Surprising Comeback : Stolen Race Car Worth $25,000 Is Returned Intact

When thieves stole his 1927 Ford roadster Monday morning, Ed De Staute figured the next time he saw the $25,000 racing car it would be nothing more than a stripped shell.

Thursday morning, De Staute got a pleasant surprise. The Spoiler 8 roadster, which had been parked in a box trailer hooked up to a van in front of his Rosemead home when it was stolen, was discovered intact Wednesday night in the garage of a Buena Park home by police acting on an anonymous telephone tip.

The only apparent damage was a scratched front fender and a bent exhaust pipe, which De Staute said he would probably fix with “a hammer and a piece of wood.” The van and trailer were later found abandoned about nine miles away in Villa Park.

Buena Park police went to the County Jail’s Theo Lacy facility in Orange Thursday afternoon and charged Don Bradford Tanklage, 22, of La Habra with grand theft auto and possession of stolen property. Tanklage had turned himself in to sheriff’s deputies Monday morning on an outstanding reckless driving warrant and would have been released Friday.