The Ford Model T is a true icon in the automotive world, an affordable, mass-produced machine that made automobiles attainable for the masses. By the time the Ford Model T exited production for good, The Blue Oval had built more than 15 million of them – and today, over a century later, it remains a favorite among collectors and enthusiasts alike. That’s likely precisely why a man tried to make off with a 1925 Ford Model T pickup recently, though his attempt ultimately failed.
According to The Sentinel-Herald, that man – Garland County, Arkansas resident Edward Gene Oliver Jr. – stole the 1925 Ford Model T pickup directly from the owner’s garage, likely thinking that he was going to be able to part it out and make a tidy profit. However, unbeknownst to the thief, the owner places tracking devices on all of his vehicles, which enabled a friend to locate it shortly after he noticed it was gone.
The friend proceeded to head over to the address provided by the tracker – which happened to be Oliver’s residence – and noticed that the Model T was in fact there. However, Oliver was in the process of disassembling it and loading parts on a trailer, seemingly wasting no time. Thus, the friend called 911, but then, Oliver left driving a Jeep with the stolen Model T parts loaded on a trailer behind it, so he proceeded to follow him while remaining in contact with police.
Shortly thereafter, law enforcement caught up with Oliver and arrested him without incident. It didn’t take long for them to determine that the parts on the trailer did in fact belong to the stolen 1925 Ford Model T pickup, and he was promptly charged with theft by receiving and transported to the Garland County Detention Center. However, had the owner not installed some sort of tracking device on his pickup, it’s unclear if it would have ever been found – further proving that this is a great way to help recover stolen vehicles, in general.
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Comments
Smart man. Hard to beat a hidden tracker!
Just imagine, If ford built the model T with the likes of a 10r80 10 spped trans the thief might have never been able to drive / steal it. And if it was moveable no one would have given him a red cent for that pos.
Some new technology saved some old technology! What a great article!