off topic but, I had a real clean ford aerostar- sport DD that was loaded with all the goodies. power everything,air,cruise,nice stereo,not a scratch on it, ran perfect. I only paid $1500.00 for it, bought it from the original owner. 3 weeks later a guy dialing his cell phone ran a red light and T- boned me in the pass. side at about 30 mph! didnt even see him come out between the stopped cars. I had never been in an accident before that and it was quite a shock to be hit blindside like that! cop didn't issue any ticket so his insurance wouldn't pay me, so I took out the pass. seat which was pushed almost to the steering wheel, and used great stuff foam to close the 4" gap around the slider door top and drove it 2 1/2 years like that. after I found a new ride I junked it and the yard ripped the back door off and used it for a yard hauler for over a year untill someone bought the 3 liter v-6 and trans for their Ranger. it was still going strong with over 190.000 miles.
Nothin HAMB friendly...just a 3 week old Ford EXP hat was loaded to the gills. It was my fault. I was followinig to close behind a drunk who spotted a parking space at a bar, and locked up his brakes to keep from overshooting it.
In August of 1980 an uninsured welfare mother jumped the center divider and totaled my 1968 383 4-speed GTS Dart. My future wife, best friend, myself, and the idiot bitch that hit us all got an ambulance ride out of that one.
Two different Corvettes and I don't know which one was the nicest. First one was a Black 1962 Corvette with a fresh 327 motor and side mounted exhausts off of a midyear. A lady ran a red light in an older Buick and I hit her in the driver side door hard enough to almost roll her car. The only thing that saved her from rolling over was that her passenger side door opened and acted as a temporary support or brace and let it settle back onto all four wheels. The corvette was towed away to my dad's garage and the insurance company drug out the settlement so long that I went ahead and pulled the 327, the pipes, the new carpets (the old carpets were still in the trash). The 327 then went into a 1962 Nova. The year was around 1970. The second corvette total was a really nice 1965 Sebring Blue two-top roadster, 365 HP 4-speed. An old fart (71 years old) with one arm turned right in front of me and I slammed on the brakes. He took off everything in front of the radiator and I could still drive it away after the accident but I had to throw the front section that held the flip open headlight assemblies onto the hood still hooked to the wiring harness. Wait, now I'm a 70 year old fart. I better watch my driving. Lost_N_Austin
1963 Riviera in 1978. Apparently I left a bar in my hometown and drove 40 miles to a friends farm where I missed the driveway that had steep ditches on either side and rolled the car. I say apparently as I have no memory of the night.I was told I left the bar after downing 10 stingers.First I knew about the roll over was the next day.Not a straight panel on the car. Sobered up quick.Havent drank like that since.I could have killed someone besides myself that night.
My first vehicle, 66 IH half ton pickup had a 266 v8 and a granny-low 4 speed. Headed home from school on the gravel, did the "up and over" the railroad tracks a bit too fast and got loose on the down side. Swerved right and over-corrected, then did it again when it went left, and couldn't save it from going right again. Bounced off a big-ass ditch at about 60, and I mean bounced. There were marks where the front end hit the other side of the ditch from the road, and the next mark was a ways into the field where I landed on the tailgate and it fell over onto the passenger side. Managed to push the driver's door up and climp out and walked about a mile and a half home. Only thing that kept me from going through the windshield was my face nailing the steering wheel, the wheel and my teeth put a hole completely through my lower lip. The way it landed it may have been a good thing I wasnt wearing the lap belt, but I damn sure have always worn one since! Both frame rails were bent up, the front axle was ripped off the leaf springs on one side, the passenger side was mangled. The engine got transplanted into my "replacement", a 67 shortbox. Strangely we also were able to save the tailgate, tail light lenses, and windshield from the wrecked truck as well as some other bits for the 67.
Try driving on the freeway and have a boat come sailing over the center divider and you smack the 100 horse Merc outboard head on. You can drive as defensively as you like, but some wrecks are unavoidable.
In 1969 leaving College around 3 in the afternoon I am stopped at a light in my fathers 1962 Grand Prix black on black, 389,duals and 8 lug rims. I look in the mirror and I see a car in my lane about 20 feet away hauling ass and the next second I am driven through the intersection. The jerk in the other car tried to steer around me when the brakes were locked in his car and hit the right rear corner so hard it drove the taillight to the rear axle. The funny thing was that on the drivers side it looked as clean as could be (Jekyll) while the passenger side was a horror show (Hyde). To this day I contend that style GP is IMO the best looking Pontiac ever built.
on July 1,2011 I fell asleep in my 56 Olds 88 and hit a tree. Broke my skull in 4 places, my jaw, both eye sockets , cut my throat open that I took 4 layers of surgery, and poked a hole in my Trachea ( steering column ). spent 3 days on a ventilator and 13 more in the trauma ward. And this is after I walked home 3/4 of a mile. And I got off easy compared to the Olds, as Im presently parting her out. [/IMG]
61 corvette in 72. 350 / 4-speed. Going to work on the midnight shift in an ice storm. Should of took the wife's car. Hindsight is very revealing. As far as getting through life without being involved in an auto accident,(56don) I say count your luck and quit BS'ing yourself about your driving skills. People get killed everyday that have no more involvement than being on that spot at that time. 2 seconds either way and nothing would have happened to them.
In '88, I was driving down a fairly narrow country road, it was drizzling, so the road surface was "greasy". A guy came left of center, and I went to hit the brakes, but accidentally hit the accelerator. I went across the road, climbed a dirt embankment and hit a tree. The tree was about 4 foot in diameter, and at the angle I hit it, it acted like a ramp and sent me and the car back out onto the roadway...but I was upside down...The car, a 1968 LTD Crown Vic...I broke the frame in an area that was likely pretty rotted, but not visible when I was inspecting the car originally, and I bent the frame in 4 other places...the door would not close after I kicked it open to get out. Made me sick, and the guy did not stop, so it cost me a failure to control ticket...
chrismas eve 1968,my 631/2 galaxie 427,took out a chp,tow truck,and my car.lord calvert was driving!bought the car back,got a diff galaxie.
1st a 67 Dodge 2dr h/t Coronet....drunk t-boned me in 75 and in 78 I flipped my 72 Duster. Didn,t get hurt in either one.
Back in the late 70's, I totaled a Jag with my Pinto! Yep! T-Boned him at a red light. He turned in front of me in a 55 zone. Funny thing is, I was only doing about 45 cause that's all that little P.O.S. would do.
well I've bent up my fair share of sheet metal, but I guess i been lucky enough not to ever total a car or truck yet..hope my luck stays good on that one
My 79 Monte Carlo. The drivers axle broke right before the spline....it was obviously an old flaw as three quarters of the break was clean as can be. I'm not sure at when point it actually broke but it wouldn't have posed a problem until my next left hand curve. Unfortunately the next curve was onto a bridge. The car went immediately sideways and I counter steered but achieved almost nothing, I wanted to feather the brakes (slamming them would only further induce the skid) but when I tried the pedal went to the floor so (naturally the wheel and drum being gone allowed the shoes to overextend popping the cups on the wheel cylinder losing fluid) bye bye brakes. We hit the bridge at a 45 degree angle and bridge rail started at the passenger headlight then sheered the drivers side head off the engine, went through the firewall, took out the steering column, impacted the inside of the drivers door and when the car went off the bridge everything on the bridge side of the rail stayed put and the rest of the car plummeted to the creek bed. I lost my best friend since third grade (unrestrained) and my lower left leg was amputated. I also destroyed my right knee and had multiple compound fractures. My left femur was broke midway and made a 90 degree angle with the remainder of my leg twisted beneath the car. I also had a nasty little cut above my left eye from the drivers windshield post that was being torn away. I never blacked out and initially tried to get out of the car not knowing at first I was injured (adrenaline is amazing stuff) but needless to say I didn't go anywhere and then began to realized how bad the situation was. That was 20 years ago and I'm still paying for it in more ways than one.
Good god there are some horror stories on here! I once wrecked an already totaled 72 Chevelle. Let me explain. I was working for a body shop, this wrecked chevelle came in. Boss told me to move it across the lot. I fired it up, it was reving real high due front end damage and bound up linkage. "here we go" I said, as I dropped it into drive. I went barreling across the lot, pumped the brakes to bring it into my bay, no brakes. E-brake, no go. I tried to slam it into park, linkage was bound up too. I was reaching for the ignition switch when... F me, I was out of time. I swear to god there was a stack of mattresses and a wooden crate against a concrete wall at the end of the lot. I plowed through the crate and mattresses and into the wall. My wrists hurt like hell, but I was laughing so hard I fell out of the car. The passenger side that is, because the drivers door would no longer open. The cherry on top; It was SAFECO day so the insurance rep was there and all the safeco customers were waiting in the lobby. They watched me crash the car and come out laughing like a maniac. I sure it instilled confidence in all of our customers... I walked into the office and told my boss "thanks for letting me know that the chevelle crashed because the brakes went out!"
I bought a brand new '69 Mustang Mach 1. It was 4 months old when I rolled it. I was very lucky and did not get a scratch.
I didn't total this, but though it was bad. I think it was a '55-57? The tires makes me think it was to long ago.
'05 lincoln AVIATOR...........Great Tow Vehicle. AND !.........Iwas still drivin' IT when State Farm Totaled IT !!!!!! Took the $$$ and bought a POS "Throwaway".... Sable. No Car Payment ! Spending the money on me '53 Chev and '54 Heart Top........both chopped . "Happy" Smokey II
I just lost my daily (for the last 23yrs) driver, 65 f100- cadi front clip, 455 olds, turbo 400 three weeks ago. Was heading through a intersection at about 40 when the guy coming at me in a accord made a left turn got me just about head on. Years ago my brother borrowed my 68 gto and rear ended someone with it. About 5years later i was sitting at a stop sign in my cherry 72 cutlass convertable and a guy in a pos chrysler drifted in to the side street and hit me square in the left front fender.
I'll add another. First the back story. It was April or May of 80 at the time the drinking age had recently gone from 18 to 21 in Illinois. Wisconsin was 18 so lots of kids went over the state line to drink. My buddy suggests we head out to Rocket North a dive bar about 100 yards beyond the border. We're in my really nice/almost mint 65 Le Mans convertible a $400 purchase that two days earlier had a new white soft top installed. So were drinking beer and playing pool and having fun. I'm DRUNK I tell my friend I can't drive let's just sleep in the parking lot. He says "no problem I'm fine to drive" I hand him the keys and pass out in the passenger seat. I'm jolted awake as we bounce off some poor womans station wagon then ping pong into a guard rail and then head on to an underpass. I've got blood poring out of my head and have no clue what's going on. Thankfully God looks after idiots. There was an 18 wheeler behind that witnessed the whole incident. He radios for the cops and ambulance who show up and it's off to the hospital for me. My buddy of course was unscathed. Thankfully the woman he clipped was OK as well. Anyway I'm heart broken about the car and a few weeks later there is a 65 Tempest convertible in a North Shore local paper. I call the guy and go to look at it. This car is mint! Had 60K on it. Never seen rain or snow. Turns out the guy is retired and he was the original owner. He bought the car to give to his wife as a wedding gift and drove it on his honeymoon, to the hospital when he had his kids and on and on. Price? $400! ($400 seemed to be the going rate for these cars at the time) It was a thursday night and I needed to be paid to the next day to have all the money to buy it. I tell the him I'll take it. I have $250 on me and ask if I can give it to him as a deposit. Tells me no need the car is mine. I show Friday evening as the car is being driven away. I ask him what happened I thought we had a deal? He tells me he did'nt think I was coming back...
I rolled over a '69 Dodge Dart GTS 340 car one night, only a week after I bought it. My brother still won't ride with me, and this happened in 1973.
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