So I finally got my car all together. Went to the gas station yesterday and casually left the car in park like I always used to. Go inside and look back to see what pump I'm on and my car is gone. It jumped in reverse, went across 4 lanes of traffic without being hit, and ran into a fire hydrant and knocked it over. Luckily the store said not to worry about it and get outta there. Here is the damage. What am I looking at repair wise? What is my best route?

 

WOW you are lucky.
and you got a free tank of gas lol

it doesnt look too bad though. i have seen much worse.
better get that "jumping into reverse" thing figured out though

 

Lol I just keep thinking about how much worse it could have been. As far as the reverse problem, upon putting in the new transmission I didn't really tighten up the bolt that holds the cable to the bracket on the lever. So my mistake there. What do you suggest I do? Get it pulled most likely?

 

4 lanes of traffic!!
Get a lottery ticket!! LOLol

In pic #2, is the seamsealer peeling or is there a split between the panels?

Probly a good body worker can massage things back.

 

thats my thinking
it couldnt have been going more than 10 mph or so, and it wasnt really under power of any kind except its own momentum.
my guess is that it looks a lot worse than it is.

 

why did you leave the car running?

 

Ghost driving across 4 lanes of traffic and you get a free tank of gas a free car wash and you didn't have to pay for the fire hydrant yes definitely by a lotto ticket and hit up the closest indian casino.

 

People always ask me why I use my e-brake with my automatic. Because you never know what can happen.

 

Haha kinda reminds me of the time when I went to walmart.... Came back, my car was almost 50 feet from where I parked LOL(late at night not many cars around) remember that E brake man!

 

Lol. I most definitely will remember my e-brake. Or just leave the car off! I always used to say "what if", and now look, lol. I've learned from this for sure.
I'll take it to a shop and see how much they want to charge me.

 

No clue on the cost, but here's a good one. In the winter of '85, my 83 Z was backed in at the top of my driveway. It was a 5 speed and I just got finished washing it. The car was in gear and the e brake was on and both doors were locked. I went to a friends house for awhile and when I was walking home, I noticed a shadow in the woods across the street from my house. I ran to see what it was and it was my car! I lived in the woods and there was a ditch on both sides of the road and a 1.5 foot burm. The car was sitting with both rear tires off the ground while the undercarriage was hung up on a boulder. I couldn't open either door because it went between two large trees. A neighbor came by and helped pull the car out. Would you believe that there wasn't a scratch, dent or anything. Absolutely no damage!! The kicker....the doors were still locked, the car was still in reverse and the e-brake was still on. No clue what happened, but I got lucky that day too. I totaled the car about six months later.

 

Also less stress on the parking pawl in the transmission. I can't stand it when a buddy of mine parks on a hill with his heavy truck only putting the trans in park. Then when he takes off, it's really hard to take out of park plus makes that gawd awful clunk. To top it off, he has a perfectly working e-brake

 

When it snowed here a couple years ago My Mom's car was stuck on a hill. I went to help get her car home and I told my uncle to get in my car and hold the brake so it would not roll down the hill. My brakes needed to be adjusted so the e-brake would not hold good. He get's in my car and mashes the clutch and then bails out of my car! Then it slid off the road when it hit the ice and went down the embankment. I was mad as hell and almost knocked the crap out of him. After the tow-truck came and pulled the my car out it didn't have even a scratch on it. The car missed a drain pipe sticking out and a honeysuckle patch just created a soft net and stopped my car from going to the bottom.


Here is what happens when someone parks on a hill and walks off leaving their truck warming up. It cost $1900 to repair.

 

Dude, you're really lucky. The body damage would be repairable but if the taillights broke, you'd be forced to buy new ones. And they aren't cheap!

 

Put it on the frame rack, tie it down, and start pulling....I bet alot of that would come out. I good body man could pull it and make it look pretty good without having to replace the quarter.

 

definitely u don't need to replace the qt panel thats a easy fix on the frame machine

 

Usually for something like this to happen, more than 1 careless act has to happen.
1. Not tightening the bolt on the lever of the tranny that the shifter cable goes to. And remember the tranny must be in neutral when the shifter cable end is bolted down and the shifter cable must be in good condition, otherwise this could happen to you all over again.
2. Leaving a car running without the e-brake on.
3. Leaving the car running or even driving it knowing something is not right or not safe with it.

Thanks for posting your unfortunate event. Hopefully others can learn from this.