A candy-apple red 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500 is at the center of an unusual court fight, and the car is lingering at a salvage yard until a judge decides who owns it.
Even stripped-down and without an engine, the body of the classic Mustang could be worth $30,000. If restored, it could garner $200,000 from an interested buyer.
The car was reported stolen in 1980 and, officially, never recovered. But Jeff Dove, the man who reported it stolen, died last year, leaving behind a tangled legal web.
Tim Shuler, an Aurora man who spent time and money trying to restore the car, and American Family, the insurance company that paid $14,000 on the theft claim 30 years ago, are at odds over who owns it.
{intetwrap}
Shuler began restoring cars as a hobby, and when Dove came to his Aurora home in 1996 and asked him to refurbish his ‘67 Shelby, Shuler agreed.
Over a 12-year period, Shuler stored the car at his house, restoring only the steering wheel. Shuler says he also loaned Dove money with an agreement that the car was collateral.
“He has legal claims to the car because he held it so long and he had an oral contract with Mr. Dove,” said Shuler’s attorney Kevin Flesch.
When Dove first brought the car to him, Shuler asked Dove for the title, but Dove told him he had lost the paperwork.
Dove never returned for the car, and in May 2008, Shuler decided to title the Shelby for himself.
Shuler said it’s possible that Dove defrauded the insurance company, but he also believes that it’s possible the car was recovered. According to investigative reports, the Colorado State Patrol questioned Dove before he died, and Dove told them the car had been recovered, but had been so stripped, they allowed him to keep the insurance payout.
Steve Witmer, a spokesman for American Family, said the company is certain that it paid out $14,000 to Dove on the stolen car, meaning that if it has now been found, it belongs to the insurer. He also acknowledged that American Family lost the file on the Shelby — including the title to it.
“It’s not normal for information like a title to be destroyed,” Witmer said, but the company does have some remaining documentation that a claim was paid.
That explains why Shuler and American Family are fighting in court. But why is the Shelby in an impound yard?
Shuler said that’s because a State Patrol detective accused him of stealing the car and running a chop shop.
| 
|