sorry about your loss, can you make a list of what parts are needed for the repairs, i will try to help the ems guy
Back in '78, I bought an O.T. daily driver that had 99K miles on it. It was a '72 Malibu with auto and a/c. I put another 116K on it and gave it to my Father when I bought a new car in '83. One night, we heard a loud crash and ran outside. The had had been parked on the street in front of the house. The car was now facing in the opposite direction and the rear end had been torn out. In the middle of the street was a Nissan 300ZX that was smashed from the cowl forward. Some lady had fallen asleep and hit the car. In '78, I paid $1200. 5 years and 116K miles later, the insurance paid $1500.
I dont know what I would do if a family member or close friend hit one of my old cars and dont want to find out,I hope you can get it back to the way it was.
Over the years I have stockpiled parts for both my cars as disaster prep. I have good inner fenders, core support, I have a hood, re-chromeable bumpers (Hey Josh!!) and a grille that may clean up without new plating. I also have lots of extra stainless. It looks like all I am going to have a real need for is a pair of fenders. If the pair I found (which appear solid but are questionable) are rusty after being stripped, then I will need some patches. I may need a rear panel below the trunk, the car got pushed into a tree, but it may be repairable. I will let you know-thanks.
I owned a couple of cars that had invisible targets painted on them... no matter where they were parked someone would hit it! I could park it on a roof and someone would find a way to hit it!
I was on the scene shortly after it happened and its worse looking in person, however, the escape that hit it was tall enough that it slid right over the bumper and straight into the grill. As bad as it looks most of the damage was to bolt on stuff. The cowl doesnt seem like its been pushed back. Frame is looking no worse for the wear as well. Everything in front of the firewall is trashed and so is the drivers door. The rear bumper is junk and the valance under the trunk lid has some minor damage but should be fixable without cutting. The motor/trans has been pushed back some but other than some overly stressed mounts it doesnt appear that they were damaged. I am already making arrangements to have an empty shop when its time for repairs so that we can get her back on the road as quickly as possible. I really pains me to see her all bent up like that. This is Sam's car, he's had it for 30+ years and it was every bit the car it appeared to be. There are just a few small spots of rust starting to pop thru. There are no patches or bondo in it. I prefer to remember it this way The upside to this: Sams been wanting to do some kustom stuff to it for a while now but I've been putting him off as this really was to nice a car to be hacking on. Well its no so nice now so the sky is the limit on what we can do to it. It will more than likely become a hardtop as he has all the stuff for that. Shaving and some rounded corners are a good possibility too. Cleaning/smoothing up the firewall is on the list I should alao add that my admiration for Sam has gone up a bit since this happened, there is no way that I could have dealt with this in the way he has. I'd still be out in the driveway cussing and screaming or in a mental hospital.
I know this probably won't ease the sting but when I rear ended somebody in my ride it ended up pushing me to fix and improve a lot of little things. Before you know it you'll be balls deep in customizing it... Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
Ugh. Lost my Imperial that way in October '83 - had it parked on the street that night because my roommate had to leave early the next day. Some a-hole in a brown mid-'70s Nova turned a corner too fast, slammed into the driver's side fender and door and drove off. My right front wheel smacked the curb as well, tweaking the suspension. I salvaged one good taillight, one wheelcover and one black license plate before it went to the Monrovia Pick-A-Part, where at least it gave up a lot more bits and pieces before they crushed it...
had something similar happen to an o/t car i had. it was in the garage over the winter for storage,my dad needed to get something and parked the car on the road and forgot about it. it snowed that night and the city came and ploughed the roads and pretty much ripped the driver side of the car off! it was a vw bug and the fenders,door,mirror and front pumper were wedged in a snow pile at the neighbours house in the morning! i called the city and they told me to shove it as there is a bylaw about cars parked on the street during snow storms. and like you what am i going to do? its my father! called him some names and moved on,at least it was a bug,and it was cheap and easy to fix up again.
Sad situation, but I get the feeling that some lemons are about to become lemonade since Da Tinman's involved! This promises to be epic
Sorry for your loss. This happened to my late model company car, but the a-holes who hit it were drunks running from a liquor store owner after a "beer run." Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app
The main thing is noone got hurt. Rode in that beauty manys a time with Sam at the helm. She'll be back on the road with some work and better than ever!
Man that suck! Hope the driver was ok. I just sold a whole front clip of a 57 fairlane last month. I still have the whole front of the frame (complete with a arms, coils drums etc.) cut off right before the first body mount if your frame is real screwed, which it doesn't look like it is.
My favorite post on this whole thread, Mike. I've admired Sam's car since I first saw it and I'm eager to watch the rebuild.
Sickening, but your reaction is pure class. Best of luck on the rebuild. Maybe flat-top bob has some good fenders.
Sam's attitude is exemplary,,guys like him are few and far between,we could all learn from his example. HRP
I always hate to see a beauty like that get punched in the nose, but like you said, it happens. At least you have a good attitude toward it and want to get it back on the road. Good luck.
I grew up in Milwaukee.There was tavern on three of the corners of our block and 2 more on corners across the street.My dad had a bone stock 57 Ford sedan,but it was yellow and brown and no where near as cool as Sam's. We got up one morning to find the trunk pushed up to the door latches.Hit and run.More than likely a hosed drunk driver.
You have a better attitude about it than I would. Id still be pissed off and moping around. Ive been thinking about finding parts for my valiant like you did for your car. Its a good idea
EXACTLY!!! I'm betting in the end when Sam and Jay get done with it. It will have been worth all the trouble Sams gone through.
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