Well, I was t-boned, Police report said it was my fault, but Im not admiting that I did anything wrong. I followed a larger veichle into a left turn on a green arrow that turned into a green light, never saw him coming but I think he saw me and did a worrible job avoiding me. I would say He was at just as much fault as I was. I think he was speeding, but not much I can do now after the police said it was my fault.It was Ford Expidition. My sis was in the passenger side.These cars are damn sturdy and I thank *** for the f-body. Car might be totaled? As the night goes on and I see the photos of my car on my comp and my desk, I get sader and sader. If only it could have been a close call?
Before


After




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Jeff
92 Camaro V6, mods: K&N, modified air box, JET chip 2,Dynomax Cat & Cat Back System
www.camarors.4t.com





[This message has been edited by Jiffy (edited December 04, 2001).]

 

Thank *** your and sister are all right.

Well I will admit that car is tough if it got T-boned by and expedition and looks that good.

Its too bad about the car though, it was soo sweet, not to mention you had one of hte best web-sites out there.

In the wrong, that does suck, and us youngin's always get pinned for that too...**** off.

 

Sorry about your car man but glad to hear you & your sis came thru unhurt from the accident. 3rdgens are quite stout vehicles in wrecks.

From what I've done to my cars & fixed, I personally wouuldn't call that totaled but, it is quite a whack to the car.

From the looks of where you were hit, i'd say you didn't leave the driver much choice towards avoiding you. If I were to guess,, you were already following the larger vehicle at an unsafe distance since you couldn't see the light.

Secondly, the vehicle in front of you was probably in the middle of running an already changed light.

Not trying to be an a§§ about it because I know how bad accidents suck but, I'd call it as your fault too if I were a cop.

------------------[*]my Formula Homepage [*]Collision P/Ns & Diagrams

"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach
you to keep your mouth shut."

 

I would get the car up on a lift and look at the sub frame.
If its not warped(Go to a frame shop to get verified) your far from totalled. Door skin, fender, hood, winshield and some more t tops(If they were glass) and your good to go.

 

It looks to me like mostly all superficial damage. It looks straight(the body lines on the door frame) so it does not appear to have been bent(the sub frame/floor pan) Does the door still line up and open and close find, minus the cruching from the front fender? Is the door sill warped? get a STRAIGHT peice of material to lay on it and see. If its not then just replace the stuff in my privious post and your fine. But do have it cheacked by a frame shop just to be sure.

Glad to know that you and your sis came out good.

I have hit 2 deer in a privious 3rd. And beleive it or not NO REAL DAMAGE either time. I layed and the brake untill right before impact then gunned it and hit them square. I rip the legs off and the deer goes for a fling lesson over my car. Some blood and fur, maybe some massaging of the urathane and I'm good. Though I never liked having to get out to "Finish the deer" by suffocation or breaking of the neck. It's just more humane though, no suffering(For a long period at least).

 

still good to hear no-one was badly hurt. at least your sig shows the good side.

dam hunter, sounds like you wer the person they were taping on the movie "Baseketball" when they were showing "Road Kill- cought on tape"

------------------
$150.00 2.8 Auto.
short block now
turbo eventually, 3.4 may be in the future

76 Bonnie: 400/400 "And you thought a Caprice was big"
Giving the enemy the opportunity to die for their country

[This message has been edited by Project: 85 2.8 bird (edited December 05, 2001).]

 

I AM SO HAPPY YOU & SISTER ARE OK.
Really.
Cars are only metal.
BFD.
BUT.......
I do agree, you got hit, wrong place (to close to the vehicle infront) to see bad situation.
Been there, too. AND IT SUCKS!
Your car, look bad, as I see the front wheel, "new alignment" angle, indicating that teh car frame is tweaked. That'll cost buks to get fixed, UNLESS, you hit the yards for the body parts and then you gotta get car welded on "the frame straightener" to get that front wheel alignment correct.
These days, it's not much of a mission. Back in 1980 (when this type of accident happened to me), it was "black magic"
New technology does cost.
Good luck trying to get it all in your favor.
But, in the end, it's is still a piece of metal.
See what you can score at the yards.
We got cars like that, by the dozens, out here in LA wrecking yards area

------------------
Chat Soon,
KED85
Karl
1985 Firebird 2.8 to 3.4 swap project for Smog Happy LA, CA

 

Glad to hear you're both okay, that's definately what's important!

It almost looks like the front has been shifted over- but has it? The photos show the damage, but not the alignment of the car. If you line up the front tires straight, how do they compare to the rear tires?

You were hit high enough for the lower subframe to be okay - unless you were hit at 90 MPH, and that doesn't look like that fast of a collision. Looks like the panel that the door attaches to is probably the one that's toast. That panel also takes your upper front frame rail- and comparatively, the upper rail takes a lot less stress than the lower rail. What's great is that the door is thick and hollow, and the fender is also thick and hollow. The damage to the door & fender are great, but the damage to that piece of steel in the middle might not. Incidently, I assume that's why your windshield cracked, due to the bending of the A-pillar (from the impact of that area)?

When I totalled my car, I stripped a donor '84 car to nothing but a motor, stripped my car to a motor, and had a body shop switch frames. Besides moving over the lower frame rail (pass side), they also moved the upper frame rail on. They were able to straighten that panel (that the pass. door attaches to), and weld the good upper rail to it. I assume the same can be done to yours.

In fact, they might be able to straighten the whole piece out on a rack, and not even need to do any welding! Ask around, find out body shops that your friends liked; shops love getting a referral. If you'll be paying for this out of pocket, do the body man (and your wallet) a favor- strip off your damaged door and fender before leaving the car at the shop. If you want to make life easier for the frame estimate, just yank off the fender. Oh- you'll also need to remove the front bumper. There are four screws holding the bumper edge to the fender edge; two are way "up" there.

I left my shop with "just" a frame swap, and they charged me $900; If I had them do it all, that would've been one hell of a bill- and they probably wouldn't have wanted the job. You'll get a more fair estimate, and there will be no "mystery" to them- your job for them becomes easier, and they'll probably take care of you first to get you out of the way. My shop had my car back to me in two days! I expected them to take a week or two! My dad said as soon as both cars were towed over, one of the men started cutting the donor car's frame off- unbelievable. I should get those pics up.

I don't see how the cops say it was your fault- you were in the intersection already. Get a laywer. G-damn SUV's; I hate 'em even more now. I assume there's no lawsuit against you?


------------------
-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l)

[This message has been edited by TomP (edited December 05, 2001).]

 

thats why I always make sure the light is green before I go .If someone is in front of me and is moving along and I cant see the light , i drop back some , just to make sure its green .Well atleast you didn't Knowinly run a red or caution light .There's so many stupid people down here in louisiana that do .Just be thankfull you and your sister are ok .Those expeditions seem like big monster trucks to me when Im in my car .As the car goes , looks fixable unless your frame is bent ....Wayne

 

Glad everyone is OK, bummer about the car!

Here's my take on what happened from what you posted. You followed another car into a turn when you still had a green arrow. Let's just say that as you were going, that arrow went off and the other side turned green. So that puts you smack in the middle of the intersection when the lights change. Now if the truck is waiting at the light, then duh!- how could he not see you. And if he was back say a few 100 feet somewhere, now think about this... did he intend to stop for the red light facing his direction?

In short, either you totally did not have a green arrow, or the other guy totally messed up!

One more thing... I had a similar accident a few years ago, only I was going strait and some old man just made his left turn not looking. He tried to sue me for the damage to his car. His butthole lawyer cited these two laws to make it look like my fault:

A vehicle must slow down when approaching an intersection. (him)

A vehicle approaching an intersection (him) must yield right of way to a vehicle already in the intersection (you).

Think about taking the other guy to small claims court. Good chance the judge will find 50/50 fault. Happenned to me when I was 17.

 

You can go to court, but you'll never get anywhere

The thing is, you cut him off. No offense, but the law states that if you cut across a lane to make a turn and get hit by an oncoming car, it is 100% your fault, no exception. My uncle did the same thing you did, only the car that hit him had their blinker on to turn and still went straight, hence why he got nailed.

Didn't matter though...he was still at fault. Sorry to see the car get nailed, but its good you and your sis are ok.

------------------
Jason E

'97 Z28
-30th Anniversary package (white with orange stripes)
-LT1, M6, 46k, t-tops, every option and a killer stereo

'95 Grand Am SE 2 door
-Red, 3100 V6, AT, 112k, kept up with a '95 Stang GT auto once

FOR SALE: '89 RS 2.8 w/ t-tops
Third-gen-less for now...but not forever
Long Live #3...

 

Thanks for the sympathy, I got some more pics. I had insurance so I dont have to worry about any money, cept a 500 deductable but I took it to the best shop in town. I will find out tommarow if they are going to fix of totall it. The body guy said the insurance will probably pay up to 4,600 to fix it. Our cars value was estimated between a 4,100 to 6,620 in my area. I would say about 5,700. I just going to hope for the best.










[This message has been edited by Jiffy (edited December 05, 2001).]

 

Well....she is officially totalled, its a sad day, Im just glad the insurance gave me a good compensation of $6,120. Im sorry to say but that will be my last thirdgen for a long time, or at least untill I can afford to have a weekend sport car. I may not have a thirdgen, but my next will definantly be a GM. Long live your thirdgens! and goodbye for now.



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Jeff
92 Camaro V6, mods: K&N, modified air box, JET chip 2,Dynomax Cat & Cat Back System
www.camarors.4t.com