from stitty. i reckon if they do strip it that would be the best chance stitty would have in getting it back... poor bugger

[SuiCid3]

But being highly modified, the majority of the parts wouldn't be the original Crown parts?

[MT]

some of them are, hence why he loves the car so much. but still, the extra parts he has put on, like the intercooler, are so expensive and stuff, and he's got all the part numbers and stuff so if he finds em for sale, there is a good chance that they will be his parts... then we find the seller... then its game on!

[CORZZA]

micky they strip it for the suspension,motor,pumps etc all the little bits that they can either sell or slap into another car.

[MT]

pete see above :P

as much as i hate to say it... i think the car will be found burnt out in the bush... its too rare and the parts are too easily located to risk selling them... and the fact that u cant see the kid over the steering wheel so he's obviously 15 or 16 ish.... they'll dump it and burn it... which will be a big shame

[blue_rolla]

theyd better not!

car theft, well any theft, makes me so angry... if it has been burned, hopefully he burned with it...

i just checked out the thread about this theft on the toymods site - absolutely amazing how everyone has posted it up in their respective forums (like dylan telling us)... its up on like 15 different forums now... most of australia is looking for it!

[MR22ZZ]

The thing is, this is an icon car of Toymods. Just about every member has put something into getting this car going, so it effected us all, not just Stitty, when this happened.

Be great to get it back in one peace. If the guy was smart he would just dump it nicely somewhere and be done with it... if the car comes back in one piece, everyone would be happy.