'The French Connection'
Greetings car enthusiasts!
Now if there's one thing most of us enjoy is a mystery! In my case, one involving the disappearance of a 1970 Jaguar E Type 2 + 2, some 23 years ago in Sweden. Some of you may enjoy the below story.
On route back from the Monaco 2018 Historic F1 to Cap Ferrat, I stopped outside an art gallery in Beaulieu to admire a very stylish, elderly woman, posing for a photograph. My wife couldn't resist shouting ' you look beautiful' The lady smiled and walked over to us. After a few minutes, we learned she was from Malmo, Sweden but now living in the South of France.
By chance, she mentioned her late husband had left his 1970 E Type Jaguar 2+2 into a Swedish garage in the 1990's to have the body painted. After some enquiries, the lady discovered the body shop had burnt down and the car had disappeared. She tried to find the the garage owner but, as her late husband had left the car in, she had no idea of his name. She assumed her E Type convertible had been shipped to Poland or Russia to be sold for parts. Fortunately, she still had the registration document and some valuable parts, stored in her Swedish apartment – front & rear chrome bumpers, new soft top, carpets and seats. Unfortunately, she had thrown away the metal soft top frame.
Being a classic car enthusiast and, somewhat curious, I offered to find the car. She looked me saying, 'I doubt if you'll find it' 'But hey, there's nothing to lose' I said ' We exchanged contact details and the car's Swedish registration number. I asked her if I did find the car and wanted to sell it, to give me first option. She agreed. So, in spite of not having the garage owner's name, I felt hopeful.
Walking along the 35 minute promenade from Beaulieu – Cape Ferrat, we stopped to admire David Niven's beautiful house,Villa Nellcote at Villefranche-sur-Mer where, in the 1960's, many famous Hollywood stars gathered for parties, namely Grace Kelley, Gregory Peck, William Holden. Even Keith Richard rented the house to record Exile on Main Street when the Stones decamped to the S. of France in '71 for tax reasons.
Back in our VW Westfalia camper, parked by the beach in Cape Ferrat, I was excited at the challenge of tracking down this rare, E Type Jaguar. That evening, we walked over to the impressive hotel, La Voile D'Or for a drink. The next day, we continued our journey on to Italy.
A few weeks later, on our return to Gloucestershire, my thoughts drifted back to the mysterious disappearance of the E Type. I made a call to my Swedish friend, Bjorn, a fellow classic car enthusiast whom I got to know when I lived in the next village, a few kms from the burnt out workshop.
Within a week, we had discovered where the body shop owner lived! I called the Swedish lady in Beaulieu with the good news. She was delighted and rang the garage owner asking 'Where is my Jaguar?' 'I have it but didn't know where you lived' he replied. 'Strange the car has been registered at my Malmo apartment for over 40 years' she said. 'Well I didn't know the car's registration' he replied. 'Where is the car now' she demanded. 'Here but before you collect it, I want storage fees for the last 23 years, totalling 50000 Skr' (UK£4000) he replied. 'Ridiculous, you have made no attempt to contact me in all this time to tell me you had my car or, that you wanted storage fees. I will be in Sweden in three weeks time and I will come and inspect the car' she replied.
That evening, she emailed me to tell me what he had said. 'Rubbish, he didn't contact you because he wanted the car for himself ' I replied She agreed. Fortunately for her, every year she had kept the car's registration up to date with the Swedish Traffic department, so his feeble excuse made no sense.
A few weeks later, she arrived at his doorstep with a friend. The car was indeed there but it was in a sorry state. The body had been stripped and primed There was no interior. Fortunately, the 4 wire wheels were on the car. Again he demanded that she pay him 50000 Skr storage fees before she removed the car. Naturally, she refused and after taking a few photographs, she and her friend left. A few weeks later, she received a solicitors letter from him, demanding 50000 kr (£5000) storage fees + an additional monthly storage fee of 2000 Skr (UK£170).
Now the mistake this lad made was believing this little old Swedish lady, living in the South of France, was stupid and naïve. After the initial shock of the garage owner's behaviour and not wanting to waste money on hiring a legal eagle, she got on the blower to Kronofogden, - the Sheriff, to find out if she had a case. They instructed her to send in all the relevant information and they would investigate the matter. A few weeks later, she received a reply to say that she had indeed a good case and they would instruct the unscrupulous, garage owner that unless he handed over the car, he would end up in court, facing a stiff fine. Kronofodgen stated they would accompany her to the garage owner's home to ensure he would hand over the car. To say the lady was ecstatic is an understatement! The next day, she emailed me an update and and I suggested ' 'Why not contact my friend Bjorn who could possibly pick up the car and store it for you ' She agreed.
A few weeks later, the garage owner opened the door to discover the Sheriff and the owner standing in the doorway. Peering over them, the man could see Bjorn and his car trailer in his drivway. One hour later, he took his last look at the car disappearing in the distance. His plan of ever claiming a 1970 E Type Jag or, his outrageous 50000 kr storage fee had backfired. All he was left with was an empty garage and an expensive legal bill. 'Karma' comes to mind.
A few days later, I received pictures of the car in a very sorry state. True to her word, she suggested I make her an offer which I did. But unfortunately, she received a higher offer from an English car enthusiast whose dream was to own a E Type. I decided not to counter his offer and was happy she had received a better offer. The day the car was picked up by the Englishman and a few days later, I received an unexpected, generous 'finders fee' from this little old lady in Beaulieu!
Available to track down any classic worldwide!
Cheers
'The Celt'
PS: Should anyone be interested in reading an African 'Bush' classic adventure with pics, feel free to email me.
