Woodward Dream Cruise a Nightmare for 3 Classic Car Owners

This 1966 Chevrolet Corvette was stolen Saturday afternoon in Birmingham. (Photo via Birmingham police)

» Get Patch’s daily newsletter and real-time news alerts.

For three classic car owners, the annual Woodward Dream Cruise showcase of collector vehicles was more like the nightmare cruise.

One of the victims – Papa John’s Pizza founder John Schnatter – may be feeling a bit of déjà vu after his prized 1972 Camaro Z28 was stolen from a Courtyard Marriott hotel on East Jefferson Avenue in Detroit, WXYZ-TV reports.

It’s the second time the collector car has been lost to Schnatter, who sold it for $2,800 in 1984 help his father out of bankruptcy, then used the proceeds from the sale to start his pizza company out of the back of his father’s tavern.

In 2010, Schnatter paid a $25,000 finder’s fee to locate the car, then paid the owner $250,000 to regain ownership of it.

The gold car with black racing stripes down the middle has a Kentucky license plate, PZZA1. It was on a black and white trailer with Kentucky license plate 719005. The 2012 Chevrolet Silverado used to haul the car and trailer was located in the 900 block of Woodbridge, according to Detroit police.

Birmingham police said a 1966 Chevrolet Corvette was reported stolen Saturday afternoon, according to a news release. The convertible with a soft top had a custom license plate, ITSMY66, and was taken from the Park Street parking structure between 12:30 and 2 p.m.

In Bloomfield Hills, a 1966 Chevelle 300 Deluxe, along with the trailer and the 2007 Chevrolet Silverado used to transport it, were stolen from the Kingsley Inn overnight Saturday, WXYZ reports.

The owner is reportedly a Vietnam veteran who worked in the auto industry. The pickup has a North Carolina Purple Heart license plate, and the Chevelle has a vintage 1966 North Carolina license plate with blue letters on an orange background.

“It’s just an unfortunate thing,” Kingsley Inn general manager Victor Martin told The Detroit News. “I feel really bad for the people. They have their heart and soul in these cars.”

Classic vehicles cruised the 16-mile stretch through nine host communities – Berkley, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Township, Ferndale, Huntington Woods, Pleasant Ridge, Pontiac and Royal Oak.

The Woodward Dream Cruise is billed as the largest one-day automotive event in the nation, and draws about 1.5 million people and 40,000 classic cars.

If you know anything about the stolen cars, call Birmingham police at (248) 644-3405, Bloomfield Hills police at (248) 644-4200, or leave tips at (800) 242-HEAT.