STOLEN DELICA PLEASE HELP

Hey All !

Wanted to post an update.... THE VAN HAS BEEN SPOTTED IN PORTLAND.

With the help of @Crankshaft Culture and a friend of his in the area, my van was spotted in South-Eastern Portland. It looks like it has really been through it.. the roof rack is gone and the rear window is shattered out, among some other damage, but never-the-less it is driving around somewhere. This is the most recent photo of the van...

1619543449469.png

The green holographic Chamonix stickers on the rear have been pealed off as well. But there are many distinguishing features that confirm it is my van such as the crease on the passenger side door, the blacked out spoiler/ wind guard above the rear-hatch, and the routing box above the drivers head which has a mess of white epoxy sealing it to the roof. (It is possible it still has a custom bamboo shift-knob on it, painted with koi fish, but its hard to know about the interior)

ANYWAYS this is an exciting development as I had come to terms with never seeing this van again. If anyone is in the greater Portland area please keep an eye out and/or spread the word to other Delica owners / Van Lifers / Importers . It will be very mush appreciated !
 
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helladeli said:
Hey All !

Wanted to post an update.... THE VAN HAS BEEN SPOTTED IN PORTLAND.

With the help of @Crankshaft Culture and a friend of his in the area, my van was spotted in South-Eastern Portland. It looks like it has really been through it.. the roof rack is gone and the rear window is shattered out, among some other damage, but never-the-less it is driving around somewhere. This is the most recent photo of the van...

View attachment 11761

The green holographic Chamonix stickers on the rear have been pealed off as well. But there are many distinguishing features that confirm it is my van such as the crease on the passenger side door, the blacked out spoiler/ wind guard above the rear-hatch, and the routing box above the drivers head which has a mess of white epoxy sealing it to the roof. (It is possible it still has a custom bamboo shift-knob on it, painted with koi fish, but its hard to know about the interior)

ANYWAYS this is an exciting development as I had come to terms with never seeing this van again. If anyone is in the greater PHX area please keep an eye out and/or spread the word to other Delica owners / Van Lifers / Importers . It will be very mush appreciated !
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It was spotted in Portland but you want people in the PHX area to keep an eye out? I'm going to be in Phoenix soon
 
Thomb said:
It was spotted in Portland but you want people in the PHX area to keep an eye out? I'm going to be in Phoenix soon
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I think he meant to say PDX, imo. I to wonder how you can drive around w/no lic plate and a broken window w/o getting pulled over?
 
bikerjosh said:
I think he meant to say PDX, imo. I to wonder how you can drive around w/no lic plate and a broken window w/o getting pulled over?
Click to expand...
Unless you raise the correct need, welcome to Portland! I used to live up that way and seen stuff like this all of the time. It is time to be the biggest sob story complainer to get the towns finest to lift a finger
 
helladeli said:
Hey All !

Wanted to post an update.... THE VAN HAS BEEN SPOTTED IN PORTLAND.

With the help of @Crankshaft Culture and a friend of his in the area, my van was spotted in South-Eastern Portland. It looks like it has really been through it.. the roof rack is gone and the rear window is shattered out, among some other damage, but never-the-less it is driving around somewhere. This is the most recent photo of the van...

View attachment 11761

The green holographic Chamonix stickers on the rear have been pealed off as well. But there are many distinguishing features that confirm it is my van such as the crease on the passenger side door, the blacked out spoiler/ wind guard above the rear-hatch, and the routing box above the drivers head which has a mess of white epoxy sealing it to the roof. (It is possible it still has a custom bamboo shift-knob on it, painted with koi fish, but its hard to know about the interior)

ANYWAYS this is an exciting development as I had come to terms with never seeing this van again. If anyone is in the greater PHX area please keep an eye out and/or spread the word to other Delica owners / Van Lifers / Importers . It will be very mush appreciated !
Click to expand...
I contacted the person who reported this sighting to ask what area this was, but he never got back to me. I live in NE Portland.
 
Ugh. This is almost the worst case scenario. Anyway if the dude gets the van back I hope it isn’t too damaged
 
natematos said:
@helladeli Trying to get in touch with you on IG. An IG follower spotted your van is at a tow yard outside Salem and sent photos to me, it's 100% yours. The tow yard ran the vin but it came back as unable to locate.
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Somebody should call the tow yard and let them know not to crush the van, the owner will be in touch soon
 
Deli People !

So the van has been found and I can not thank everyone on this forum enough for helping out and staying with it through this entire 4 month ordeal. It has been really refreshing to have so many people looking out for me during this time.
I've said it in the past but I'll say it again...I have been part of other forums for different vehicles and such but the Delicaforum group is by far the most supportive and enthusiastic collection of folks around. There is certainly a strength in numbers that comes from this forum which is really cool !

Now for the not so great news.....

The van is totally trashed. I took some photos of it but I don't think I'll post them bc they are quite disheartening. I'm not sure of all the details of what it has been through in the last 4 months, but it is clear it has been used and abused over and over again. In the latest joy ride, its final one, it seems to really have been wheeled hard as the undercarriage / oil pan / skid plates are all bent and creased in, filled with dirt and sticks and branches. For what ever reason the engine was WAY overfilled with oil - seemed to be at least 3 or 4 quarts over , but other than that it is hard to know much more about the mechanical state of the van. Rear window is smashed out, the tailgate is creased in and won't open. Panels are falling off the outside like its in style... They even took the top off my snorkel ! .... Those bastards...

The inside of the van makes the outside look like its in proper order. Just fully trashed is the only way I can describe it.

Yesterday I did 18 hours of driving (there and back) to go check it out for myself and I was able to recover a few smaller items that were left behind... Some books, kitchen gear, an ash tray I bought in Nicaragua ! which is really great.

Anyways, the saga continues for me as my insurance company continues to make this as hard as possible for me on their end... Just before the settlement could be accepted the van is found so now it moves from a "total loss claim" to an "accident claim" where someone will be evaluating the condition of the van to see if it is reparable. A word of warning.... The Geko is very easy to set up and insure these vans with, but boy do they drag their feet when it comes time to do their job. As I mentioned above it has been 4 month since this first happened and the process is not even close to being resolved.


This very well may be the end of my posting in the forum for a while...the van will require much more work and time than I have right now and more than that it will require a place to sit for a long time before I could do anything with it anyways... all things I do not have at the moment.
I am going to work with the insurance company to see what they plan to do with the van in the long run and if it does get sent to auction I will update this thread in case anyone is interested in a cheap parts van.... **remember it has a brand spankin' new D4BF that was just broken in** and lots of other new / rebuilt parts. Hopefully the van will be able to do some good for someone down the line !

With all this being said I will continue to lurk here from time to time...once you spend so many hours on this site it become muscle memory to login and have a look at the recent posts.
I do hope to jump back in a Delica some time in the future as the joy and freedom felt from driving mine is unrivaled by any other vehicle I've owned. These vans are so great and so much fun it doesn't make sense !

I'd go on to list some of the members that have been really great in helping out and even texting my to make sure I'm seeing all the updates but I'm afraid I would end up tagging the entire forum ! Once again, I can't thank y'all enough for all the help and support and good energy sent my way from the beginning !


Now everyone go out and put some damn security systems in your vans already !!!
 
helladeli said:
Deli People !

So the van has been found and I can not thank everyone on this forum enough for helping out and staying with it through this entire 4 month ordeal. It has been really refreshing to have so many people looking out for me during this time.
I've said it in the past but I'll say it again...I have been part of other forums for different vehicles and such but the Delicaforum group is by far the most supportive and enthusiastic collection of folks around. There is certainly a strength in numbers that comes from this forum which is really cool !

Now for the not so great news.....

The van is totally trashed. I took some photos of it but I don't think I'll post them bc they are quite disheartening. I'm not sure of all the details of what it has been through in the last 4 months, but it is clear it has been used and abused over and over again. In the latest joy ride, its final one, it seems to really have been wheeled hard as the undercarriage / oil pan / skid plates are all bent and creased in, filled with dirt and sticks and branches. For what ever reason the engine was WAY overfilled with oil - seemed to be at least 3 or 4 quarts over , but other than that it is hard to know much more about the mechanical state of the van. Rear window is smashed out, the tailgate is creased in and won't open. Panels are falling off the outside like its in style... They even took the top off my snorkel ! .... Those bastards...

The inside of the van makes the outside look like its in proper order. Just fully trashed is the only way I can describe it.

Yesterday I did 18 hours of driving (there and back) to go check it out for myself and I was able to recover a few smaller items that were left behind... Some books, kitchen gear, an ash tray I bought in Nicaragua ! which is really great.

Anyways, the saga continues for me as my insurance company continues to make this as hard as possible for me on their end... Just before the settlement could be accepted the van is found so now it moves from a "total loss claim" to an "accident claim" where someone will be evaluating the condition of the van to see if it is reparable. A word of warning.... The Geko is very easy to set up and insure these vans with, but boy do they drag their feet when it comes time to do their job. As I mentioned above it has been 4 month since this first happened and the process is not even close to being resolved.


This very well may be the end of my posting in the forum for a while...the van will require much more work and time than I have right now and more than that it will require a place to sit for a long time before I could do anything with it anyways... all things I do not have at the moment.
I am going to work with the insurance company to see what they plan to do with the van in the long run and if it does get sent to auction I will update this thread in case anyone is interested in a cheap parts van.... **remember it has a brand spankin' new D4BF that was just broken in** and lots of other new / rebuilt parts. Hopefully the van will be able to do some good for someone down the line !

With all this being said I will continue to lurk here from time to time...once you spend so many hours on this site it become muscle memory to login and have a look at the recent posts.
I do hope to jump back in a Delica some time in the future as the joy and freedom felt from driving mine is unrivaled by any other vehicle I've owned. These vans are so great and so much fun it doesn't make sense !

I'd go on to list some of the members that have been really great in helping out and even texting my to make sure I'm seeing all the updates but I'm afraid I would end up tagging the entire forum ! Once again, I can't thank y'all enough for all the help and support and good energy sent my way from the beginning !


Now everyone go out and put some damn security systems in your vans already !!!
Click to expand...
This story is the reason I have my van in the shop now getting an update to the alarm system. Glad you got it back, and my heart breaks for the clean up and repairs you have to do!
 
I am really happy that you at least have the closure. I'm really sorry that this happened and you had to go through it. But, thank you to everyone who helped to get his van back. Let me know if you decide to get another one; I will import you one at pure cost if you'd like. We can work together to find you a new one :)

Cheers,
K
 
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