When we got tipped off to the rescue and revival of the “Wild Cherry” van, a 1975 Chevrolet that had a small bit part in the movie “Van Nuys Blvd.” back in 1979, we were over the moon about the whole deal. Chris Carter had located the van on a remote hillside, and it was beat to holy hell…it had met the wrong end of a tree, had been singed by a fire, and had been ravaged by time. Over several months, the van has been restored to it’s former glory, with the help of crowdfunding, support from sponsors, sales of removed parts, and so on and so forth. The end result speaks for itself: the Chevrolet is back to it’s full glory…and that’s when the story goes from good to bad in about zero seconds flat.
When we first picked up the story late last year, everything we had seen said that the Chevrolet had been abandoned for years, and that’s how Carter found it. But it seems that there was a second side to that story, one that involves a couple named Laura and Steven Godin. They had purchased the van sometime after original builder Nick Massalas had sold it off and had done just about everything with the Chevy, including living in it for a bit of time before parking it on their mountainside property in California. And that’s where they thought the van was, up until they learned about the restoration project.
See how this is starting to turn? According to Carter, he had talked with the Godin’s oldest son, Stephen Jr., who he claimed was excited for the restoration. However, on June 25th, 2018, Laura Godin reported the van stolen to police. She claimed that she didn’t have the title to the van because it was still in the vehicle. Carter explained that he never found a title and believes that the Chevrolet was abandoned and therefore available. Unfortunately, it seems that decision has come back to bite him hard…on October 3rd, 2018, Carter was arrested in Madison County, Illinois on a fugitive warrant that included two felony charges of driving or taking a vehicle without consent and a misdemeanor charge of tresspassing. Carter posted bond two days later and will be required to travel to California for court proceedings. As for the van itself…nobody save Carter himself knows where it’s at right now. Seriously. The Madison County Sheriff’s Department hasn’t been able to locate Wild Cherry anywhere around the Collinsville, Illinois area yet. In the meantime, fans and supporters have posted up a GoFundMe page. Per the fundraiser: “Please help raise money for Chris. We believe the van “Wild Cherry” was legally obtained by Mr. Carter and he is now being wrongly accused since the new found popularity of “Wild Cherry”. All money will go to Mr. Carter’s legal fees.”
Between the arrest, the charges, and the curious activities on social media concerning Wild Cherry Facebook pages, Carter’s personal pages and so on, it appears that we are going to be hearing about a custom Chevrolet van longer than we expected to…
First rule never do anything without a clear title, in hand in your name.
I couldn’t agree more.
So report it stolen AFTER its restored?
Typical high desert trash!
That’s not accurate. Besides, he stole it. Are you implying that he gets to keep it because they didn’t know it was missing until restoration work was well underway? Maybe you should tell everyone what you think should happen with the van?
who restores a vehicle without actually owning it? “i found it so it’s mine” lol yeah right
Jason, They had it stored on their property in the dessert, They live somewhere else and don’t go up there that often. They assumed it was safe on private property !!!!! The story is all over the internet ,you need to read before you say something like that.
He said, she said. However, the last l we gal owner didn’t want to sell it and it was on her property. The van was stolen.
He was arrested when he showed up at the courthouse to get divorced. Just not his day.
Couldn’t he just have found a decent van and built a clone for way less?
Dumb Ass.
So, he went on private property because someone had a key to a gate, but wasn’t sure who actually owned the property the van was sitting on? Then he took the van without verifying ownership, or getting permission to do so? It would serve him right if he was forced to return it to the owners of record after spending $1000’s restoring it.
I’m no Lawyer but there is a term ” Posession is 90% of the LAW. So if Mr.Carter has POSESSED said Van for some TIME and the Godins DO NOT have the LEGAL TITLE papers ( PINK SLIP ) then Claims COURT would SIDE WITH THE POSESSER of said Van !! OK ALL YOU WOULD BE LAWYERS HAVE AT IT ????
Tell that to all the people who\’ve had a vehicle seized after 10, 20, even 30 years after it was stolen, and returned to the proper owner. Carter has no bill of sale, no California paperwork, nada. There is proof he removed the van from PRIVATE property, provided by the thief himself. The thief has admitted, all over social media, that he took it. If it was so \’legal\’, why did he change the VIN, and wash the title thru Florida? All the owner needs to find is any document from CA with the VIN, their name, and license (old registration card for example), and they can apply for a lost title thru the DMV. They can, if they want to pay the fees, have CA do a document search thru the archives in Sacramento to find ownership. Has the son made any statements regarding this, since he\’s the one who supposedly told the thief to take it.
By your logic, if I come to your house and take something, you can\’t prove you owned it, then it\’s mine, right?
Youre a f\’n retard. No, retard, just cause you \”possess\” something that you stole from someone doesn\’t mean you get to keep it. Retard
Worst episode of Overhaulin’ ever!
jebus it the stand up general debacle all over again. how’d that one turn out I never saw?