I am looking for a motor for my Clubby Van and found a 1098cc that looked a pretty good buy in a magazine. Called the bloke, spoke to him at length, agreed on pick-up details and, as an afterthought, asked him for the engine number. Mmmh. Not the same as the number in the ad. Checked REVs (Register of Encumbered Vehicles) on line and the motor is flagged as "Under Police Investigation". I then proceeded in a westerly direction to the local cop shop. The police got really excited and wanted to set up a sting operation (Yes, just like on The Bill). They gave me a look at COPS (the NSW Police data base, which had an alarming amount of information about the seller who turned out to be quite legitimate) and sure enough, the motor came from a '63 Deluxe reported stolen a few months ago. The seller had bought the car from a car crusher company. It would appear that it was given to the car crusher and then reported stolen for $5,000 insurance, at least 5 time its value. I'm still hoping to get the motor when the dust settles.
Graham