--- title: "Thief’s Terrible Paint Job Fails to Stop Cops from Finding Stolen Ford GT40 Replica" description: "Flat black spray paint is not an effective form of camouflage." date: "2017-08-01" modified: "2017-08-01" authors: - name: "Kyle Cheromcha" job_title: "Editor-in-Chief" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/13109/thiefs-terrible-paint-job-fails-to-stop-cops-from-finding-stolen-ford-gt40-replica" categories: - "Ford News" - "News" - "News by Brand" tags: - "Car Theft" - "Crime" - "Fail" - "Ford" - "GT" - "Iowa" - "Paint" - "police" - "Supercar" --- # Thief’s Terrible Paint Job Fails to Stop Cops from Finding Stolen Ford GT40 Replica ![]() *\www.thedrive.com\* An artistic car thief is cooling his heels in jail today after allegedly stealing a rare 1966 Ford GT40 replica, only to get caught after spray-painting the car black and parading around the small central Iowa town where the owner, police, and members of the community were actively searching for it, [according to *KCCI News.*]() Marshall County Supervisor Steve Salasek was understandably upset when he checked the garage where he stored the bright yellow GT40 replica a couple of weeks ago and discovered his "dream" car had been stolen. He notified police, the Marshalltown City Facebook page [put out an all-points bulletin]() asking people to be on the lookout for the distinctive car, and the story quickly spread around the area. ![message-editor%2F1501624328146-20376118\_10155545452139322\_7541624017939721030\_n.jpg]() **Facebook | City of Marshalltown** "I just assumed I'd never see the car again," Salasek told *KCCI News.* Now usually when thieves abscond with [a rare or otherwise noteworthy vehicle,]() that's true—it's usually either stripped for parts in an [underground chop shop](), or quickly dropped into to a container bound for another country....[or set on fire.]() But *KCCI* reports that police say alleged thief Patrick Chamberlain instead opted to spray-paint the car matte black and hope that residents of this small town wouldn't notice a *second* 1966 Ford GT40 replica mysteriously appearing in their midst. https://youtube.com/embed/doecN4-egJg Unsurprisingly, it didn't work. Within hours of the Facebook alert going up, people wrote in saying they had seen the car. A few days later, police themselves spotted Chamberlain cruising through Marshalltown in the rattle-canned GT40 and arrested him, charging him with theft, possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia, and a few traffic offenses for good measure. Salasek told *KCCI* it was "pretty devastating" to see the terrible paint job, and replica GT40 or not, we have to agree. Fortunately, the original yellow is still visible in a few spots, so hopefully it's a thin enough coat that a professional might be able to get it off without damaging the paint underneath (assuming the car's clear coat was still intact). "One way or another, it'll come back to life," Salasek said. ## Author Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()