Thanks Guys.

It is a true assessment that the cars are built like brick ****houses. I am sure the damage underneath is much worse and if it is then it is. I'll go from there. Only the fender was affected and that is because of the wheel. No fluids leaking and the car is running without a burp. No fluids on the flatbed plus we ran the car for awhile in intervals so the 6 ways would not kill the battery on us. BTW looking for one 8.5" 2 pc BBS wheel.

 

Joe, sorry about the shark but glad to hear you're allright. Man what a bummer. I almost lost my best friend to a kucklehead like that one day out riding the rice rockets.

Regards,

 

Joe got me back online. Now for the mishap. I was right behind Joe and I mean almost bumper to bumper. I was looking for the passing lane to blow around him. It happened so fast. We came out of a right turn and the sun was right in our eyes. I saw Joe cut the wheel to the right and I knew he was screwed. If it weren't for the anti-lock brakes, I would have rammed him twice. ALL HAIL ANTI-LOCK BRAKES! He kept perfect control of the car. I was litterally shaking. I asked him if he was alright as I jumped out of the car. I honestly thought the car was toast. But the only damage we could see was the tire rolled up on the fender. No biggie. Joe was in a panic when I told him to tow the car to his garage. He wanted to know and I qoute: How the hell are we going to get it in the garage? I told him he was going to drive it. And he did. When the Shark was coming down the flat bed, I had the driver stop it mid way. I jacked up the side and removed the toasted wheel & tire. Then I put Joe's Craftman's 3 ton'er under it and it rolled off the bed. Then I told Joe The jack is going to act as the missing wheel and I was going to steer it by hand. Low and behold . . He drove it in the garage. All in all . . It was a great day. Meeting Bob, Keith, Jennifer & Karen along with hanging out with Joe was actually a great time. If I knew the towing Co. was going to jerk us around all night, We would have gone to dinner with them. Oh well, there is always Sharktoberfest! I hope to see those folks again. As far as seeing Joe, I don't think I can afford him. BTW . . That's me standing next to Joe's 928 in his garage. It's 2am and I have to get up at 5:30 to catch my plane home and he's wondering why I'm not smiling.

 

Okay sports fans I got the car in the air today like I promised. I don't know how to put pics in one space so I will have to do it separate. After my second review it does not look to good but I am not sure. I would definitely need a second opinion.

 

2

 

3

 

4

 

5

 

6

 

Pic 6 is the bottom of the rear of the wheel well. The tire pushed that in pretty good. There is also a dent on the frame that goes along the middle of the wheel well (pic 5)but it definitely looks like it was made by the rim. It is not a kink. It would be some job to fix. Man there is a lot of gravel in this car.

 

Joe,
From the pics , the upper and lower A-arms plus tie-rod end are toast. In the 'maybe' category are the steering knuckle, lower ball joint and drop link. It is less likely the sway bar is bent, so look for symmetry with the other side - the mounting bracket does not look healthy. The steering rack action can be checked with the car on jackstands: a good indicator here is if the rack is not leaking, and cycles smoothly. The shock is likely OK provided .the mounting eye is undamaged.
You really won't know until everything is unbolted: wrench time!

 

I gotta say that the pictures look a lot better than I first envisioned when we saw the wheel tucked up inside and horizontal.

The dent in the rail aft of the upper control arm mount (pic 5) doesn't look like it's real serious, at least from the pictures.

In the first pic you posted last week, it looked like the shock rod was bent. Was that just a camera trick or did it really bend?


So, get stuff unbolted, clean up the wheelhouse area and start doing some measuring. The fender will need replacing so that might as well come off too for better access. That will also help you identify any possible problems forward of the control arm mounts. With luck and a donor car, you can bolt some suspension bits on there and see what is really tweaked.


It's too nice of a car to see it scrapped.

 

Hey Gang,

The Strut is gone for sure. Aside from the sway bar, everything in that general facinity is toast. Upper arm, lower arm,spindle,joints, tie rod and strut are all in the after life. I am still amazed after the hit I took. I am going to start removal tomorrow. When I got the stuff off the car we will post further. . Happy trails in the meantime.

 

If your A/C compressor came in contact with anything, check the mounting points. The mounting points can crack or break. Had this malady on the 4.5L I just took out.
Down, but not out, Right?

 

A/C Comp did not hit anything. Totally unscaved.