--- description: A man was arrested after stealing a car that he attempted to disguise with a quick paint job, although onlookers saw right through it. title: This Car Thief's Shoddy Paint Job Failed to Cover His Crimes image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf5091b204192c092/6988d84c8fd2eefb3d35846a/1966-ford-gt40.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Eager Car Thief's Spray Paint Job Fails to Cover Up Crime  by [Raisa Bruner](/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 3, 2017 4:04 PM CUT  1966 Ford GT40\. Artist: Unknown. (Photo by National Motor Museum/Heritage Images/Getty Images) 1966 Ford GT40\. Artist: Unknown. (Photo by National Motor Museum/Heritage Images/Getty Images)Heritage Images—Getty Images  by [Raisa Bruner](/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 3, 2017 4:04 PM CUT Looks can be deceiving — but maybe not _that_ deceiving. In the case of a stolen 1966 [Ford](http://time.com/4714859/trump-ford-michigan-job-annoucement/ "undefined") GT40 replica, the thief’s attempt to disguise the vehicle with a quick spray paint job in a matte black shade failed to fool onlookers, who noted the race car’s original color peeking through. The result? The thief was arrested and the car returned to its original owner. [According to local news](https://www.upi.com/Odd%5FNews/2017/08/02/Thief-used-crude-paint-job-to-disguise-rare-stolen-car/6021501699296/ "undefined"), Steve Salasek of Marshalltown, Iowa found his distinctive classic car missing from his garage when he attempted to take it out last Tuesday. Luckily, local residents kept a sharp eye out and managed to spot it for police after noticing its original yellow paint beneath the black coat, according to police chief Michael Tupper. But beyond the tell-tale paint job, the car itself had a claim to fame in the area. “It was a very unique car and I feel pretty comfortable saying it was probably the only car like this in Marshall County, maybe in the central Iowa area,” Tupper said. (An original 1968 GT40 [sold for a whopping $11 million](http://www.chron.com/cars/article/Ford-GT40-sells-for-record-setting-price-for-U-S-3800649.php "undefined") in Texas in 2012, setting a record for a U.S. car; even replicas like this one [are worth](http://www.nadaguides.com/Classic-Cars/1966/Ford/GT40-Mark-I/2-Door-Coupe/Values "undefined") hundreds of thousands of dollars, [if not more](https://www.hagerty.com/apps/valuationtools/1966-ford-gt40-mk%5Fi%5Froad "undefined").) Patrick Allen Chamberlain was arrested ultimately charged with theft — plus controlled substance possession and traffic offenses. It is unclear who performed the paint job. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4885705/car-thief-paint-job/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4885705/car-thief-paint-job/"},"headline":"Eager Car Thief's Spray Paint Job Fails to Cover Up Crime","datePublished":"2017-08-03T16:04:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:46:07.488Z","description":"A man was arrested after stealing a car that he attempted to disguise with a quick paint job, although onlookers saw right through it.","url":"https://time.com/4885705/car-thief-paint-job/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Crime","viral","cars","Bizarre"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf5091b204192c092/6988d84c8fd2eefb3d35846a/1966-ford-gt40.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf5091b204192c092/6988d84c8fd2eefb3d35846a/1966-ford-gt40.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"1966 Ford GT40","caption":"1966 Ford GT40","creditText":"Heritage Images—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4885705/car-thief-paint-job/","name":"Eager Car Thief's Spray Paint Job Fails to Cover Up Crime"}}]}] ```