New York City in the 1970s was like Death Valley for disabled cars. Breaking down on the West Side Highway, for example, not only meant a long walk to the nearest (working) phone, but also a virtual death sentence for the car. Back then, car-stripping shock troops roamed the city in Dodge Tradesman vans, carrying all the accouterments needed to gut a Ford LTD to the frame in less than five minutes. Grand theft auto carried a stiffer sentence than getting caught with a truckload of stolen parts, so the genius of the criminal mind found a less-costly workaround. Such unthinkable acts of mechanical virtuosity were repeated hundreds of times a week, at a time when — quality being what it was — breaking down by the roadside was as common as being mugged on the subway, and just another hassle to which New Yorkers were resigned. Ah, good times.
Quick strippers turn bodies into easy money [Salt Lake Tribune]
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