Kansas Man’s 1959 Corvette May Not Be Crushed After All

After having his car seized because its VIN was altered, the owner of this 1959 Corvette may finally get it back.

Back in October of last year, we reported on a sad situation in Kansas, where the owner of a 1959 Corvette was facing quite the state-derived dilemma. After searching for his dream car for some time, Richard Martinez found his perfect 1959 Corvette back in 2017, promptly bringing it home and trying to register it. However, the Kansas State Police seized the car as contraband, noting that its VIN had been “destroyed, removed, altered or defaced,” meaning that state law required it to be destroyed. The C1 has since sat in an impound lot for five years after Martinez filed a lawsuit in Johnson County District Court, but there may be a happy ending to this story after all.

Martinez’s story gained major traction via local news sources and eventually spread all across the web, which prompted the Kansas House to approve a bill that would amend the state’s law on antique vehicles, according to the Kansas Reflector. The revised law would create an exemption that would allow anyone to remove a VIN or manufacturer’s serial number on a vehicle that’s at least 35 years old, so long as that only happened as part of a restoration or repair. Additionally, an exemption would be added for anyone unaware that their antique vehicle had been previously stolen.

“I don’t blame the Kansas Highway Patrol for what they’re doing in this case,” said Representative Leo Delperdang. “They’re doing their job. I blame the rule-makers. That’s us in this room. We have the ability to do something for the better moving forward.” “Innocence matters,” added Sam MacRoberts, litigation director of the Kansas Justice Institute. “The government should not get to destroy Mr. Martinez’s car for a wrong he did not commit. That is unconstitutional.”

However, not everyone agrees that this amendment is good for consumers, including Kansas City Highway Patrol Col. Herman Jones, who pointed out that this leaves the door open for fraud to occur. Instead, he proposed that restorers partner with law enforcement to document the removal and reinstallation of VIN plates, as well as the possibility of mandating that a vehicle inspection must occur before any work takes place. Regardless, the good news here is that Martinez may finally get his dream car back, even if it isn’t quite as nice as it was after sitting outside in a lot for five years.

Photos: Richard Martinez

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