Thats Hilarious! I can set him up with a nice t-bird interior. I should kiss Dennis' ass for giving me the keys to cruise that thing it was a nice driving car big ol smokey burn outs jumpin railroad tracks like the dukes of hazard it was great! Thannks Dennis Am i gunna see you fools out west soon or what? Dave Hitch FBBF
Wow that's a helluva shot it took. Good luck fixing it, that's pretty much what I see happening every time I drive in that God forsaken state.
ave all......i'm the new owner who bought this killer fairlane from dennis and the idiot who took it to manhattan...haven't logged on here since i bought the car until today because i'm unable to spin any wrenches on account of being a cripple for the past 22 years so i rarely post here... right, first of all get off jeff's ass and chill out everyone...he's tops in my book and as far as i'm concerned, only he can re-do this bad ride the way it was...it was his concept and unique mods and fabbing...plus that paint is nothing short of amazing and truly glows from within...no photos can replicate it and despite seeing a bunch of pix prior to delivery of the car to me, i was stunned when i first saw it straight off the trailer...those fades are f%kin' tough to do right, not to even mention the 'easier' part of spraying straight pearl, flake, etc... anywaaaaay, here's the very loooooooooooooooong story of how it happened.... my friend was fighting a jr. middleweight rematch at madison sg on dec. 3rd and wanted to have a photo shoot with my ride [he lost btw]...coincidentally, i never even made the fight due to this accident and still have the $200 ticket for a bloody memento... i had less than 100 miles clocked on the car by then as i'm a c5-7 quadriplegic so even though i had the car delivered on october 22nd, i still needed hand controls installed and a power brake conversion...consequently, i didn't have the car in the tar ready condition for me until 2nd half of november...but soon found my groove driving it and just kept fallin' in love with it more, the more i drove it...it's a honey of a ride and feels even better from behind the helm than lookin' at it go by.... on the day of the fight, i was going to nyc with another pal who's a reporter for a polish boxing portal and local nyc/nj polish-language am radio station...my plan was to have him come over to my place from his town then take palisades pkwy to gw bridge into manhattan, then west side hwy [henry hudson hywy] get off at 34th st. [because 34th is two-way and has less traffic than one-way streets around that area]and park at a secure paid garage around the block from msg...entire drive would take about an hour from my place and there's smooth tar all the way to downtown, but my pal screwed up so i had to go get him about half-hour's drive out of my way and he talked me into taking the lincoln tunnel into nyc instead as the tunnel was closer from his place...in distance at least...i hate the tunnel 'cause there's ALWAYS traffic there plus the commute in nj towards it has a very crappy surface [the fairlane is VERY low in front], and the tunnel exit puts ya right onto the one-way 36th street which is always packed...but i finally gave in, did it as he insisted and am still pissed about it.... even before the tunnel itself, traffic slowed down to 15-20mph about 4 miles before it, then it was stop'n'go bumper to bumper all throughout the tunnel and the fairlane was already running hot, about 230 hitting almost 240 at times...by the time we emerged we only had maybe 20 minutes until my friend's fight...if we took my way we'd long be in our ringside seats but it was what it was....the 36th st. was also bumper to bumpper and the water temp started to climb steadily as i kept my eyeball on the gauge...kept hoping that the traffic would finally start moving steadily forward a bit but it was stop and go at a turtle pace and once the needle on the temp gauge went past 245, i finally had to pull over fast and allow it to cool down a bit...at this point we were only about 2 blocks from msg but with no way forward or back, stuck in traffic...i spotted an large empty spot at the right curb and quickly parallel parked right into it turning the ignition off...my pal still had to pick up his accreditations from the msg media dept so i told him to hoof it around the block there and by the time he'd return with his pass, the car should be cool enough and ready to drive into the parking garage on the next block... he split and i set back in my seat watching that gauge sloooowly tick backwards...while we were still in traffic most people - pedestrians and drivers - would honk, whoop, whistle, yell and stick their thumbs up upon spotting my ride, running up, openig their windows and asking what's it and what year etc...bloody annoying hehe but kool nevertheless...this car gets even more attention and heads turned than my radically raked, hoodless white huge beast of a '36 stude on the nyc streets.... a young black couple along with 2 or 3 friends, who earlier were alongside us in traffic in their suv, were about to cross the street across to where i was parked, snapping pix with a cellphone, and apparently keen on engaging me in some gab re-car...at that moment a cavalcade of 3 tour buses were slowly passing through alongside where i was parked so they had to momentarily wait until the traffic stops again to make it across to my side...the street was quite narrow, typical downtown ny one-way street, allowing a row of parked cars curbside on each side, plus 2 [tightly spaced] rows of moving traffic...the first 2 buses passed by comfortably, with at least 2-3 feet spare distance of within my car and others parked in my row, but i became alarmed seeing the front of the 3rd bus approaching in my peep side mirror...it looked as it was coming for me in that peep and blocked out all the street light from behind me suddenly...by the time its front end was at my door level, it was barely 8 inches from fairlane's door and worse yet, it was still coming towards right at an angle...holy sheep sh#T!!!...the traffic at that moment was moving at maybe 8-10mph but steadily...immediately i had a major case of a tightus sphincteritus and pretty much - although still ubelieving what was about to unfold in a couple of seconds - already realized i was about to be in an accident with a huge freakin' bus as the driver was evidently oblivious to what's going on on his right flank...i grabbed the steering wheel and felt so sick to my head about what was about to befall my beautiful ride and just stuck my face at my open side window and just started to yell at the top of my lungs STOP YOU MOTHERF#CKER!!.. SH###TT!!!...STOP,STOP,STOOOOP!!!....that's all i had time to do before the first horrible sound of metal-on-metal destruction ensued and it was something i sttill don't like to recall...i could feel and hear this beautifully shaped metal getting raped - ripped, crashed, mashed, pounded and it was deafening...the buses' side was mere inches from my face but i was only enraged about the car getting destroyed as i watched it slowly pass by....i wanted to wail and cry because it was obvious that my killer pretty kustom was no more....the car was shaking and jumping violently still anchored in my parking place, it felt like it was being compressed and stretched simultaneously, then the whole left side of my car was suddenly violently forced down by several inches, a couple of very loud shot-like pops rang out from underneath, then in turn it was quickly raised up [at this point the center and lugnuts of the pair of rear duallies and the hard rubber fender flare of the bus, hooked and snagged into the door of the car] and the car with me in it started to slowly be dragged alongside the bus forward and to the left as the bus now was slowly starting to veer leftwards away from me, still among all the hellish cacophony of slow but steady metal destruction.... then it stopped.... i was in a total mental shock as i've never been before and i've been in countless motorcycle and car crashes where the rides were fully squashed, ripped and totalled leaving me with broken bones, gashes, etc...i also survived a broken neck and simultaneous drowning which made an immediate quad out of me, without losing much of my kool or mental control at anytime...yet this time i suddenly just went mentally limp and lost my usual penchant for 'clicking on' in time of immediate crisis...i just sat there with my head on the eteering wheel and repeated 'f' and 's' bombs and 'i can't f..n believe this just happened', over and over....the driver was stopped by some pedestrians who waved, yelled and jumped in front of the bus but at thiis point i still couldn't see her as my face about 6 inches from the bus' rear set of wheels, at this point the whole left tailfin which extends into the car's waistline along the door was squashhed and compressed inwards so the bus was able to be closer to my face than normally possible... oh crap, at this rate i'll make this into a friggin' 'war and peace' sized tome......to edit myself a bit and save space here - the driver broad wound up whacking me hard into my left elbow with that super hard rubber fender flare [ya can see it 'resting' on my car's trunk on the photo someone else posted it on this thread earlier, that's me btw leaning left in the driver's seat] which made it go immediately numb [still is along with more than half of my left hand] and swell up to a grotesquely huge size for the next month - when she tried to back up then go forward again - and i injured my right shoulder by ripping my tendon or separating something there as i was thrown across the seat a couple of times and tried to brace myself...finally she smashed me into the car parked ahead of me, which at last un-snagged my fairlane from the bus...then she went back into the bus, after i informed her that i'm a quad in a chair thus unable to get out of my car and asked her for insurance/reggie/license, and....she took off....luckily i have all the pix and witnesses... i tried starting the car up, and it finally did although it's very hard now to start it now since this crash [it would crank right up with 3-4 pumps of the throttle prior to it and i don't know why], managed to finally put it in reverse [also now one must slam hard and put a LOT of force on the shifter to put it in any gear] and saw that it still sort of runs...at this point i was in total shock and just wanted to get back to my place crawl into my rack and wake up from this nightmare, i also had a fever as i had a flu... the car's lights now would occasionally flicker brighter and dimmer according to the rpm, as if i had a magneto, but the car still sort of drove although with whole bunch of grinding and noises emanating from the side and chasis...my pal had to turn the wheel for me on slower, sharper turns as i tried to operate the gas/brake hand controls due to the numbness in my left arm and excruciating ppain in my right shoulder...we managed to limp back to my place at 35-40mph though and only halfway through our drive back, we suddenly realized we should've called the bloody cops to the scene of accident...must've been the huge shock to my equilibrium that made me not do this...by the time i remembered this basic rule, we were crossing the gwb and i was too shattered and feverish to go back, figured ii'll call the nyc precint then go there next day tto file a report - stuuuuupid but i wasn't firing on all cylinders then...my pal took 2 pix with his cell of my swollen elbow once i got into my bed all shakin' and shit, then he called his bud who's a lawyer...the lawyer really went to town on him and i could hear him yelling from my friend's earpiece...he was pissed that we didn't call the cops immediately of course...i still don't know how i could be so numb in my skull to neglect doing so, but i was reallly in shock and i guess so was my pal thus we both had a major polish moment hehe... the lawyer insiisted that i immediately go to the er, and i just wanted to shut the world off...but finally i agreed and called the ambulance...4 hours into my er stay, i nearly got arrested there eventually for 'assaulting a nurse' because ii went to the er alone without any witnesses and the nurses and the physician broad must've had a major collective case of aunt flo visit that night...they refused me a blanket and even a sip of water for more than 3 hours as i layed there shaking and chattering up a storm with my nonexistent teeth due to high fever [apparenttly that's an s.o.p. duriing high fever cases but i don't give a f-k, i just wanted tto bee a bit comfortable under some cover as nothing was done there for me anyway]...i was really sore and in pain too...i asked for a form to sign myself out and just go back home but they'd ignore me and wouldn't even bring my wheelchair next to the stretcher//bed, in effect i was held there against my will...when i tried to unhook the iv myself and then just fall down to the floor so i could crawl to my wheelchair, a nurse ran over and grabbed my arm which hurt like hell...i warned her twice to either do the iv herself and bring my chair or else keep her hands tto herself but tthe third time she ignored my warning i pushed her away...shhe must've been waiting for something like this and immediately screamed that a patient 'hit her in the face'...actually pushing her away hurt me more than her first via my shoulder, then when i lost my balance from the act itself and smashed my face on the side rail hehe...finally, escorted by security guards and a couple of cops, i was ablee to sign myself out refusing further treatment and as a final insult had to ride home in the trunk area behind the seat oof a minivan taxi because i couldn't lift myself into those high seats...cost me my last 30 bucks too... i won't share what i''ve felt for the next few days here...take my word for it, i was freakin' depressed....my poor beautiful car was raped and deformed...i couldn't look at it when i passed it by, still really can't without a horrible sinking feelinng in my gut and mind....my hotrodder friend covered it with a high buck cal-cover i bought a week before, on the morning after the accident [when i also had my mom snap a bunch of pix] and had it taken off only once more since, for the appraiser''s visit for 15 miutes or so... unfortunately, i think that besides what's visible on the pix there's quite a bit more damage to the car...i think susppension/chasis has some damage, there might be a tranny mount/cross member or even direct tranny damage duue to that linkage shifting issue now, and who knows why it's so difficult to start it now or why at times the lights dim/brighten with the rpm changes...there are some slight minor bulges of the body out of alignment on the opposite side too which weren't out of line before...the left door frame is completely bent and moved outwards from the hinges/door opening by a couple of inches with a huge gap between the door frame and door opening, etc, etc... i can't go into details re-finances/insurance, et alia, too much here lest i potentially damage my current status quo...i had the ford insured [agreed value] with grundy for about twice of what i paid for it [i STOLE that car off dennis btw for the price i paid] and onlly because i had no friggin' plans of ever being in an accident with it...i live off ssdi whiich is barely meager income and even with the great rates for classic cars, i can only afford a modest sum...eventually i wanted to add about 70% to my agreed value which would be a more true value of it, but only after i paid off some of the loan i took out for its purchase and the credit card costs incurred for transport, p/brakes, etc... i was actually sure [and hoped for] that it'll be deemed as total loss by grundy's...and then i'd get the full insured value check from them which would be close to what it would cost for the repairs, then i'd buy it back with salvage title [i don't care about title status, don''t want to sell the car anyway] ....everything seemed to point towards the fact that i'll get just that...i can''t say exactly what/who so i don't get anyone in trouble in case a party/firm involved in this situation might read it, but i was told straight up by a person who is significantly responsible for determining this, that it'll be 'total loss'...hence i told jeff so, and he posted so here earlier...for what i insured this car for it absolutely should be deemed a total loss by insurance because the damage will take at least that much to repair at standard shop labor fees even at moderate per-hour work rates; would i choose a shop locally ... instead i received a check from grundy for half the agreed value i insured the car for...jeff is a solid dude and golden with his work and what he charges, but that amount is an outright and blatant insult to his work, sweat and blood put into this full kustom....that amount would be a very good return to completely re-do a stock '60 fairlane not a kustom with so many mods...oh, and here's an irony...one can only truly appreciate jeff's skill magic and talent with hammer and torch only after seeing one of his cars all ripped open like a can of sardines due to an accident like this...my hotrodding pal and i were amazed to see virtually no sign or residue of filler/bondo anywhere in those deep gashes and holes...this is old school incarnate as much as this phrase is so overused today....jefff really is a master body man/paint man... i told my insurance from the beginning that jeff is the creator of this car and i won't even consider anyone else to redo it , so he's doing the car...we'll work iit out somehow and the insurance will simply have to add more to that check as there's no way anyone can fully redo this ride for the amount they sent me...this is a high quality kustom that made 3 major magazines with full feature/photos [including rod & custom] all iin one year, 2010...yeah, ya can fix this car up and make it decent looking for that money but that's not what i bought...i purchased a magazine quality car and that's what i want back and that's what they'll need to pay for....it'll have to be all on jeff as i can't legally challenge their estimate and demand additional funds for work... well, now i'm virtually rideless [my stude is too raked/tall for me to transfer into/out of it any longer without help], injured and depressed as shit and grounded in bed again 95% of the time losing muscle tissue/strength and gaining fat in my gut...i bought this car as a reward for myself after getting a new lease on life following a surgery this past july which literally saved my stupid life at the last moment...only put less than 100 miles on its clock before experiencing it being destroyed by an a-hole driver broad who likely had no skills nor even valid license//insurannce to drive a bloody bus...else, why would she take off from the scene like tthat.... but as long as i can have that kustom back in beautiful previous state again, hopefully by summertime, i'll be ok and be happy once i can drive the crap out of it [except for the nyc hehe...never before were there so many douchebags driving in the city as there are now]...and yes, i wannt it kept as true to mcphail's and myer's original vision and finished state as possible...that's not a ride i'd want to 'make my own'....i don't mind driving someone else's vision of a ride in this instance...it's one hell of a bitchin' vision and done by real visionaries on the scene... };->
FWIW, at least it was being driven, as it was built to do. We can't undo what happened to it in our time machine, so turn the page, but don't give up on the car.
Christ! That's a heart-wrenching read there, juras. I hope Jeff is soon able to return the car to its' former glory, and I hope you get to enjoy it for many UNEVENTFUL years afterward!
Dude... Shitty story! Horrible... But I do have to say that you are badass... Quadriplegic hot rodder... EPIC!! I hope everything goes alright. The pulsing lights i would say is a broken wire somewhere, trans linkage is probably bent... If you need any parts I can give you a good discount, just shoot me a pm.
Damn man, that is a hell of a story. Sorry, for my previous post about parking on the street now that I know the details. Bad enough your car got smashed, then to find out you got hurt also and had that hellish hospital thing. Hope the best for you physically and getting the car fixed. Also, hope the lawyers do you good.
Holy $hit!!! I remember seeing it when it was fist posted. I hope everything works out for you. I was in a bus that ran over the front end on a small Honda once, everyone was yelling for the driver to stop, but he just kept going, dropped us off, and high tailed it....
thanks people...it was a really crappy year for me but all i want is to have that honey back the way she was... i'm not letting this ride go down...it'll take more than i paid for it to make it beautiful again but at this point it's insurance money and they'll have to cough up enough additional funds to make it happen... jeff's been the one keepin' my spirits up with his 'no problem' attitude and even with extra 5-7k on top of that grundy check, i can't see how he'd not lose money re-doing this ride right... those who stated it needs only a door and a quarter panel - wrong, thiis carr was reshaped significantly, starting wiith the entire rear roofline moved forward by nearly a foot, then extended tailfins, extended front 'fins', wheelwells reshaped plus other fabbed mods... and all blended into a seamless whole...i bought it for the price of a paintjob pretty much, and eveen if i'd pay that much to a good car painting outfit, very few could spray that car like jeff did...ya havve to see those fades in person...on pix it actually looks a bit too pronounced...in reality it's perfectly blended and glows from within....there might also be some issues with body out of alignment on the 'good' side....plus the new gremlins with suspension/chasis, electtrics and mechanicals...hell, the appraiser report even indicated a bent/damaged axle although i'm not too inclined to tthink that tthe axle is damaged from having driven it post-accident... as far as a lawyer...i'm crippled/unemployed...the big bucks are usually for potential loss of future income due to some disability/health loss/injury...the so-called 'pain and suffering' doesn't count for much hehe...currently my whole arm is half numb since that rubber flare whacked me on the elbow so some obvious nerve damage which DOES affect me greatly as my arms are my arms AND legs...wheelchair transfers are painful but more importantly quite dangerous as i'm unaware of my exact arm position anymore as i'm about to hop onto/from my wheelchhair....my shoulder is touch'n'go and at even small strain something pops and it hurts like a bastard and is next to useless again for several days....but again, i'm unemployed already...we'll see but i'm not holding my breath for any significant bucks hehhe.... appreciatte the posts though, and jeff's a badass kustomizer....i'll be kruisin' the tar in my 'mcphail' fairlane once again, that's a given unless i'll die before it's done hehe.... };->
thanks man...jeff will have the fairlane back in his shop in february, as soon as we'll get a low priced transport [his friend i think] to bring it there...i appreciate the offer, i'm sure jeff will take you up on it if he can't find something throough his sources...thank you... };->
Man, that is one hell of an epic 'fender bender' and story, that's for damn sure. Sorry to hear you were hurt as well. Good luck getting the car back in shape. Regardless of being "totaled" or not, it seems like it deserves to be restored. And most importantly, best of luck staying well, etc. Keep up the positive spirits as much as you can.
Wow. That's tough to read, Bro. So glad you're still with us and you've chosen to have it repaired not only the way it was but the way YOU want. Good luck and please keep us updated.
sad to see, But she will stand strong again by the sound of things.. I hope they ervoked that bus drivers license , what a idiot...
thanks, but ya guys are embarassing me hehe...i didn't mean to make it into a sob story...i'm still a badass just a crippled badass...don't worry about me, i've lived through a lot.... };-> it's the poor car that needs sympathy and major fixin'.... i'll definitely be posting pics/update on the fairlane as jeff works on it and keeps me current on the progress...or maybe even he himself will want to do this... p.s. anyone watchin' that silly b-j auction live on speed tv??...wtf??...most of these prices are downright ridiculous, i'm playin' the fantasy bid just to be in the game for that big $ 'stang but i can't get even within 40% of what these cars are sellin' for hehe...i'm lowballin' all my guess bids by nearly half.... ok, here's some pics to make ya chuckle [or cringe a bit, depending on your tolerance factor] haha...still kind of topic related so i don't think i'm hijacking a thread..if so just blame it on my newbie status... the first 2 were taken about 2 hours after the accident...keep in mind, i'm a quad so i have no longer any forearm muscles...so all that bulk on my upper forearm is the swelling from that rubber fender flare whack to my elbow.... the next 3 were taken 3 days post accident, one by myself in a mirror and 2 by my mom at my apartment....at first that swelling was very hard but within a week it became soft and squishy so full of liquid...pretty kool gross out factor for chicks hehe... };->
funny ya should say that...after i first sat in the car, i seriously considered replacing the whole interior with early to mid '60s tbird, buckets, console and all, including the tilt-away column, and rear seats/panels...all upholstered in white...because that bench seat is kinda soft and saggy on the driver's side, i hardly get any upright and no sideways support [i have no torso balance] and it's very difficult for me to lean forward and tilt that bench seatback in order to stash my wheelchair behind me...my bud said he'd install it and reupholster it at discount if i found the whole kaboodle...so i even called around some yards to inquire if they have a complete t-bird interior setup and for a price quote...but i pondered that idea longer and finally decided aggainst it...it would alter the fairlane's vibe too much...i'd do it in a heartbeat if it was just some another custom ride off classifieds...but this one has too much heritage in it to alter it so.... and dennis wouldn't shake my hand if we'd ever met for commiting such a blasphemy to his pure kansas style vision hehehe... so i'll just have to adjust to it rather than vice-versa... };-> [edit] 'sacrilege' not 'blasphemy' was the word i was lookin' for hehe...oh well, words should not stray away from one's acts anyway so in the grander scheme of things i'm still correct...
I'd like to know why Grundy didn't cut you a check for the full agreed value if it was a total loss. Many of us, including myself, here on the HAMB use them for insurance ..some of us on more than one vehicle. If they treat their customers like this than I think I'm switching. No offense, but I don't want half the f'n agreed value if I total my baby.
best of luck i know you will get it back better then before and have many years to enjoy it.hope to see you and it around jerzery
but that's the rub man..it wasn't deemed a total loss after all...as i've written previously - i was informed by a person...errr, let's say in the know and connected to my insurance case... that it'll be deemed a total loss for sure...AS IT SHOULD'VE BEEN imho...but then a week later i received a check for half my full insured [agreed upon value] along with a notice that they're willing to work with a body shop of my choice and to accept any changes to their estimate...so they deemed it as repairable and not total loss...however, their repair cost estimate sucked big crab infested camel's dick and lowballed it significantly... obviously they didn't factor-in all previous my e-mails after the accident, where i sent them links to the fairlane's magazine features, etc. in order to make sure they realize this is a high quality full kustom not just some 'customized' fairlane.....i think their rates are excellent, they work fast and are generally easy to deal with... so i am still perfectly willing to stay with them with both of my rides [the fairlane and my '36 stude] as long as they make good and pay up any additional funds to supplement work cost by jeff, once he'll appraise the cost of full redo...he'll still have to request less than the full redo would cost him in reality because it needs to be under 70% of the total insured value in order to keep the title without salvage status, but at least it will help him a bit once they add 6k or so to that check they already cut me...i'm quite sure they will, however, if they'll refuse, i'll switch to haggerty or something and will friggin' post everywhere how they treated my case to warn others against any false advertising on grundy's part... };-> see, in my case i didn't care much for having to switch to a salvage title once it would be deemed a 'total loss'...that only hurts mainly when one tries to sell a ride later and i have no plans nor desire to part with this ride...so a total loss was actually a better option for me because even after buying the car back from them for, say 3-4 grand - i'd have more money to pay jeff for his work to bring the fairlane back to its full glory...and grundy can get back from the tour bus comppany any amount they'd pay me because the bus driver was at fault 100% then did a 'hit & run' on top of that...but they decided to cut me a check for some repairs according to their estimation...even though it saves my title from the salvage status, it lowballs the cost of repair significantly...they paid me an amount that's just fine for repairs to an average mild custom fairlane instead of one as significantly modded as the one i bought...and that's NOT kool...we'll see what'll happen once jeff has the car at his shop and will do the real world appraisal...
So sorry to man, hope things work out in the end. I'm sure there's alot of guys here that would cancel their Grundy insurance if they decide to screw you, someone should forward this thread to someone up top at Grundy.
Man, I just finished reading this thread and.... DAMN. I used to live in NYC and bro, it took a massive set of nuts to drive that car in town. Cripes, I bought a suck ass Ford Escort just for those trips while i was there. I hope you get it back to the way it was. I can feel your passion and it's to be commended. I was the same way about my T after it's accident and she came out better than before the wreck. Hang in there and keep the good vibs flowing.
hey thanks, good to hear such support...i don't think they'll try to play hardball with me in view of all circumstances of this accident...whatever happens though, i shall update this thread as things develop, thanks man...
Maybe i missed it, but why isnt the bus company insurance paying for the repairs? Anyways, sorry to hear about this... Beautiful car, and im sure its gonna be back to its former glory in no time. -LUKEY-
thanks man..i drive my 36 stude to nyc to shows/cruises but it has better ground clearance than fairlane...but nyc used to be fine for driving anything if one is an ok driver...before i sold my '68 cutlass daily beater with a torque-monster hopped up 455 mill, i sometimes would drive to manhattan at 2-3am when i had a nasty case of insomnia and just beat on it down 5th av or bway chasing yellow cabs, doing close to 100mph for short stints if the traffic lights cooperated...cops generally have other things to do than try to chase some idiot who flashes by them and i loved to make all those tourists out on the street at night wonder wtf is this old red cutlass beater doin' screaming at wot through manhattan hehe..i also drove for car service outfits in ny for 2 years, worked as bicycle/motorcycle messenger in nyc and even drove a delivery van in midtown back in the '80s...so nyc ain't scary for me..or rather it wasn't...before, most douchebag drivers avoided manhattan/city but for some reason nowadays manhattan's full of out of state idiots, typical joysie a-holes and just city nerds who have no sense of awareness in city traffic driving..even cab drivers are shitty drivers these days, once they were just crazy now they just suck....plus, my cutlass was a beater on regular tags, and was far from pristine to say the least so one doesn't care too much to keep it perfect hehe...but i drove the fairlane very gently and defensively, it was pristine and for some reason that makes it a magnet for a-holes...maybe in the same subconcious way that some idiots crash into trooper cars on a highway when cops are parked on a side shoulder, dunno...hell, i was legally parked with ignition off...so i don''t think i'll take the fairlane into the city, once it's all beautiful again...save maybe for a straight commute to a rumblers gig in bklyn...i coouldn't take another such damage to this ride and would flip out or worse...
that's how it works...unless you have a minimal insurance yourself i think...grundy pays me despite the fact that i wasn't at fault...then they get their money from the tour bus company themselves...almost all of my many crashes in my youth [very looong ago hehe] were without involvement of other parties and i had to deal with insurance in a crash which involved second parties [also they were at fault but uninsured] only once very long ago but everyone told me that's the way it's done, even though i myself questioned the fact of why am i getting money from my insurance instead of the bus company's if it wasn't my fault...i reported the accident to grundy and they took over from there... damn, i've made more posts today than i have throughout my entire time as a hamb-er before hehe...someone please take over...jeff??.. dennis???..anyone????.... };->
The Jalopy Journal
