So, my son called at 12:30 last night, 9:30 his time, bummed out becaue he was sitting on a curb on Tropicana (in 'Vegas) waiting for the police to come to the scene of his '62 Impala and the Ford Focus that tagged him. Seems he'd tried to change lanes into the right turn lane, and the other driver was driving in that lane to avoid the line of non moving traffic. He was ticketed for "Improper merging", as it wasn't REALLY a right turn lane where he was, but the paved shoulder, the street he was going to turn right on was up several car lengths, it wasn't officially a right turn lane at that area, although it was closer to the intersection. Why the other driver wasn't ticketed is sort of mystery, as she was using the shoulder to avoid traffic, but, that's neither here nor there. The upshot is that the Impala got wrinkled. I'd imagined it to be much worse, not that "...Oh sure, that'll buff right out...", but it's not like the doors are wasted. Actually, if the white paint and tire marks were buffed off, it wouldn't be as noticable. Of course, it is to him. Didn't get the quarter, the dog leg has some white paint on it, and it scooted the rocker molding ahead a couple of inches but didn't wrinkle it. Anyway, now what to do? I'm here in Kalamazoo, he and the car are out there. He doesn't have collision on it, and doesn't have the $$ to have it fixed. He has his Mustang out there yet, the '68 GT convert, so he has another car. He had just talked about selling the 'Stang, untill this happened. My thought is that I'm going to have the Impala transported back here, and fix the damage. He can drive the Mustang, which is probably worth more as transportation that it is as a "collecter car" right now, and we'll just let things pick back up before offing either one of them. Before he sent the photos just now, I was thinking it'd probably be a good idea to find a two door body (I happen to know where one is) and use his (mine actually, it was sort of the lend/lease program!) and use it as a parts car for a more desireable two door. It's not nearly as bad as I'd imagined, I'd pictured the pillar being pushed in and the doors all twisted. As it is, it's ugly but easily fixable, and best of all, nobody hurt, although he did lose his belt, as he gave it to the girl who hit him to strap her bumper to the car so she didn't have to have her car towed.
Man, that ****s! Atleast he is OK. The damage doesn't look that bad, I would fix it. Please don't kill a good more door by using it for parts
Sleep on this one for a couple nights and let the shock wear off. The cost and h***le of transporting that car back n forth will cancel savings. You'd probably be a lot better off using the networking here to find him a capable local shop and/or some new doorskins & trim. Just my honest opinion. Good luck to both of you.
Kustom By Crunch---some drivers shouldn't be allowed on the road, Shifty gave some good advice give it a day or two it will all work out.
People drive on the shoulder all the time here in Las Vegas, but I always thought they were in the wrong. It's amazing that some people will drive on the shoulder 25mph faster than the street traffic. Sad to hear that the guy doing the right thing gets the ticket. From now on, I'll be more cautious myself. There are a lot of hurting body shops here in Vegas. Maybe one would cut a deal. Transporting it back east will probably cost $1500 on an open transport truck, then another $1500 back. Plus your materials.
I got hit from someone driving in a bike lane. I changed lanes when the bike lane transitioned into a right turn lane just before the intersection. I got the ticket because the cop said I did not look to the right when I turned into the turn lane. Cop friends of mine told me thats the way it is, the driver making the lane change is required to look in order to make a safe lane change, even if the other driver is in the wrong. I'm middle aged and got a gut, the other driver was yound an cute... so I got the ticket.... sometimes life aint fair.
First off, glad he is OK. Probably not the most perfect time to bring this up BUT why oh why would you/him not have Grundy insurance on that car? $10,000 agreed value, full comp and collision, no deductable on that car is $115.92 per year. $5,000 agreed value, full coverage, no deductable would been $83.42 Pocket change when you think about it. Does your son live in Vegas? If so, we do have quite a few HAMB members there that would probably know a reliable and trustworthy shop for repairs.
Yup use the network to find a reliable shop, as an owner operator of several trucks it will not be worth the transport vs the repair in Vegas. If you can locate a plain old flatbed that is ltl going your way you just might be OK except you will need a dock to load and unload. Jim
Hey guys (and Gal!), Thanks for the sentiments! Yeah, probably sleeping on it a day or two is gonna make it seem alot less serious! He doesn't have collector car ins. on it as it's a daily driver, and (at least Hagerty, who I have) won't insure if it's your only car. Re the idea of parting it, I didn't know how bad the damage was, I'd pictured it as much, much worse. I'd imagined the pillar shoved in, both doors buckled, etc. It's really not that bad, I think both doors are repairable without skins. Re help finding a shop, that would be great. It looks like a weekend warrior project to me. I have the paint code, it's not an original color. We might go that way if anybody has some suggestions, forward them on to me thru the board or email me @: bcmccool@msn.com. I appreciate it! Re road trip. If could finaggle a week off, I'd fly out and drive that bad back and make a vacation out of it, like the trip out! Thats an option if my wife and I can time off together. Brian
I'm gonna bump this for the afternoon crowd, in hopes somebody in the Vegas area can turn me on to a shop that might take a look at the Impy for us. Thanks...
he's not going to part it out he's going to fix it,he said he thought it would be a lot worse then it was.
LOL, I'm gonna try to find an even worse convert than yours and build it! No, the Sport Sedan is gonna be fixed, the damage, if you look at the photos is really pretty minor. Both doors are (at least it looks like) bumpable, so it's definately getting fixed. We actually really like the looks of the hardtop, especially since you NEVER see a nice Sport Sedan. I've seen you build, it's amazing. Very determined. Hats off to you.
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