The 1962 Chevrolet Impala, following its recovery from the June 2013 High River flood. Photos courtesy Calgary Police Service.
In June 2013, Calgary, Alberta, and surrounding towns bore witness to flooding of historical proportions, which forced mandatory and long-term evacuations for many residents and destroyed billions of dollars in property. Now, a year later, the Calgary Police Service Auto Theft Unit has announced charges against a Vancouver man accused of VIN cloning a distinctive 1962 Chevrolet Impala convertible damaged by the High River flood and later sold for spare parts by a salvage company.
At the salvage yard, shortly after the flood.
Spotted by off-duty Calgary Police Service constable Wayne Suffesick as it prepared to cross the stage at a local auction, the 1962 Impala was hardly a car that would go unnoticed. Though its rear fender skirts and whitewall tires are common, its pronounced deck-style rear bumper and vertical Continental kit were unique enough to catch Suffesick’s attention, particularly because he’d spent time working as an auto body man before joining the police department and knew the Impala’s former owner personally. He also knew that the insurance company had written the car off as non-repairable, and that it had been sold as a parts car to a salvage company following the insurance payout.
The Impala’s stretched rear bumper was its most distinctive trait.
A subsequent check of the vehicle’s documentation revealed a forged safety inspection certificate from another Canadian province, and Suffesick was quick to notice the drill scratches on the car’s door jamb VIN tag, a sign that the original rivets had been drilled out. The VIN tag, it turns out, had been obtained from a donor 1962 Chevrolet Impala found at a Northern Alberta scrap yard. Based upon Suffesick’s investigation, Calgary police have charged 63-year old Youssef Yangui with forging documents, tampering with a vehicle identification number and fraudulent concealment in relation to the car’s “cloned” VIN.
The car’s interior, immediately following its recovery from the High River flood. Note the silt on the floor mats.
According to Calgary Police Service detective sergeant Mike Saunders (a classic car enthusiast himself, in the midst of a restoration on his 1949 Chevrolet pickup), the 1962 Impala convertible had sat in a flooded garage for nearly three weeks, the mandatory evacuation period for area residents. Labeled as non-repairable due to the extent of flood damage, the Impala was sold for spare parts use to a salvage company, from which Yangui allegedly acquired the vehicle. Per Saunders, the salvage company itself is blameless in the incident, as its bill of sale clearly indicated the Impala could not be certified for road use. The VIN cloning incident in Calgary is the first of its kind relating to the June 2013 floods, though with an estimated 10,000 vehicles damaged by the High River flood, it likely won’t be the last.
The Impala in the auction tent, awaiting its trip across the block; note the changed wheel covers.
Saunders reminds anyone shopping for a classic car (particularly from an unknown seller) to check for obvious signs of flood damage, such as musty odors, moldy carpet, rust in unusual places and organic debris in wiring looms or in heater vents. Those seeking to acquire a collector car should also verify that the windshield VIN plate (when present) matches the paperwork and other VIN plates or stamped numbers, and that none show signs of being tampered with. When possible, the VIN plate should be compared to that of a similar year, make, and model to verify similarities and note differences. Saunders also recommended the use of third-party vehicle history reporting services, such as Carfax or Carproof, with cars built after the early 1980s.
At auction. The car’s most distinctive feature was impossible to hide.
In the end, it comes down to “buyer beware,” particularly for buyers in the United States. Though this incident may be the first of its kind relating to the Calgary floods, Hurricanes Katrina, Irene and Sandy, coupled with rising collector car prices, have made VIN cloning and the sale of flood-damaged cars a not-uncommon occurrence elsewhere.
