It took Rich Martinez some six years and cost him $30,000, but he finally got his 1959 Corvette back from the state of Kansas. It also required an act of the legislature to finally make the Kansas Highway Patrol and Department of Revenue return the vehicle, which they planned to crush. His ordeal began in 2016 when he bought the vehicle for $50,000 and tried to register it. The firm that had restored the car had placed the VIN plate back on with rivets instead of the required Phillips-head screws, so the state seized it. Now that Martinez has the car back, he’ll have to have it restored again. It sustained an estimated $28,000 in damages while in the state’s care.
