LOCAL MOTORSPORTS INSIDER: Thieves steal '69 Camaro and owner's dreams

Lonny Evans knew his 1969 Chevrolet Camaro drag car was one bad hot rod. So did the men who stole it, and to Evans' chagrin, continue to elude justice.

Evans is the owner/operator of Riverside Auto Center Inc., a used-car lot at 3624 Northeast 28th St. In early April, Evans traded a 1998 Chevy Corvette for the Camaro, which he envisioned as the ultimate toy.

"My intentions were to play with the car, maybe race it, have some fun with it. I haven't done that since my teen-age years," said Evans, 48. "And then I figured I'd eventually sell it. I'm a car dealer; everything I got is for sale.

"And I never got to take it off the trailer. Washed it once, started it four or five times. I work for a living. I don't steal for a living and I don't have a lot of time for pleasure. Cars are my pleasure. I love cars. I get pleasure out of messing with cars."

This '69 Camaro was set up for serious Bracket Racing. Painted a bright maroon, it featured a 509 cubic-inch Merlin V-8 engine, fiberglass front clip, doors and trunk lid, two-speed powerglide transmission, 9-inch rear end and 32-inch rear slicks on Centerline Wheels. That's what the car looked like when it was stolen from Evans' secured lot in the early morning hours of April 28.

Photos of the Camaro since have been posted on the Web site of Texas Raceway, the popular eighth-mile strip in Kennedale where Evans was hoping to drive the car. Evans also has posted the information on Craig's List, offering a $2,500 reward for the tip that leads to recovery.

Evans said the Camaro was parked on its trailer behind a 12-foot chain-link fence in an enclosed area. The thieves broke three drill bits, Evans said, destroying a lock to gain entrance. "I also had a half-inch cable wrapped around the wheels of the trailer," Evans said, incredulously.

Information supplied by a witness stated the thieves -- three African- American men in a late-model silver or gray crew-cab pickup -- pulled over in the 3200 block of Browning Court.

Evans believes one of the straps on the front of the car worked loose and it began rolling off the trailer. The witness reported the men eventually pushed the Camaro off the trailer, breaking the fiberglass front end, before dragging the car around a corner. Evans said the witness, believing the car belonged to the men, never thought to call police.

Evans followed up by handing out 400 fliers over a five-street area in the neighborhood. The fliers produced a solid lead when a young man spotted the front clip lying beside a house in the 2700 block of Binkley Street, off Rosedale. That evidence prompted a return visit by Fort Worth Police investigators.

"Everybody on the block comes out, but they had amnesia," Evans said. "We scoured the neighborhood; the car is nowhere but it's got to be in that area. It's just unbelievable that nobody saw nothing."

Evans since has visited several local drag strips to pass out fliers and his cellphone number (817-996-6063).

"The word is out there. The car is hot," Evans said. "I don't think they're going to completely destroy it because it's a pretty car, and a '69 Camaro. Once all the thieves get what they want off it, there'll be a frame and a back-half left. I say somebody builds them a car and puts it back on the track. I think they'll disguise it in so many different ways that nobody will know it."

Evans said the theft has been a drain economically.

"It hurts you to the bone to think that as tough as everyone has got it right now... these guys are stealing my stuff," Evans said. "Not only that, it's a mental thing. I haven't been able to sleep for two weeks. All I can think about is that car. Can't stop looking. It's totally upset my whole life. This has pretty much devastated me."