National Corvette Show Winner Stolen, Burned, and Chopped

Detroit-Area Police Still Investigating Theft of Award-Winning C1 Restoration Project

When we first heard the story about this 1960 Corvette stolen in Michigan, we hoped for the best. But unfortunately, the outcome is far worse than we imagined.

Initially stolen outside a Detroit-area hotel on February 21, the award-winning ‘Vette was recently found, cut up in three pieces and burned. Needless to say, the owner, Dave Fischbach, is having a tough time swallowing it all.

“They took a three-time National Corvette Show winner and cut it up in three pieces and burned it,” Fischbach tells the Record Eagle. “I can’t even describe my feelings. They totally destroyed my passion for cars right now.”

CHECK OUT: What Forum Members Are Saying About This Awful Crime

Fischbach planned to showcase the Corvette at Detroit’s Autorama show before it was stolen from a hotel in Southgate, Michigan. The thieves also stole a Jeep and a 42-foot aluminum trailer hitched to a 1994 Ford F-350 turbo diesel show truck.

When Fischback woke up in the morning, everything was gone. Police later recovered the Jeep, and found what was left of the truck and the Corvette within miles of each other.

Fischbach, who has been restoring vehicles for 40 years, says that all of the vehicles stolen from the Michigan hotel were insured. He estimates the value of the Corvette at anywhere between $30,000 and $50,000. But as we’re sure many here at Corvette Forum can attest, the damage of losing a classic, award-winning Corvette goes much deeper than the monetary loss, even if he can recoup the full cost in an insurance claim.

Southgate police are still investigating the theft, but say it could take years to get to the bottom of the burned Corvette.