Albuquerque Car Restorer Suffers Theft of Award-Winning Car
A 1937 Business coupe was recently stolen from Albuquerque business owner Porfie Maldonado.
Written by Lisa Steuer McArdle
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
You have an award-winning show car, so you lock it up at night inside an enclosed car trailer parked at your gated business. Despite these precautions, thieves manage to make off with your prized 1937 Business coupe. What do you do about this particularly upsetting
car theft
? Well, for Albuquerque business owner Porfie Maldonado,
reporting the stolen car
to the police was a given. However, he was also hoping for help from the public. The owner of the stolen 1937 Business coupe
Porfie Maldonado was passionate about vehicles of all kinds since he was a boy, so it was only natural that he opened his own collision repair shop. What started as a business grew into a passion for restoring vintage cars to his own exacting standards. In fact, his business is how he came to own the missing coupe in the first place.
He explained to
KRQE News
that the previous owner had brought the 1937 Business to his shop to have it painted. One thing led to another and Maldonado ended up as the collector car's proud new owner.Maldonado reports that he's won numerous Best in Show awards for the coupe. Restoring and showing such an impressive vehicle is both an expensive endeavor and a labor of love.
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How did the theft occur?
Maldonado was building a garage at his home for the 1937 Business, so he was storing it in the locked trailer at his shop temporarily. An employee discovered broken locks, tire tracks, and the missing trailer when he arrived for work.
Unfortunately, the 1937 Business theft was only the latest, and most heartbreaking, break-in at the business. It has been targeted by thieves several times in the past. Maldonado says he has lost parts, tires, and now his beloved 1937 Business coupe plus the trailer it was in.
The theft of the classic car occurred despite the security cameras, alarm systems, and wrought iron fence he installed in an effort to deter the brazen thieves. They've cut his fence several times, entered his shop, and have now made off with a valuable vintage car which, unfortunately, was just out of view of the cameras.
MORE: Car Theft Is Decreasing but Still Accounts for $6.4 Billion in Losses
A happy ending at last
An anonymous tip led to the recovery of the 1937 Business coupe just two days after it was stolen.
The tipster saw the news report about the stolen car and recognized it as the classic car they had spotted in a neighbor's backyard. The stolen car was recovered intact and undamaged, much to the owner's relief. The car is now stored safely in his home garage.
Unfortunately, the trailer is still reportedly missing, although Maldonado now has hope for its recovery also.
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