I had a bad day yesterday. Its winter here in NY; the roads were clear but cold. My 86 IROC Z has GSD3 Tires. I was going 50 MPH down a back road. A car pulled out of the driveway directly in from of me. I hit the brakes and the wheels locked up but the car kept going straight at the same speed. I was destined to T-Bone the car that pulled out in front of me. To the right was a 6ft wall of snow piled high from town snow plows. What I didn't know was the in the middle of this snow pile was a mail box. I headed for the wall of snow slamming into it at about 35MPH. Sent the mail box into the road and snow everywhere. Car was nose first sticking out of the snow pile; rear wheels in the air. Had to have the car pulled out with a diesel tow truck. When they got the car out surprisingly the hood was bent, and the bumper and two fenders were out of alignment but noting else appeared to be seriously damaged. Radiator was 100% intact. Steering needs and alignment and there is a wobble coming out of the front end, but I drove the car home at regular speed and it didn't really drive much different. I was getting ready to restore the car. Are there any structural concerns I should have? Is it like the car is all twisted up? What would you do? It was a pretty bad impact but the car is intact for the most part.

DG

 

It sounds like you were pretty lucky. It is kind of hard to tell what is exactly wrong but could you post some pictures of the damage? Do you have any of it in the snow bank? If you are unable to or if anyone else on this site is unable to tell you what is wrong then take it to a reputable shop in your area and have them inspect it.

 

I have learned with my other cars there is no such things as a reputable shop. I am not so much concerned about the suspension issue as body/chassis integrity issues. I know this is not a full frame car, just wondering what areas I should check for twisting/bending/or damage, and how to correct those issues.

DG

 

50mph, back road, and ultra high performance summer tires. seems like a recipe for disaster to me. ( however, you are from NY soooo )

are the fenders actually out of alignment, or is it just an illusion because of the bent hood and bumper? if the fenders are tweaked, you could have structural issues.

didnt sound like you hit anything too hard though?

 

I will post some pictures today or tomorrow. Could just be the hood and bumper.

 

Alright here's a couple of shots. I took it over to the car wash this morning to try and get all the packed in snow out of the wheel wells, undercarriage, and front nose. After I got it cleaned up it didn't look all that bad. Hood will not close, I have no idea why at this point. The passenger side took it brunt of the impact and as you can see the door and fender are out of alignment, but overall I think its going to be alright. The car is being repainted in April so I was going to strip it down anyway. Take a look at the pictures and let me know what you think.

 

DG

 

to get it done right I would put new Fenders on it although a good body man could get it straight and stuff. There are brackets behind the fenders right there where the bumper meets the left and right fenders that may have bent when it was impacted, Which is what I'm thinking is tweeked a bit. other then that it doesnt look like to have any major damage unless there is some hidden under body damage we cant see.