The Big Steal 1990

18-year-old Danny Clark, a young man living in Footscray, a suburb of Melbourne, is determined to up his cool factor in the hopes of winning the heart of Joanna Johnson. He plays the part of a suave suitor, courting danger and charisma, all to catch her eye and prove he’s more than just a regular guy.

To impress her, he offers to take Joanna out for a ride in a sleek Jaguar, but his own ride is a plain 1963 Nissan Cedric that hardly screams “cool.” In a scramble to look the part, Danny decides he needs a Jaguar fast, and he makes a bold, if misguided, swap to land a more impressive car.

Enter Gordon Farkas, a crooked used-car salesman who sees an easy mark in Danny and talks him into buying a 1973 Jaguar XJ6. The purchase proves disastrous when the Jaguar’s engine blows up, and the confrontation that follows ends with Joanna pulling away from Danny. A damning discovery soon emerges: the engine had been swapped by Gordon, sabotaging Danny’s chance to win Joanna’s affection and setting off a hunt for justice.

Determined to set things right, Danny enlists the help of friends to outsmart Gordon. They execute a cunning ruse in a multi-storey car park, transferring the blown engine into Gordon’s Jaguar as payback. Gordon, unaware and apparently drunk, drives off and is arrested for running a red light and for intoxication, setting the stage for Danny to reclaim a working Jaguar that could once again charm Joanna.

With the jagged edge of justice finally within reach, Danny finds himself with a real 4.2-litre Jaguar to impress Joanna when her parents are away for the weekend. The moment of triumph is brief, however, as the parents return and Danny must flee, hoping to preserve the fragile peace he’s built with Joanna.

Things spiral further when Gordon mistakenly believes Joanna’s father stole his Jaguar engine and retaliates by stealing that car—defacing it in the process. A series of high-stakes car chases follow, but Gordon repeatedly fails to catch Danny, whose ingenuity and luck keep him one step ahead.

The story closes with a postscript that ties up the fates of all involved: Gordon serves five years in Pentridge prison for 37 offences against the Motor Traders Act, Danny and Joanna marry later that year, and Danny’s friends move into their ideal roles in computing and car sales, rounding out a tale of rivalry, romance, and the creaking gears of the used-car world.