The end of an era..or is it?
 

Well it's been a while since ive been on here so i figured I'd post up on what's happened. A couple months ago I was to start a 406ci Dart SHP with a T76 turbo build. I figured I'd go for a cruise with my friends for one last weekend before I started tearing down the car. On my way back home some a-hole pulls out in front of me like I wasnt even there. I slam on the brakes and the car spun out of control into a guardrail doing 75mph. This was the end result. A Camaro that I've had for 22 years original owner purchased in Germany is totaled. Here is the carnage.

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Engine still ran believe it or not

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I even drove it onto the trailer but had to put the front left wheel on a dolly to do so.

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Re: The end of an era..or is it?
 

I bought the car back from the insurance company and brought it back home with me with help of awesome friends and strip it down and give her a proper burial.

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Believe it or not this radiator did not leak but the lower hose was punctured

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Getting the car readied for organ donation

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And here is the new recipient - 1991 Z28 with 305 TPI

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Engine coming out. Sold the 383 short block to my buddy.

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Ouch again

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I pulled the wrap off and the damage seems worse

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Notice the crease by the fuel pump connector. Gives you an idea how hard the impact was

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Its almost ready to go to the big bowtie in the sky. Thats the 406ci DART SHP block in the foreground :D

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Loading her up for the final journey

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Going to metal recycling

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Re: The end of an era..or is it?
 

oh man , that is so sad to see . glad you are okay .

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Oh sh*t! Must be hard to let it go... R.I.P

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So sad, I am also an original owner that would kill me....The work and care you put into that was obvious even in the carnage! Just remember the Phoenix.....maybe that's what you need to call the doner car?
Best of luck to you!

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Omg! My heart is breaking for you. One of the best looking cars on tgo. Sad to see it. Im so glad youre ok. Knowing you though this new car will be breath- taking as well. Keep us posted.

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Thanks yall, it sucks to see it go but I will build one better, stronger, faster. I have the technology :D

Here the video of the car being taken away. It was like watching Megatron having his way with my car lol

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Painful to watch. Protect and baby a car for 20+ years only to have this happen. Damn shame. Had a few pull out in front of me and two near rear ends in the past 4 months since my car was back on the road. Always some other jerk ending our love affairs with our cars. My head is always on a swivel. Good luck with the new car, looks like a good start.

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Wow - having owned my TA for over 25 years, I feel for you. Must be like losing part of the family. I just stripped down a car I have owned for 10 years and I am a bit sad. Looks like you will build another beast - so good luck with the new build.

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That video was painful to watch....crane operator seemed to enjoy it, seemed to actually
shake his grapple as if to say "gotcha" the guy had NO RESPECT!
On another note, how long did you run your electric water pump on the street? Always curious about street longevity.
Thnx!

Re: The end of an era..or is it?
 

I've had that water pump on there for about 10 years with no issues. It's a Meziere water pump

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Wow, painful to watch indeed.

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so, so sorry for you. what a sad day...makes me want to go hug my car.

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I feel for you. I'm an original owner of a 91 RS totaled in 2000 that was eventually repaired and returned as a daily driver. It's a horrible feeling. It may have been the only time my wife saw me cry in our eighteen year marriage. Wish you the very best with the new car.

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Ouch! Some terrible damage! Glad everyone is okay.

Jay

Re: The end of an era..or is it?
 

I would be totally pissed.to the point of homicide. but on the bright side(if there is one) you can now build another, with the knowledge you gained building the first one. and if you play your cards right, you can end up with a even better one , than the one that was murdered. dude , my heart goes out to you, peace.

Re: The end of an era..or is it?
 

Thanks for the kind words guys. And to pour salt in the wound the cops gave me a ticket for careless driving even though I was cut off. They never caught the idiot either. On a positive note I fought the ticket and got it dismissed.

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Oh my gosh, my heart literally hurts for you:( I can't imagine your heartache. I am so glad that you are ok though. Yes, I will definately e hugging my girl today!! Which I already do!! There is a love that we have for our cars that is unexplainable. That video was horrible. I don't think I coulda watched that!! Man, I so would be keeping my eye open for that other vehicle!!! Good luck to you on your new build.

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Sounds like Florida for you.

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It's against my better judgement to ask but I'll regret it if I don't... Is everything being swapped over to the new 91' or are there parts you're going to be selling off? If you don't want to answer that then I understand. I really don't mean to offend since the body isn't even really cold yet but....

Re: The end of an era..or is it?
 

man these kind of threads are always so sad. :( i wouldnt have been able to scrap the mangled shell. i prolly would have tucked it away for absolutely no reason other than to know its not gone yet.

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Wow that is really sad, but glad you didnt get hurt or anything. The crane operator at least was gentle when he took it off your trailer. The last time we scrapped a car, the operator busted out the front window before it even was lifted off the trailer.

But your car will live on in spirit with the parts transplanted into another.

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Most of the drive train is being swapped over to the other car so yeah she'll live on in spirit definitely :-)

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Holy **** man that sucks. Sorry that you lost your Camaro. This is why I'm looking to for a pick up to drive daily. I'm what you call over protective and paranoid when it comes to my Z28. Lol. I almost lost mine many times like this and enough is enough. I store all the parts I buy for mine till its officially my weekend and show car. I know there is still that risk but this way I still have the parts will just need a new 3rd gen in case. again sorry about the car.

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Thanks man, the next build will make me feel a whole lot better about this after I'm done :)

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Where did you get the spoiler & solar wing from & are you gonna sell them?

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Glad you're okay.

It was a very nice car but I hope you keep all the... accessories off the new one. It looks really clean. But Im a sucker for more of an OEM look I guess.

I already saw where you had put "RIP" in your sig, so this isnt a huge surprise. I'm just glad you were able to salvage a lot of the really good stuff out of it. That car lives on in its own way. it's the ones that just get junked and scrapped that get me depressed. You bought it back and transplanted the soul into a new one.

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Solarwing I bought when i was in germany but ebay has them. Actually one of the guys selling them used my car as the picture. The rear wing I bought from ASCD (American Sports Car Design). Its called a Turbo II . I think they stopped making them. I'm gonna keep the factory wing on the other car and maybe sell the Turbo wing but havent decided yet. I may just hang it in the garage as a memento.

Thanks man, the more I get into this new build the better i feel :)

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Let me know if you decide to sell the spoiler...im very interested in it.

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This is my #1 fear, ive owned my 84 for 25yrs.Main reason bought a DD.Important part is, your unhurt though.

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I have seen quite a few heart wrenching ends to cars on this site. Not only is a gorgeous car being taken from already thinning ranks, but most of the time there is an apparent connection to the car by the owner, be it due to originally purchasing the car 20+ years ago, a first build, or a plethora of time, money, and effort being poured into the car. After these tragedies, I can honestly say, with no sarcasm or humor intended, that I cannot fathom how you guys keep yourselves from tracking down and brutally punishing the half wit simians who cause your loss.

A moment of silence, for a fallen warrior

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I have been around a while and too followed you over the years. RIP to a fellow comrade



PS I just sold my Z Friday and it felt like giving a child away. I understand your pain!

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Please make us all feel better andpost a few pics of how the new build is comin along!! I'm glad you found another one to love!! Glad you kept some parts from your other one to keep her keepin on!! I'm also happy to hear that you are feeling better with your new one as time goes on!!

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What strut mounts are you using there? And how did they fare after the accident? Where'd you get those spacers?

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Wow. There were some things on your car I didn't exactly agree with but I could tell you put your heart and soul onto that automotive canvas. It was a great car. Sad to hear about it's demise. Although version 2.0 almost always shows improvements. :) Good luck on your new vehicular journey.

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Unbelievable heart breaker, sorry.

I know this is going to sound dumb But, I'm sure your family, and the families of others in the car, would rather see your Camaro go to the junkyard... and not all of you going to the graveyard.

I did FHP for 2 years in the early 70's. Just could not handle the fatal crashes. It looks like your very upgraded suspension (and you), just may have save your lives.

Good luck and have fun with your new build, and please keep us posted.

Just keep an eye out for the 85 year old Grannies that think everyone else on the road are meshuga. :eek:

Rod

83ZZZ28

Re: The end of an era..or is it?
 

The strut mounts I got from PARacing along with the tubular kmember and the spacers I made my myself from an aluminum bar I got at a local place here that sells all kinds of metal stock. They held up perfect. No damage to them at all. Here's a close up of when I first installed them.

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Diagram of what i did. Reason for doing this was because with the coil over at its lowest setting the front was sitting way too high so i moved it up about 1.5"

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Here's the build status so far. Notice the LS style lifter retainers :D

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Re: The end of an era..or is it?
 

I always worried how aftermarket strut mounts would hold up in an accident, that's pretty cool.

What's the deal with the LS lifter retainers? Are they just a tall replacement for the dog bones?

Re: The end of an era..or is it?
 

the ls1 retainers allow you to change cams without removing the intake manifold by holding the lifters up. all you have to do is turn the camshaft which pushes the lifter into the retainer which has a slight resistance and holds them up

Re: The end of an era..or is it?
 

so sorry to see the damage to your car, glad your ok, new project car looks good, so does the new dart engine. good luck with the new build, sub'd

Re: The end of an era..or is it?
 

Ok so I feel bad about asking, but i am not the first so far to ask about it. The spoiler. I would love to have the spoiler. I would pay good money for it, but completely understand why you would want to keep it. I personally in your situation wouldn't even think about selling it. But if you ever do want to sell let me know. If you were closer to me I would see about getting a mold made from it while it's not on a car.

Re: The end of an era..or is it?
 

I have a 1 pc RMS block from a truck that had a flat tappet cam in it. So the lifter bosses are not machined flat for dog bones. tapping the pedestals for the spider certainly isnt hard, and neither is tapping the front for the retainer. But the flats for the dogbones is a problem.

Obviously, unless you have a block just like mine with the tall, unmachined lifter bosses you are unable to know for sure, but as far as you can tell, do the LS style retainers need flats to seat properly?

Re: The end of an era..or is it?
 

It really brakes my heart!!!! I´m sorry for your lost!!!! that was an epic maro R.I.P

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IMHO I wouldn't run these unless they were flat. Flat plastic edge on a rounded surface will wear down and crack over time.

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If that happened to me I would be destroyed. Did you have the car appraised prior to the crash? My IROC is appraised for $24k and with my antique insurance, I would get the full value if it was totaled. Just curious, because if you didn't, please do get it this time!

Re: The end of an era..or is it?
 

Ok just a little update on the engine build. Got the edelbrock intake on and superram runners on along with the highly modified tpi fuel rails with 80lb Siemens fuel injectors. I had 3/8" bungs welded on all 4 corners and screwed in - 8an fittings.

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Had to modify the turbo headers. I cutoff #8 primary and rerouted to the top using the SLP headers as a donor. Also had to re-angle the turbo flange so the turbo can clear the tall covers. Welds aren't that pretty but i'm grinding them down anyways.

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Made me a plenum cover for the superram :D

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