Bob Russell's prized possession, a 1967 Austin-Healey 3000 Mk III (a Mk II pictured for illustration purposes), was stolen from a parking spot outside of his Philadelphia apartment when he was a Temple University graduate student back in 1970. Russell filed the necessary police reports following the theft, but no sign of the Austin-Healey turned up during its 42-year disappearance, despite Russell's persistence of checking every 3000 he came across over the years.
"At first I wondered if my eyes were functioning," Russell told The Spec. "I'm still trying to come down from the adrenalin rush."
That night Russell stumbled across his long-lost 3000 on an eBay listing. It was sitting on a dealer lot in California with a missing VIN number plate and busted locks - both telltale signs of a stolen vehicle.
Russell called the Beverly Hills dealer the next day to inform them that they had a stolen vehicle. However, the dealer wasn't much help and only offered to sell Russell the car for $24,000.
At that point Russell called the Philadelphia Police Department for help, who in turn got in contact with the Los Angeles Police Department. The car was impounded on June 14.
With the original title and keys in hand, Russell and his wife, Cynthia, who was actually his girlfriend at the time of the theft, booked a flight to California and took possession of the car on June 18. Russell had to pay about $2,000 for impound fees and towing costs, which is exactly what he paid for the car in 1968.
"That's what the car was worth when we lost it, so actually, we did buy it back," Cynthia said.
The 3000 is currently in pretty poor condition, but Russell plans to give the car a full restoration, which will probably include a state-of-the-art security system.
