Chitty Chitty Bang Bang trilogy (Frank Cottrell Boyce)

Down on their luck, the Tooting family buys an old camper van and begins repairing it, but after installing an engine that once belonged to an extraordinary car, they are off to find other original parts, pursued by a sinister man who wants Chitty for himself.

Someone steals Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, stranding the Tootings in 1966.