They stole the gas tank from my parked GTO!
 

So I just got the 65 GTO upgraded with Wilwood power disc brakes, power steering, 18" Torq Thrusts, TKO-600 transmission, MSD ignition, and BeCool aluminum radiator. The car was running so good, the wife and I decided to head up to Hoosier Park Casino, which is about a 20 minute drive up the road. We went in and blew about $40, which only took about 20 minutes.

Upon returning to the car, it wouldn't start! After checking the engine, I was baffled. It took me several minutes to realize it, but THE GAS TANK HAD BEEN STOLEN! Someone just cut the straps and fuel line, and took off with it!

Has anyone ever heard of such a thing?!!? Fortunately I have a AAA Gold membership, so I had the car towed back to the shop. I've got the replacement tank on the way, but it makes me wonder... Does anyone have any suggestions on how to prevent this? Maybe weld a bar across the bottom of the tank? I need some ideas!

Thanks! :mad:

Probably quicker & easier to just cut the straps/line than to siphon the fuel. That really sucks! What is the extent of the damage?

Good thing they didn't steal the whole car if it was an Indian Casino. Guy had a Camaro and trailer stolen a few years ago at an Indian Casino and I don't think he ever got it back even though he found it. Feds couldn't touch it.

Trailer hitch. run a couple supports between the braces of the hitch under the tank.

Mike

Wow, that's a first. What kind of low life goes after something like that.

There was a story recently in MCR about a guy that had his vintage Camaro, trailer and tow vehicle taken by natives, but it was from behind a Toronto hotel. They beggered off with it and he could do nothing but pay a hefty ransom to get it back.

It's infuriating, especially knowing no recourse except one that could cause you trouble.

Never heard of such a thing ... ever
Makes me wonder if they wanted the tank - or just the gas.

Try to always back into a parking spot i guess ....
Air Ride suspension and drop it on the ground when parked.


It would have been easier to steal the whole car with a 65

Wow, punks deserve to be caught.:mad:

Do not go to Anderson. Go to Shelbyville next time.

patrick

Were there security cameras in the parking garage?

As mentioned in a couple of posts above- the late COPO Pete had his entire rig stolen and it disappeared into the reservation.

I'm thinking that it's really odd that they stole just the gas tank on what sounds to be a really nice car. I suspect that they intended to immobilize the car long enough that they could come back and get it later. Good thing you stayed by it and had it towed out!

My thoughts too. At a casino there must be.

The casino isn't an Indian casino... It's just a casino in Indiana. :-)

It wasn't in a parking garage, it was at the end of a big parking lot... I parked at the end trying to avoid door dings. Unfortunately, the casino says their camera caught nothing.

And yes, I've heard lots of stories about staying away from Anderson. Unfortunately, Shelbyville is twice as far away.

(For those of you not from Indiana, here is the lowdown on Anderson... One of the MTV Teen Moms is from there, and although it's a small town, since this has happened, people have come out of the woodwork telling me about the time they got robbed, vandalized, hit by a drunk driver, etc. etc. when they were in Anderson.)

My guess is removing the straps and cutting the fuel line takes only a few minutes... AND it looks a lot less suspicious to the parking lot security guard to say "Yeah, we're just having car troubles" than it is to be standing there with a siphon hose!

In either case, I need to figure out a way to secure my next tank! :mad:

I don't leave my car in a parking lot. Can't bring myself to do it.

I think the chances of you getting another tank stolen is pretty remote. First the next gas thief would have to think of that. Second, there's a good chance they wanted the tank. Whomever stole the tank had to be prepared for that. If they were out stealing gas they would have to look for an old car for the ease of it, and have a cutting tool strong enough to cut the straps. I'm willing to bet someone saw the car and an accomplice came with proper tools. The good news is this piece of **** doesn't need another tank!

My biggest fear is the whole car disappearing (even though fully insured). These cars were easy to steal back in the day and even easier today with advent of claw type tow trucks. One of our cars gets stolen, it would be immediately stripped or end up in a container to central or South America. I never leave my car out of eyesight. Its too easy! Even in a restaurant I need a view. Hotel/motel over night, NOT happening!!! I've heard too many stories about going to big events and cars getting stolen. During a big event the choices are endless.

Agreed.
Getting your complete tank stolen was one in a million I think. Like winning the lottery, but in your case.... losing.

Sorry to hear bud, I too have never heard of such a thing.

Skills USA is in KC this week, the first night a vendor parked his van at Hurrahs, came out in the morning, started the van and it was loud..looked under and someone stole the CAT converter...hes from Texas and is really bumming out...happens all the time..never hear about it, but its common at casinos....


cordless sawzalls...making criminals efficient and stealthy for 10 years

I wouldn't worry about the gas tank getting stolen again. You're more likely to get hit by lightening. I had the cat converter stolen off of my 4 Runner in my driveway while I slept. My solution was to weld the bolts. Shortly after, I simply MOVED.

I've heard of drilling a hole in the tank to drain and steal the gas from newer cars, never heard of stealing the entire tank, but it would be easy in the older cars.
Unfortunately other than a Mad Max device there not much way to prevent a determined thief.

Thats really frigged up, never would expect to hear of such a thing,
And the picture in my mind of someone trying to carry a tank with gas in it is comical.
As most people know its like carrying a pissed off animal when the gas starts rocking from side to side.:eek::jumping: I would love to see it on video. And I agree its a first and last time.

I raise you $200.00 and this half full gas tank!

Unfortunately, most destinations do not let you drive the GTO directly inside the store/restaurant/etc...

wow that is scary

What a bizarre incident…last thing I’d expect when the “car wouldn’t start” that someone stole the gas tank! Man Jason, sorry for your loss.

That sucks, sorry to hear that. I worked at a place that used to get broken into alot. They would steal the money out of the vending machine, which usually only had $15 to $20 in it tops. They jacked down the spare tire on my 2000 Dakota while it was parked in front of plate glass windows of the building. When they broke in and stole a computer, the company finally got an alarm system. One of the last things taken before the alarm was installed was a gumball machine, wtf. It's funny to think about a guy running down the street with gumballs a clanking. Probably gave it to his kids for Christmas. Losers

We recently put up security cameras at work, someone stole them.

Wouldn't they just have pulled the coil wire? There's no hood lock and it would be easier than dropping the tank.

K

LOL! Me too - I can hardly carry mine across the garage without killing myself, much less across a parking lot!

K

Needed it for their LeMans into a '65 GTO Clone build?

I have this visual of Cheech and Chong with that trash can fuel of gas dumping it into the T-bird... :jumping:

I can see some loser thinking of it as a performance upgrade... "Man I scored a GTO gastank full of GTO gas!"

Anderson's always been rough. I saw a guy get downtown there in broad daylight in the middle of the street about 20 yr ago. We don't go there unless we have to.

Mike

Eewww!!! Who was he going downtown on? Male or female? :gag:

oh the irony there

Common for pick-ups and vans, they sit up high and make for easy pickings. Had a w/shield stolen from my Dodge Dart years ago,first they stole the tires(bald)and steel rims then while it sat waiting for new rims they came back and stole my windshield.:confused:

Maybe someone needed a tank for their Pontiac?

Odd and very weird thing that somebody would do that. Id rather have my tank stolen than the entire car. You got lucky.

Craziest thing I heard in long time. I had a friend get his car stolen and was found the next day. The cops called him up to come down and get his car. The crooks put a steering wheel lock on. :rolleyes:

Yeah, but a coil wire is as close as the nearest auto parts store. Maybe I'm off on my guess, but stealing a gas tank is pretty bizarre. :confused:

Indeed, reminds me of an episode of Breaking Bad and as much sense as the actions of the Meth-heads portrayed...

Maybe they were looking for the build sheet?

(lol)

K

It's amazing that the whole car wasn't missing when you came back out.
Since about 1990 it has been unsafe to park a nice GTO anywhere out in the open unattended. If you go park your car in unattended public parking lots, take a Ford
Taurus or Honda Civic.

Meth heads... They don't care about the car. They stole the tank for the gas and the gas tank was just something handy to hold it in while they took it. As a bonus they take the tank with a bunch of other metal stuff they have stolen to the scrap yard to sell... It was a crime of opportunity and they took it. Easy Peasy...

Zombies?!!!

I'm sure glad I don't live by you...;)

I've been driving my '64 since 1994 and in nice weather it gets parked outside with the top down. Fathers Day we took a cruise to an arts and craft fair 40 miles away and had it parked in a public lot near the park.

Of course, I live in flyover country near the corn fields, so maybe it's just a little bit different lifestyle.

That just doesn't make much sense to steal a gas tank. Gives me one more reason to never drive my FB out of the garage unless I plan to come strait back when I'm done.

As for as motive money doesn't make sense. The thieves wouldn't know if it was full or empty. Even if full would only get them what $50. Unless like someone else posted they did it to disable the car and even if that was the case their would easier ways to do that. I wonder if they just needed a new gas tank for their chevelle?

I recall some kids back in high school (late 80s)when they exploded their spider gears cruising the local strip. Not to be deterred they snuck into the back of a car dealership and pulled a center section out of a compatible GM car. Couple hours later they were out cruising around again. Imagine the surprise for the dealership owner.

Could be a bunch of huffers. I think that's what you call them. They sniff gas,glue, paInt. You must of had some GOOD gas in there.

One morning my Dad was going to take my Mom to work and the '61 Biscayne wouldn't budge. He put it in reverse and it just revved. Seems someone had blocked the back tire with a brick from our neighbor's flower bed so the car would stay still when they stole the drive shaft.
A year or so later, a neighbor 2 doors down went to start his sweet '64 Olds Starfire convertible. He said whoever stole his carb must have hooked the throttle spring up to something, because he kept pumping the gas to get it started. Probably thought it was flooded and held it down, because when it lit it boomed, and I and everyone else came out their houses to see it burning.
It burned to crisp while the Fire Department was on the way.

Are you positive you had the gas tank on the car when you left? :D

I heard a guy say he worked as a VW tech in Florida in the 1970s or early 1980s. He said a couple of them would go to a theater and steal someone's engine in about 8 minutes. Imagine coming out to your car with your date in the dark and it won't even turn over.

That happened to my buddy about 15 years ago, came out in the morning and his K5 Blazer woundn't move. He was able to move it out of the way to get another car out by putting in 4WD.

Best answer

One morning my neighbor's wife was gonna go to work and she started her Toyota 4 Runner and it sounded like a tank. Somebody cut out the catalytic convertor. It was gone! Must have used a cordless saws-all or something.

But stealing a gas tank??? WTF!!!