Southern California man reunited with stolen 1969 Camaro that once belonged to late Vietnam veteran father
An Orange County man has been reunited with the 1969 Chevrolet Camaro, once gifted to him by his late Vietnam War veteran father, that was stolen back in 2009.
The bittersweet reunion was caught on camera shortly after the car was found in the backyard of a Whittier home, picked apart and non-operational, by Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department investigators.
"I haven't seen this car in 17 years. It's gonna be tough," said Victor Munoz, who said that he had given up all hope of ever seeing his father's car again until last week, when it was hauled out of the person's backyard.
The second he saw the chassis, Munoz instantly knew, despite it missing some tires, bumpers, lights, the passenger's side door, and all of its windows.
"Yeah, this is my car. Yeah, that's the car," he said. "That's my car. Wow."
Munoz says that what's even more important than getting the car back after so long is that he now has a piece of his father again. David Munoz purchased the deep green Camaro the day he returned to the U.S. from Vietnam in 1969, and when his son Victor turned 16, it was his birthday gift.
"At the time, when I was 16, I didn't know how important this car was, but especially losing it, it's more important to me now than ever," Victor Munoz said. "I still cannot believe that it is actually sitting in my garage. It's amazing."
For nearly 20 years, Munoz was left with questions and despair over the fate of his Camaro. It was finally located last week, about 30 miles from the body shop where it was stolen, according to LASD investigators. They said that the person who purchased the car back then was entirely unaware that it was stolen property.
"She looks a lot different. I mean, I can still tell it's her ... from underneath all the grime," Munoz said. "She's in rough shape right now. She's not the way I left her, that's for sure."
Because of that, he's expecting the total cost of repair and renovation to run him tens of thousands of dollars. He's already flooded the Instagram page for his Downey barbershop, which he also inherited from his father, and both clients and friends have said they'd contribute to the fund to return the Camaro to its original glory.
He's also started another Instagram account, @vics69camaro, to detail the rebuilding process, and started a GoFundMe, which can be found by searching for the keywords: "Help Restore My Family's 1969 Chevy Camaro."
On top of painting the car it's original deep green hue, Munoz also said that he plans to install plenty of anti-theft devices to make sure he's never separated from it again.
