THIEVES have dismantled and stolen more than $20,000 worth of engine parts from one of the monster trucks on display in Nowra.
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The thieves broke though fence panels at Nowra City Holden on Thursday night or early Friday morning.
Police took evidence that was left at the scene, and the Forensic Services Group examined the vehicle for fingerprints.
The parts were stolen from the monster truck known as The Convict which was due to be a part of Saturday night’s show.
EMT Events co-ordinator Rusty Bell said he was gutted when he heard about the theft on Friday morning.
“They cut the fence, right on the highway.
“They stole the supercharger, injector, braided lines that ran right back to the transmission, they took the radiator, thermo fans that had custom-made shrouds and carbon fibre injector hats.
“These parts are not common,” he said.
Mr Bell said the vehicle was worth $280,000 and estimated more than $20,000 worth of parts were stolen.
“Most of it is custom-made. These parts are not something you buy off the shelf at Auto Barn.
“I can’t believe the truck has been there for two weeks and they did this right before the show.
“The vehicle is quite an integral part of the show too, so this has caused us a fair bit of grief.
“It’s one of our newest trucks and it’s the world’s only FJ panel van monster truck.
“We just came from a tour in WA and it was extremely popular there, especially with the kids,” he said.
Shortly after the theft was discovered by staff at the dealership, EMT’s mechanic Kreg Christensen was on his way to Nowra.
“There’s nothing I hate more than a liar and a thief,” he said.
“It makes me not want to come back to a town when something like this happens.
“I’ve been maintaining trucks for these guys for four years and I’ve never seen this happen before,” he said.