You only have a split second to react at the time... you have days to think about it afterwards.
There are a ton of things you can think of now, but it's amazing if you can even get one complete thought out as it's happening. These things happen. It really could have been worse. You can also think of this as an opportunity to upgrade!

 

Yeah... I cant remember it happening anymore really. Its fuzzy. In fact, I dont remember this at all... But my girlfriend looked back at me, and apparently I was punching the steering wheel and yelling god damn it at the top of my lungs for a few seconds. Maybe thats why the wheel is alittle off. haha.

I saw the hood buckle up and just lost it I guess. Got out, started picking up what was left of my turn signal lights and head lights and all...and got really mad. Then saw my girlfriend starting to ball...so all that left my head and I just held it together to calm her down. Its kinda funny, she knows how much I love that car. She was the reason I bought it. And she knows the work I put into it. So she just kept saying "your car..." over and over while crying. Even though her car looked even worse.

But ANYWAY... About upgrading. Not sure what else I can do to her? haha. I mean, having fresh paint with no rock chips is probably the best upgrade I can hope for right now. Unless I get an absurd amount from the insurance company and can get some goodies... like say... a pro-charger? haha.

Ill just be happy to get her fixed...hopefully soon. This is the best time for an f-body with t-tops. Right around Fall. Best ride right there. Find a back road, pop the tops, turn the heat on alittle to keep the gf happy, and just cruise...

Justin

 

Sorry for you misfortune, you've got a really amazing 3rd gen... Hope you can have her back on the road soon.

 

Saw your post on 3rd gen, sorry man. You'll get it back on the road though!

 

Aw, that sucks dude poor little car. IMO it looks like the frame bent down a little. I don't think it will be a problem if you get it appraised though. Just get it fixed up and post some pics

P.S. A fiberglass hood might be a sweet improvement, you already got the light engine, why not go all out...Also, lose that ugly pinstripe!

Edit: And what the hell, shave the antenna too! Doesn't look like you were using it

 

Damn dude.. Sucks to hear it.. Now you can go through everything I went through, but in reverse order.. (LS1, then wreck). It's easily fixable though.

Kevin D.

 

That's horrible. Hope you fix it.

Did you ever get that thing with the AC worked out?

 

Sorry to hear that, that looks like a really nice car. It looks fixable to me too.

 

damn dude...

 

Well, Got back from the body shop today. Guy doesnt seem to think its that bad. I still think it will be totaled... But the good news is, I dont think its as bad as I thought.

Chassis horns seem straight. The rad support is bent, but it seems like the metal failed where it wanted to bend, so it didnt pull the rest of the parts along with it. Also, about the wheel being off by a couple degrees. The tuner that had the car shortly before, said that he noticed it was off when trying to back it onto the dyno. So maybe I just never noticed it before. In fact, when I drove it today I wasnt thinking about it and I didnt even notice it. Thats a good sign...

I have some pics...but its hard to really see. The wheel wells looked fine also. Nothing any different than what was there before.









The pics are crappy, but they show how the rad support bowed. My a/c condensor, radiator, and fans are all fine. A/C still works and there are no leaks.

Ill keep ya all updated. Should get a quote back from the body shop by monday.

Thanks again for the feedback!

Justin

 

Man, thats really sad to see. I always followed your build and i love your car!

Sucks to see that happen.....I had a similar incident, sum dumbass lady tboned my fender right after i built the 1st motor for it...but fortunatly it was a small fix (new fender) and i got some money outa her insurance company!!


Hope they dont total it....i dont wanna see that car gone!


GL with everything!


3rd GENS UNIT!

 

Those under hood pics don't look bad at all. You're right that they'll probably want to try to total it, because of it's age, but that's a proposition you don't have to accept. They have to remember you're the customer in all this. Keep working your way up the food chain until you get the response you want.

 

Thanks again for all the support. Im still waiting to see what all is going to happen with insurance and what not. My girlfriend told her insurance company not to go after mine... She is still really upset that my car got wrecked and blames herself. Yeah...she started the wreck, but I keep telling her I wrecked my car. That part was totally my fault. Goes back to that "million different things could ahve avoided the situation" thing.

Anyway...thats what insurance is for. I have full coverage, and for the past 20 years that we've used our insurance company, the only thing we've claimed is windshields... Yeah...Im still using my parents insurance on the TA. I pay em...just never got it switched over. Its sooo much cheaper through them. As soon as this is sorted out, Im switching it, and Ill pay them whatever difference if their premium goes up. Since its our first actual claim...Im hoping they dont bump it too much if at all.

Ok...that personal info aside...haha. Im actually thinking about fixing her myself. Im not a body work genious, but metal work doesnt scare me. Im a competent welder. My buddy does great paint work... So...if the insurance gives me anything, Ill pick up a parts car most likely. Then, with any money left over, think about some upgrades. Maybe some interior stuff, maybe a new fibeglass spoiler, maybe a bigger cam... who knows.

Im gettign the quote today from the body shop. I suspect Ill have an answer from the insurance company this week. Maybe Ill start stripping her down by the beginning of next week.

The only thing Im nervous about is the radiator support. That doesnt look fun to remove/replace...

J.

 

sorry that Sh%t happens , your car would probably be totaled but either buy it back and fix it or find a roller to swap to not like either one would be easy, ask me how I know , did my sons 78Z that was hit by a drunk when parked into a 80Z body and a month after painted he wrecked it(totaled), into a 80 berlinetta- all drivetrains from car to car to car to car, good luck on that

 

that **** just plain sucks! i know how you feel. the friday before christmas i was dropping off some friends in the curb lane. i looked in the mirror to get back into traffic & saw a truck coming FAST ! i turned right and stabbed it. i took the curb trying to get out of the way, but i got belted.i got hit so hard all the damage came from bouncing off my buddys ZO6. not from the 97 jeep cherokee that hit me. that jeep will stop 60 - 0 in @127 ft. those *********** skid for over 170 ft. & were still going fast enough to total my 00 TA ,cause alot of damage to my friends ZO6 (@12,000) and to top it all off DRIVE AWAY ! had i not saw them and just took the hit it would have been the meatwagon for us all. on the bright side i wasnt really hurt to bad ,made some $$$,& i have a whole donor car. i took some of the bread & bought a 91 Z so good things can come from ****. sorry for your loss & good luck with your repairs/pile of parts.

 

Dammit, I'm really sorry to see that Justin - your car is one of the two cars that I've used as inspiration for my own build (yours & 6LIROC-Z's).

But, in the interest of using even bad shizzat as a chance to make improvements, here's a suggestion for ya - Look around to see if you can find any '82-'84 cars (primarily Camaros) that came with the 2.5L "Iron Duke" 4-banger. If you find one, hold a magnet up to the bumper support - my understanding is that most if not all of the 4-cyl cars came with aluminum bumper supports!

When I swapped out my stock one for the aluminum unit, I was able to take about 10 lbs off the very front of the car - which is where it'll make the biggest difference!

Good luck man, let us know how it works out!

EDIT: Forgot to mention that that looks totally fixable...