STOLEN Porsche 917 Motors Recovered!!!

[Wayne 962]

UPDATE 4-11-2024 - More than 18 years later, I finally have told the complete story in our new video released on our channel. That as well as the Brian Redman auction too. Enjoy!

-Wayne





Some of you may or may not be aware of the story. It's long, and I won't go into all of the details here (dinner is coming soon), but I am pleased to say that the engines have been recovered, and I played an important part in getting them back!

History: Vasek Polak was one of Porsche Motorsports best customers / friend of the factory. He owned several dealerships here in SoCal. Around 1999 or so, he was running a 911 Turbo on the Autobahn when he possibly had a stroke, and crashed the car. He died about a month or so after, while being transported back to the states.

His collection of racecars (see link here: http://www.pelicanparts.com/swapmeet_pics/vasek_garage.htm) and racing parts were sold at auction. A few items were left behind, including 4 NOS 917 engines, an NOS 908 3.0L engine, a NOS 907 hillclimb engine, a 3.4L 911 high performance engine, and a few other odds and ends. These were all stolen in or around 1999/2000 (the exact date escapes me).

I was brought in as an expert witness to help with the valuations of these engines. I spent a long time pondering and figuring out what they were worth (more details on this later).

Fast forward about five years. I have purposely kept the story of the stolen 917 motors somewhat quiet, as I didn't really want to spook anyone who had them. I was watching and hoping that they would turn up sometime. Sure enough, someone posted a classified ad on the Pelican BBS recently stating that they had 4 917 engines for sale, along with a 907 hillclimb engine.

Working with the private investigator for the Vasek Polak Charitable Trust (Paul Cohen), we arranged a "sting operation" where I set up a meeting to look at the engines for a "prospective buyer" I had waiting in the wings. We arrived with squad cars, and sure enough, the engines were there. The person who had the engines (who will remain nameless at this time), was unware of the fact that they were "running hot", and was more than happy to let us have the stolen goods. We immediately hired a trucking company, and the engines were transported to the Pelican warehouse in El Segundo.

These engines are NOS 917 engines, manufactured from spare parts at the Vasek Polak Racing facility in Torrance, CA. Three of them are brand new and have never been run in a car. A few of them are missing one or two parts (alternator, MFI pump, front oil pumps, etc.), and one appears to be 100% complete. We will be inventorying all of the parts and pieces on the motors, and they will all be offered for sale in the very near future.

There is also a Type 771 907 Hillclimb engine that was recovered as well. The 771 motor is arguably more rare than the 917 engines. It's basically an eight-cylinder version of the four cam motor that was installed in the 550 (a rare motor in itself).

Anyone interested in purchasing one of these engines should contact myself, Wayne R. Dempsey at 310-640-1245x227.

-Wayne

[Wayne 962]

Preliminary photos of the engines:

[Dantilla]

That's great news!

Coming soon to Pelican 2006:
-917 Technical Forum
-917 Used Parts Classifieds

[Wayne 962]

[Jason Cullen]

Wayne,

Excellent Recovery! I remember the post on these!

Congratulations!

Jason

[Hugh R]

Very cool, out of my price range, but great story. I'm guessing that you purchased them from Vasek's estate?

[jwetering]

WOW - Thats' some story and holy smokes look at that hardware!! Nice.

[Kmatts]

great news about the recovery & successful investigation work, but now that you are selling the motors.....where are the proceeds going?
I'm guessing to the insurance company that perhaps initially paid out on the original theft of the motors from the auction house?

[Wayne 962]

Originally posted by Kmatts
great news about the recovery & successful investigation work, but now that you are selling the motors.....where are the proceeds going?
I'm guessing to the insurance company that perhaps initially paid out on the original theft of the motors from the auction house?

Nope, I'm happy to say that the settlement between the insurance company allowed for the Vasek Polak Charitable Trust to acquire the "salvage" rights to the engines if they were ever recovered. The proceeds will go to to the charity. Here are some links:

http://www.torrancememorial.org/vp_benefactor.htm

http://www.lcmhs.org/foundation/sp04_c1.html

http://www.the-tidings.com/2004/0423/sphospital.htm

It does feel very good to be a part of the recovery and redistribution efforts for the charity. It's also pretty cool to have a warehouse full of 917 engines!

-Wayne

[Kmatts]

Congratulations Wayne.....this is wonderful news.
thank you for clarifying this.
Kyle.
(ps.....is it out of line to request you post the proceeds from the sales?)

[Maltese Falcon]

Hey Wayne , Bobby Rahal has a 917 that he spoke of at the POC 50th--give him a shout !
Vasek (RIP) was a great philanthropist
...and congrats on the good hunting.
Marty

[juicersr]

Drooool....flat fan... must have... wonder if that 907 engine will fit in my SC? Should mate right up to the old 915.

[jmz]

good on ya Wayne! ...but man I can't imagine having those in my warehouse and then having to get rid of them.

[ischmitz]

Wayne, did you find them in Santa Fe Springs

[ZLP]

Post more pics!!

[island911]

Wow! Cool.

Take lot's of pict's, would ya?

[Wayne 962]

Originally posted by ischmitz
Wayne, did you find them in Santa Fe Springs

Maybe.

-Wayne

[Wayne 962]

Originally posted by island911
Wow! Cool.

Take lot's of pict's, would ya?

I plan to do a photo essay documenting them!

-Wayne

[Jeff Alton]

Nice Job on that Wayne, good for you. It is also nice to see a charity will benefit from the sale of these gems! If I read correctly, the guy who has them may have thought they were legit? Is that right? Any chance the true culprits will have to answer for their actions??

Nice to see...

Cheers

[Wayne 962]

Originally posted by catca
Nice Job on that Wayne, good for you. It is also nice to see a charity will benefit from the sale of these gems! If I read correctly, the guy who has them may have thought they were legit? Is that right? Any chance the true culprits will have to answer for their actions??

Not sure. The police are involved, and there are still a few more missing engines out there that we are looking for...

-Wayne