As we reported yesterday, former Beach Boy Al Jardine had entered his 1971 Hemi ‘Cuda clone for sale at the 2010 Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona, this week. During the due diligence process, the auction house discovered that the car’s VIN tag did not match the numbers on the title, and a police investigation ensued. At the time of our first report, very few details existed, but B-J, being amazing self-promoters, have managed to turn this story into some sort of weird “value added” opportunity on the car. You gotta love these guys.

Acccording to a B-J press release, the discrepancy was discovered not by police, but by B-J officials themselves and then reported to the authorities. Obviously the company has a massive vested interest in making sure stolen property is not publicly sold with their stamp of approval.

B-J contacted the local motor vehicle department, which discovered that the car had been swiped in St. Louis back in 1975. At that point the Scottsdale cops came in an hauled off the car. The auction house got a copy of the old police report that said the car was recovered but the seat, front wheels, license plate, and VIN tag were all gone. Later in the car’s life someone restored it and applied for a state issued VIN which was different than what was originally on the car.

Al Jardine was as suprised as anyone at the situation and was quoted as saying, “We couldn’t believe it when we heard yesterday that the car had been stolen, but we are thrilled the story has a happy ending. There’s no doubt in my mind that this car has good vibrations!” You knew there was a Beach Boys reference coming here somewhere.

Here’s where the true B-J spirit shines through. Steve Davis, the guy who is always wearing sunglasses on television and who is the president of Barrett-Jackson, said, “We’ll pass along a copy of the documentation dating back to 1975 to the car’s new owner,” stated Davis. “In addition to being a fantastic car in its own right and having the great history of being in the personal collection of one of America’s original rock stars, this car now has another unique element to its story that will only add to its provenance.”

Translation: This thing is worth more now!

Thanks for the tip BangShift.com member ksj1

Source: Barrett-Jackson press release — Mystery Concerning 1971 Plymouth ‘Cuda Reported Stolen 35 Years Ago Solved at Barrett-Jackson