Commiserate with me, brothers

"they-will-know-my-velocity" (velocitah) 11/21/2015 at 19:41 • Filed to: GTO, Holden, moral support

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I’ve been having a pretty crappy week. Automotively speaking, you could even say it’s been a crappy year. I’ll go chronologically.

That’s Roxanne. She was my daily for the last 3 years. 2006 GT convertible. I was coming up on 150K but I didn’t care. It was reliable and loud transportation. Until she took an arrow to the firewall. Someone left some scrap metal on I-635 at 530 in the morning and it wrapped around my right side control arm and went through the firewall and popped up through the drain-plug for the heater core in the floor pan of the passenger footwell. Insurance totaled the car because firewall is considered frame and the cost was something ridiculous like $8k. If I had known what I know now, I would never have reported it and just fixed it myself.

So I stripped my parts off and took the loss. Ended up with a cherry (not red) 2004 GTO. LS1 with a manual T-56. 48K on the clock. Beautiful and perfect in every way. This was mid-August. After re-learning to drive stick I quickly learned what I was missing during all those years of playing with 4.6L Ford motors. The LS1 was a breath of fresh air and I found driving something like the GTO (nicest GM interior I’ve ever been in) to be fun since it had weird words like “Australia” printed in some places.

I was working on some ideas of what to change. Coilovers, headers, intake. I only just ticked over 55K.

And I wrecked. I couldn’t even speak I was so upset at myself. I was coming home after work and grocery shopping and turned onto my road, which they have been working on for a couple weeks. When I left for work, it was tar and gravel compacted into a type of pavement but when I returned, it was was just dirt and gravel. They had grated and graveled the road during the day. Second gear, about 25 mph and I lose the rear end in a spray of gravel. I go for opposite lock and pedal down because I can see where the front end is pointing. Right at grassy berm and a telephone pole.

I saved the pod, mostly. It went from a radiator bursting, frame damaging head on to a graze across the passenger side front corner. Still the damage is severe. Fender, bumper, headlight, foglight. All destroyed. I didn’t even take a piece of the telephone pole off, just scraped it. Immediately I’m out and picking up pieces of plastic and headlight like I’m going to take them home (75 yards away) and glue them back together. Cops come, called by some one, I don’t know who. They leave pretty quickly after determining that the car is running (I left it idling to listen to it, no mechanical problems that I can determine) and I’m fine. I drive the last 75 yards to my drive way and clean the car out for the tow truck and body shop estimate to come.

Hood is slightly curled down on one corner but since it’s steel I’m thinking it can be saved. I need a radiator support and possibly a fender support. Once we have the bolt on pieces the car will go on a frame machine to check for twist.

The hard part is that this car is an Australian car never made in America and discontinued over there. The new prices for parts are ludicrous. $1800 for a fender. $1300 for a bumper. I have found a guy that has a large parts stockpile that he has accumulated from purchasing wrecker cars and stripping them. He is much more affordable and my insurance is cooperating so far with using him as a source for parts.

Fingers crossed but I have been expecting them to total the car. Despite being a perfectly operable and car, I have come to expect the worst from insurance companies. But I’m not going to let this one go. I’ve already found a donor car sitting at the local Copart. If I have to, I will frankenstein this thing. I already know the first thing I’ll do once it’s done - in small black lettering across the front core support, “Too weird to live, too rare to die.”

Opposite Locksmith > they-will-know-my-velocity 11/21/2015 at 19:53

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Man that's a bad string of luck. Had a seizure yesterday so I'm not driving for ANOTHER six months

deprecated account > they-will-know-my-velocity 11/21/2015 at 19:55

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Snap, man. That really sucks. Hope the donor car works out.

TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts > they-will-know-my-velocity 11/21/2015 at 20:15

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You’re all good man. I picked up all your bad luck yesterday.

Only difference is, the pole won.

daender > they-will-know-my-velocity 11/21/2015 at 20:17

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The hard part is that this car is an Australian car never made in America and discontinued over there. The new prices for parts are ludicrous. $1800 for a fender. $1300 for a bumper. I have found a guy that has a large parts stockpile that he has accumulated from purchasing wrecker cars and stripping them. He is much more affordable and my insurance is cooperating so far with using him as a source for parts.

Time for a Holden visual upgrade. An autocrosser who used to be in my region got his front end damaged, he calculated the costs and it was (and probably still is) cheaper to import used painted Holden bumpers from Australia than the GTO replacement parts.

daender > daender 11/21/2015 at 20:20

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On that note, here’s one of his friend’s GTO that underwent further down under. The Monaro look is both cheaper and more unique in the States.

they-will-know-my-velocity > Opposite Locksmith 11/21/2015 at 22:40

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Oh snap man, that sucks. I’m relegated to a Camry but not driving sucks.

they-will-know-my-velocity > TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts 11/21/2015 at 22:42

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Whoops. Sorry man. At least it was a clean kill. I’m stuck In limbo trying to figure out what insurance is gonna do.

they-will-know-my-velocity > daender 11/21/2015 at 22:42

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That’s sexy. I may check out the Aussie bumper. I’m buying a used OEM bumper anyway.

911e46z06 > they-will-know-my-velocity 11/21/2015 at 23:17

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Fuck it. If you never wreck, you ain’t driving right.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Opposite Locksmith 11/22/2015 at 02:16

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that sucks big time.

i can’t sit still , so i drive a lot.

shop-teacher > they-will-know-my-velocity 11/22/2015 at 08:23

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That’s rough man. Good luck getting the GTO back on the road!

TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts > they-will-know-my-velocity 11/22/2015 at 08:34

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Bad as it looks, I can still save it. I needed to replace all the plastics and the hood anyways. Just need to find a rust free core support and then I’m golden.

they-will-know-my-velocity > 911e46z06 11/22/2015 at 22:48

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Lol, I’ll use this in my statement to my insurance.

911e46z06 > they-will-know-my-velocity 11/23/2015 at 00:00

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They’ll love it. You’ll both laugh, then high-five.

they-will-know-my-velocity > 911e46z06 11/23/2015 at 00:06

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Then cut me a check to repair my car AND turbocharge it.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > they-will-know-my-velocity 11/24/2015 at 06:08

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This is exactly why I’ve strayed from buying a high powered RWD car like that. I just don’t trust myself with it. I can absolutely see myself ending up in your situation. My condolences, hope can save the car.