To say yesterday wasn't good is an understatement. This is embarassing as hell, and for that reason I thought about not posting anything about it. I managed to pretty much damage all the sheetmetal on the drivers side of the '57. I decided to post what happened in hopes someone down the road will avoid the same mistake. Long story, but to set up the whats and whys...
I had been posting about starting problems that I was hoping I had resolved yesterday. It appears now that I may have had two issues coming up coincedently, I'm still not sure. Yesterday after getting the new starter and solenoid installed, I took the car out 3 times and drove it back to my driveway fully warmed up and shut it down. Car immediatly restarted all 3 times.
In the past weeks, I had noticed the gear shift wasn't catching the detents always correctly.
I had also thought when I replaced the starter and solenoid, if the issue was still there the next thing to check was the neutral switch. You can probably guess where this is going.
Late yesterday I decided to bring the car down to the local hand car wash place not too far from my house. They have a big metal building, 2 wide and two deep with 2 overhead doors on both ends. I drove it in, put it in Park and shut it off. After they got it washed, they asked me to pull it up front so they could towel it off. Car wouldn't start!! Damn!!. I told them it may start in 15 minutes or so, but wasn't sure. Anyway, they've got cars lined up out back to bring in, and there I was holding up traffic with a no start. I kept trying it, and no go, so I decided to try and find a wire to jumper the neutral switch terminals at the electrical panel. Had I been home I would have made a short jumper, attached it, and tried to start the car. There, I had to jumper it with just the probe off my multimeter that I had in the car. I had one of the guys that work there reach in from the passenger side and turn the key while I was on my knees with my head under the steering wheel holding the jumper wire on the two terminals. That worked. car fired right up, and as it usually does idles at 2000 rpm for 10 seconds or so. Only problem was I was thinking faulty neutral switch, and I didn't think about the posibility that the switch wasn't letting the car start because the car wasn't in the park position that the position indicator was showing. It was in gear and shot forward. I didn't think this old man could still move as fast as I did. It hit the side of the building's door jamb/overhead door track starting at the bumper and left fender. I just got my feet in the car when the door hit the opening and slammed it shut. It continued down the side of the car to about 2 feet from the taillight before I could jamb on the brakes and get it stopped. The kid that turned the key for me had got out quickly when I hollered "get out", and slammed that door shut. Thankfully he was ok, and he shut the door or I'd probably be looking at damage there also. Had I been a split second later getting my feet/legs in the door they would have been crushed. Had I not done that, the car would have gone across a short driveway and across a 4 lane busy street. So, I've got a lot of thing to be thankful for, but it still makes me sick to think about it.
The damage...first, my shifter/tranny/cable. I don't know what's going on with that, but whatever it is came into full bloom yesterday. The shifter won't move 1/2 of it's normal travel, and it won't actually move the tranny out of gear. No neutral, park or reverse. I kept thinking last night it may have been the cable that I had to weld an extension onto. My worry there was what about all the other stuff I was careful about welding, like the brake pedal rod, etc. It would have opened a huge bag of worms for me if that weld had failed. Fortunatly, it didn't where I welded is still looking good, so I'm thankful for that for many reasons.
The fenders, front and back are scrapped dented, washboarded a little, but salvageable. The door is iffy. It's been pancaked, dented, rippled. the mirror, door handle and maybe the back trim peice are toast.
I also did some light structural damage to the garage, but ewhen I went by last night they had all their door closed, so apparently nothing major. That door opening looked like it had been hit many times in the past from all the rusty dents.
sorry to hear this.you were lucky no one was hurt[just the car,that can be fixed]
About a year ago on the Hamb there was a story someone posted about an accident at a big show. My memory is a little foggy on the details, but it may have been the nsra show in OK city. A guy with a racecar had won the trophy for that division, and they were presenting the trophies inside a building. Apparently they told him they couldn't give him the trophy for the car unless he proved that it actually ran (they had pushed the car in), so he reached in and hit the start button. Apparently either the car wasn't equipped with a neutral switch or it malfunctioned, and the car was in gear when he fired it up. The car shot out, everybody jumping out of its way, the car went outside, across a drive and plowed into a recently completed high dollar Nomad wagon doing serious damage.
Well the Hamb being the Hamb, that posting was followed by many many pages of posts ripping that guy apart. It was peppered occasionally by guys saying to back off, leave him be, etc., etc.
But I seriously doubt he ever returned. His friends posted about how upset he was, it was just eating him up. Well unfortunately I got a small taste of what the guy went thru, and I'm sure glad I wasn't one of the guys giving him hell about the incident. Hmmm, there was a reason I was posting that story, lol. Be easy, be easy!
I'll post some pics, but it's hard to see the real damage, and that being the washboarding/rippling of the metal. The car is insured, and hopefully I won't run into problems because of the way it came about. I'm just not up to spending months doing more body work, so, assuming there is no problem with GRUNDY, I think I'm also going to get the feel of what it's like to be Bob with my car in autobody shop jail.
Rick, sorry for the damage on your car, glad you were not hurt.
I read an article where a guy restored a mustang and was in front of it doing some tuning, he revved up the motor and the car launched forward trapping him in from of the car and his garage wall. He sustained some serious injuries. After reading his story I won't put myself in front of a car to work on it, I stand on the side. I appreciate you posting your accident, I honestly believe it will be stuck in a lot of our minds once were placed in a similar situation. I wish you all the best in getting it repaired and back on the road.
Thanks. The sad part is this is an issue I've read about on other occasions as well. Many years ago I read about a guy who restored a '57 Ford after many years of hard work and lots of $. He was firing it up for the first time. He had several issues, neutral switch not wired, throttle sticking, tranny in gear. He fired the car up, it went to full throttle and shot down his driveway, across his neighbors yard and plowed into a brick wall so hard it buckled the roof on his car. When I read that story, I promised myself I would remember when I fired mine up the first time, the car would have the back wheels jacked up off the ground. I did do that when I started mine for the first time, and fortunately I had no such issues THEN.
WOW ! Rich
I'm happy that you or someone else didn't get hurt. You have paid your dues in putting time into working on your car and I'm very sorry to hear about what happened. I have heard that Grundy is pretty good. Let's hope that your car is not in auto body jail for too long and that you get it back quickly and are back driving it soon.
Jay
Rich,to say it lightly that really sucks. That back trim piece you damaged are you talking the spear if so there's an extra one out in my shop. And it can easily find its way to Texas. Let me know.
Zap- :unitedstates:
Thanks, Jay. BTW...have you seen the pic I posted for you on the off-topics board?
I'll let you know, thanks Zap. I may be able to fix it, and it's just the front piece of the spear...drivers side of course. I need to take a closer look at it. Right now the car is in the garage with no way to move it until I get the tranny thing fixed.
One positive thing...when I saw the headlight surround and eyebrow were hit first, the first thing I checked was for cracks along the eyebrow since I molded it in and have always been worried about it cracking. No cracks at all...almost couldn't believe it, and it took a pretty good wack. Whatever I did there worked really well.
Forgot to mention...one of the really disappointing things that got me down was that I was so looking forward to shows and cruises. I had to cancel the little mini cruise I had set up with Doug/57Imposter, and I was really looking forward to that.
The car is absolutly driveable as far as the body damage goes, but I don't want all of the unexpected praise I was getting to a daily "what happened" explanation. Some midnight runs will definetly be in order after I get the tranny thing fixed.
Like everyone else I'm thankful that no one was hurt. Having been in street rodding and classic cars since the late 60's I have read the horror stories and seen first hand a couple of accidents like this. I quit using neutral safety switches on my hot rods and classic cars years ago as I don't trust them. By not having a neutral safety switch I never fall into that comfort zone of relying on a self installed switch. It also makes me double check everything every time I start the car. I also never start my cars unless my foot is on the brake. I also never leave them running without me being behind the wheel unless I have the wheels blocked. I know some people will disagree but this works for me.
BBoswell well said !!!
I am in shock, Rich.....First it's a bummer that your beloved 57 has been damaged. BUT, AND....I don't know where to start.
THANK GOD and those dozens of lucky angles that were watching everybody yesterday!!!!!
I don't have to imagine what can happen, because it happened to me twice. Both times it wasn't my fault but that doesn't matter anyways. Once I had a faulty shifter in my 57 Courier and it ran backwards into the corner of a house, while I was just adjusting the carb. I was so lucky not getting stuck in the door jamb while trying to stop the car. I had just bought the car and was starting repairing other fools mistakes. too late. The shifter was faulty and a much too heavy shifter ball had caused it to sag and put it in Reverse. that was nearly 20 yrs ago and I never stood in front or behind of a car again, when smebody was trying to start or fuzzing around wiht anything. That's until last summer, when we were on vacation with my buddies and I was standing in front of my friend's 55 Chevy ( Yes, I know, we don't do that, but I did anyways). Was holding up the hood because the springs were weak. looking at engine, my 1966 Mercedes was parked 6 feet behind me. My friend had the car only for a few days, not driven it much. another friend had driven it before and just slightly pulled parking brake. As it is manual shift my friend reached in to check if the shifter is in Neutral (which it was) and he didn't think much about and hit the keys. Needless to say she fired right up, the gears were in 1st and I had nowhere to run. car made a giant leap forward and caught my legs between the Chevy bumper and my own car's fender. legs were pretty mangled and bruised and I was lying in hospital for 3 days instead of on the beach. what do we learn from that ?
Never look under the hood of a Ch******* !..... :003:
anyways I was so extremely lucky that nothing was broken and even though I feel pain to this day, I was able to walk after 3 weeks.
Long story short, It CAN and it WILL happen again and again and again. It happens to the most careful and aware persons too.
Please everybody, BE CAREFUL and pay attention to the small details.
BBoswell is right with stepping on the brakes when starting, I do that everytime. But please consider putting back in the safety switch. What happens if somebody else has to drive the car ????
I never leave my cars idling in Neutral or Park without pulling the park brake. There are idiots out there who think an emergency brake isn't needed with Auto cars, especially with the hot rod crowd and they are silly fools.
My Mercedes still has its dents in the rear door to remind me what happened. You might want to think about it that way Rich and drive the 57 as is for a while. Telling people too.
You are a brave man to step up here on the forum and tell this emberassing story, so others will be able to avoid such dangerous situations !!!!!
Terrible news to say the least. I'll save my 66 Mustang story for another day, seems we all have one or know some one who has had a similar experience. So my question is was the Ebrake set and didn't hold?
Jim, the ebrake wasn't on. Actually I had just adjusted it the day before and it holds great. To be honest, I rarely use the parking brake. My daily driver doesn't get it used more than once a year or so, but I would be more apt to use it in the '57.
Guenter...sorry to hear of your experience. Like I said, I was very lucky. I didn't mean to imply I was trying to remove the switch, or permanently bypass it. I was just checking to see if was the issue by bypassing it to see if the car would start. Had I been at home so I had my tools and supplies, I would have done it in a safe manor, but when your trying to rig something up McGyver like away from home...I would have immediatly replaced the switch if it turned out to be faulty, but it's obviously doing it's job well.
Oddly enough, just a few days before when I was checking all the wires to the starter solenoid, I had looked at the wiring instructions/diagram for the car and read a note telling how to bypass the neutral switch for those who needed or wanted to start their engines before all the wiring was completed. Had I not recently read that I probably wouldn't have remembered that the switch could be bypassed right at the panel.
Rich, I have a good 58 300 left door skin you can have, if you come get it...........Rick
x2 on everything. NO ONE WAS PHYSICALLY INJURIED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pride and confidence can be repaired.
Takes a real man to share his setbacks as well as his successes!
Thanks Gary.
Outlaw...I'll take you up on that. Oddly enough a few hours ago I was thinking about how much work it would be to replace the whole door considering 100% cleanup, electric window fitting,seals, glass, etc. I got to thinking if I could find a door it might be easier to pull the skin off it and just use that...finding just a skin was something I didn't even think would happen. AWESOME!! I'll need to figure out when I can get down there, but I will. PM me your contact info if you would, and when your normally available.
I get to meet another forum member as well!!
you guys are tops!!
I just logged on , been away for a week or so. That sucks Rich, glad it stopped before you were hurt or it shot out into the highway. Mark
There must be a way to wire the car, using the neutral safety switch, to allow the car to start only when the brake pedal is depressed. A lot of late model cars use this system. Might be worth some research to see how this works. Possibly to wire the neutral safety switch in line with a brake light switch that only provides 12 volts to the neutral safety switch when the brake pedal is depressed?
Running a car without a neutral safety switch is pretty dangerous - your spouse or kid jumps in the car and forgets, parking lot attendants, car wash worker, friends, etc.
Sorry for your pain. Pretty sad situation after working on the car for so long.
You stated that when you fire it up, it runs up to 2000 rpm for about 10 seconds or so. My 2004 Ranger pickup does the same thing, and I'd like to know what genius at Ford designed that into the software for the engine computer. Up here, in the cold frozen North, when its thirty below zero, and I fire it up, and it instantly goes to 2000 rpm, I cringe at how that molasses in the oil pan is desperately trying to find its way through all those little passages inside the engine. I changed over to synthetic as soon as the first winter came so as to help that problem somewhat, as synthetic doesn't thicken up in the cold like regular oil.
BUT, what genius at Ford designed that into the software in the first place, and for what reason? I'd sure like to know the reasoning behind it.
Rich,
I am glad that you or some one else didn't get hurt!!! That ultimately is the only thing that is important!!! All of us have done something stupid that has damaged something (no mater what anyone says, it takes a real man to own up to it). A wise man told me once that "the folks that don't screw **** up are the ones that aren't doing anything". The car can be repaired. It takes longer to fix the car, and is much harder to drive, if you are broken worse than the car is.
Rich:
Like Frakenstein57 I just logged in after a couple of days off the internet and I couldn't be more surprised and upset for your misfortune. As you know, lots of love go into restoring, rebuilding and working on our 57's and to see your love bruised and damaged is tough. Just like in my accident God must have been looking out for all involved, as everyone walked away and the metal can be restored. Everyone on this site has watched you bring about wonderful changes and modernizations to your 57 and now as you work through what caused this will somehow gain from your painful learning experience. I still have a driver side fender that could be massaged if you need it. I never got a driver side door, as my crunch was primarily on the passenger side. Let me know if I can help in any way.
Bob
57 AGIN
Quote from: RICH MUISE on 2016-03-26 08:30
Jim, the ebrake wasn't on. Actually I had just adjusted it the day before and it holds great. To be honest, I rarely use the parking brake. My daily driver doesn't get it used more than once a year or so, but I would be more apt to use it in the '57.
Just a word of wisdom to all, never depend on just the trans to hold your car. I learned that many years ago and I always set the brake when parked for any reason. The two seconds it takes to do it can be worth a pot of gold..
Rich.... thank god you are ok....the 57 can be fixed.....
I know it's not any comfort at this point....but I can't stress how glad we all are you were not hurt.The very sad thing is I know how much passion and love you have put into your 57.
You shall rebuild.
The incident you talked about on the Hamb. was at the GNRS a few years ago,...I was there helping another builder on set up day.It was a 32 roadster called the Pineapple Princess...... the gentleman was from Calgary and did a clone of his old hotrod from the 50's.... had a supercharged 392.... that was a horrible day.
At any rate...Can't stress enough that you did not get hurt.We tend to forget that sometimes... when working on our pride n joys.
Jeff
Dang, Rich, I hate to hear about this. Hopefully, you'll be able to get it back looking good again soon.
Thanks for all the kind word guys. Sure a 180* from other sites for other guys.
some updates: I talked to my builder friend and he hasn't seen the car and I forgot to bring pics so he's just going on my discription but until he sees it he agrees with me that if the door outer sheetmetal cannot be repaired within reason, it would be much easier to replace the skin than having to go thru everything to bring an entire door up to snuff. Hopefully I can get him to stop by in the near future to make that decision so I can pick up the door skin from Rick/Outlaw if needed.
My "gotta get away from it for some time" didn't last too long. It was driving me nuts guessing at what was wrong with the shifter or tranny, and it actually turns out it will be a relatively easy fix. The housing that the cable goes thru came undone from the shifter bracket, so the shifter was just pushing the housing around with the cable not moving back and forth very much as it should. I'll have to jack the car up and undo the cable at the tranny so I can pull everything out and make better, more secure, for that attachment. The good news here is obviously no internal problems with the tranny.
Biggest reason for this whole incident...not paying attention to the signs and not thinking thru all the posibilities.
It wouldn't be that hard to figure something out to make the car not start unless the brake was applied, BUT, like the saying goes..."you can't fix stupid". I could have easily bypassed that as well.
As I mentioned, there was never an intention to eliminate the neutral switch.
Let me know and the spear will be headed your way.
Zap- :unitedstates:
I will Zap, thanks. That's an awesome offer. I will only need the front portion of the spear if mine can't be fixed. It got bent up a little, but the rear part just got a few scrapes right on the lower crown so that's an easy fix.
I got the shifter problem fixed. The car now starts when it should, doesn't start when it shouldn't and goes in all gears. Tomorrow I'm going to make a keeper for it so the cable housing can't come loose from the bracket even if the screws come loose again.
Rich, I feel really awful about your car, but I agree with all about the good fortune that no one was hurt.
Your story reminds me of my $25K carwash accident, I was inline (company car) and popped the trunk to put some stuff in it so they could vacuum it out. The car in front pulled forward and as I hurried to get out I neglected to take the car out of drive....The car idled foward and hit the car in front with a car length of momentum. It was in park and as the elderly gentleman was getting out, he was knocked to the ground before I could get in and hit the brakes. I freaked out and jumped out of the car with the engine running and the car still in drive to see if he was OK. I slammed the door on my car not realizing the doors were locked. Here I was with my car running, in drive, doors locked jammed up against the car in front. I noticed then that the young lady who writing the tickets for payment was on the ground in front of the elderly gentleman's car. His car when it rocked forward hit her in he side of the knee. There was less than $200 in car damage...she sued the company and got $25,000. :iamwithstupid:
All I can contribute is band-aids so don't beat yourself up to badly. As you can see from all the posts it won't be the first time something like this has happen but I'm sure that does nothing to relieve the pain..
OK, Lynn, now I feel better about mine. Well, actually not yet, but sometime I'll laugh about it. Wow.
Here's some pics. I could not get what may be the worst part to repair to show up on the pics, and that's the waves that are now in the sheet metal. I think I mentioned previously I was totally surprised there were no cracks at the headlight eyebrow as hard as it was hit.
one more...dent in the doorhandle was surprising
Go away for the weekend to a "no techno" house and the world comes apart.....really sorry Rich, stuff happens, no one hurt, plenty of metal bent but it can all be fixed. Just really glad no one was hurt!
It really doesnt look as bad as I was expecting it to. That should be quick work for an insurance shop... Still hate to see it happen to you though Rich..
Not good but not as bad as I had visioned.
Heartbreaking..... but glad you are not hurt Rich.
a little rubbing compound and ..........
Wow Rich! I'm still bracing myself for the first stone chip! Good luck on the repair. HRD
Been offline for a few days, just saw this - as everyone said, thank God no one was hurt, but oh man that just makes me physically sick to hear about that. I had a '65 truck project I had just finished up with putting in a big block, power steering, disc brakes, air conditioning, etc. and someone ran a red light and totaled it at 450 miles (I still have the new speedo to prove if). So I feel your pain and am thankful the damage to you and your car wasn't a lot worse.
Bill
Definetlly could have been a lot worse, but as I mentioned I think the real hard part is going to get the wrinkles and waves out.
Rich, agreeing with that it's hard to understand or see the wrinkles and waves in pics, but it seems the rocker and a and B pillars were not disturbed, so you are very lucky with that sheet metal repair too. I know that it is hard getting rid of waves for the average home builder, but a dedicated professional will get your og sheetmetal back to where it was in no time. a 57 body, fender and door give very nice access from the inside so all the dents can be properly removed. I don't have to repair it nor pay for it, but that is only half bad. She'll be like new in no time.
Sorry for all your trouble Rich. Glad no one was hurt. Looks to me like you wouldn't need a door skin on that kind of damage, but you cant see the entire damage with your picture I guess. We all get things like this happening, and I have had many similar to yours. Get her fixed up and she will be good as ever.
That is awful....... A few years ago a guy in the UK was killed when a ho rod with no neutral safety switch was started in reverse, it's something I'm always concerned about, a runaway car is deadly.
My 2013 Mercedes is manual and that won't start unless you depress the clutch pedal, as others have said it must be possible to do something similar using the brake light circuit?
Hope it gets sorted Rich, there's nothing more depressing than a freshly built car suffering damage.
I wouldn't wire an automatic trans cars neutral safety switch in with the brake switch. You could still potentially still start the car in gear.
I think originally with the ford o matic they only start in neutral, that's the way mine is setup anyway.
Grundy seems to be taking care of things. I talked to the rep handling the claim and he has passed my contact info on to two adjusters. One is for the building damage and the other is for my car. The building appraiser called tonight and will be there tomorrow. It may be a few days before I hear from the auto damage appraiser. Apparently he's out of town.
I did bring the car to two body shops, as well as talking to my friend about him doing it. Kinda caught between a rock and a hard spot on my friend. He's an excellent body man and painter, but he's headed out of town next week for a month or so. I feel obligated to bring him the work because he's been my mentor for the past 8 years or so, but I have a feeling it'll be at least few months before it gets done at his shop....and there goes the summer. One of the two shop I went to does upper end cars and painting for shops like Pinkies in Denver. They recently did work on a car that had a 12 page spread in rodders journal. Once everything is cleared with Grundy, he said no more than 3 weeks.
It's looking like I need to have a serious sit-down with my friend. If he really needs the work, I'll wait on him.
Jeff...if you're reading this,the other shop is Mark Warrick's shop. (I got a tour of his dad's private shop today and got to sit in that gorgeous 51 Merc Bill bought from Bob Owens. I love that car.) I found out Bill went to school with Bob's dad in Wellington. The world keeps getting smaller.
forgot...both shops told me it would be easier to repaint the sheetmetal on the door than to replace the skin, so I won't need to take Outlaw up on his offer. Thanks again Rick!!
Forgot this too.....Zap...it IS looking like I'm going to need that spear. I only need the front section though...will save on a bunch of packing time. I'll send a pm.
Quote from: RICH MUISE on 2016-03-29 20:58
Grundy seems to be taking care of things. I talked to the rep handling the claim and he has passed my contact info on to two adjusters. One is for the building damage and the other is for my car. The building appraiser called tonight and will be there tomorrow. It may be a few days before I hear from the auto damage appraiser. Apparently he's out of town.
I did bring the car to two body shops, as well as talking to my friend about him doing it. Kinda caught between a rock and a hard spot on my friend. He's an excellent body man and painter, but he's headed out of town next week for a month or so. I feel obligated to bring him the work because he's been my mentor for the past 8 years or so, but I have a feeling it'll be at least few months before it gets done at his shop....and there goes the summer. One of the two shop I went to does upper end cars and painting for shops like Pinkies in Denver. They recently did work on a car that had a 12 page spread in rodders journal. Once everything is cleared with Grundy, he said no more than 3 weeks.
It's looking like I need to have a serious sit-down with my friend. If he really needs the work, I'll wait on him.
Jeff...if you're reading this,the other shop is Mark Warrick's shop. (I got a tour of his dad's private shop today and got to sit in that gorgeous 51 Merc Bill bought from Bob Owens. I love that car.) I found out Bill went to school with Bob's dad in Wellington. The world keeps getting smaller.
forgot...both shops told me it would be easier to repaint the sheetmetal on the door than to replace the skin, so I won't need to take Outlaw up on his offer. Thanks again Rick!!
Small world indeed Rich....I can only say that Mark Warrick's shop is THEE BEST...... very very good.... no,.. GREAT Work...if your pal wants to pass on the job,..Warrick's is the place to go.
Yes.....Bob's old 51....what a beautiful Merc....I have driven many a mile in that 51,.... with the Worlds tallest Midget(Bob Owens) ha ha ha.... Your in good hands Rich!
Mark's Dad and Mister Bob Owens Senior are some of the FINEST gentleman I have had the pleasure of knowing.
I really miss the Panhandle and want to go back very very soon!
Looks like it will be Mark's shop. I went over and had a heart to heart with my friend. He's in process of trying to go another direction in his life/career and there's some unknowns coming up in the next month or so. I think it was actually leaving him a little more fluid in what he'll be able to in the coming weeks not having mine to have to come back and get done.
That sucks! You are very fortunate that nobody was injured.
Bob
Thanks, Bob. And welcome to the forumn!
Rich
What's the latest word on your car? Is it in a shop getting repaired? Are you planning on getting it done so that you will be able to drive it this summer?
I hate to say this but we aren't getting any younger and it's not good to even miss part of the summer driving our cars. Around here summers are short and we only have about 3 months of OK driving time. The rest of the time we spend dodging snow storms. Jay
Never saw this til this morning. Nothing is happening yet on my car. I have a big decision to make now. I love the way Grundy is handling this, btw, just some unusal short delays.
First, I found out last thursday my estimate from the appraiser was delayed a few days because his young daughter had some unexpected surgery done. It was one of those planned but didn't know when it would happen things> The hospital called and said drop everything and bring her in now ...so I'm guessing maybe a donor type deal. Hope everything is still going well with that and under the circumstances I woulnd't have minded if the delay was much longer than it was.
Unfortunatly, the delay got the appraisal to the home office during the week that the guy handling it was out of the office. I found that out Friday when I called to check the status. I did talk to his supervisor and he pulled it and finished up early that afternoon. They emailed me a copy of the appraisal, and a check is on it's way to me. They are also sending a copy of the appraisal to the shop I was talking to, but he told me I wasn't limited to that shop, I could bring it anywhere I chose.
That's where my problem comes in. The appraisal was almost double what I was guessing. You all know I don't have alot of money, and initially I had thought since the insurance was paying for it, I'd bring it to a shop and let them handle it even though I could do it myself. I was guessing in the neighborhood of 6 grand for the work, but the appraisal came in at almost 11 !!. As soon as I hung up the phone I looked at my wife and said "sheeeeet! things just changed."
I'm having a really hard time deciding to turn that much money over for something I can do myself.
I'll decide this week. I also talked to another shop that many of the local rodders recommended as being "the Guru". His name is Barry Forrester. Has a big shop with no sign on it because he doesn't need one. Biggest problem with him, he said he'd like to do it, but it would be Aug or Sept. before he could get it in, and he works on 4 or 5 projects at a time, so I can see "body shop jail" all over this one. His other projects are just that..project cars not collision work. He's really busy. He spent maybe 20-30 minutes looking at the car and when he was done looking I got a very sincere "this is really very well done..you did a nice job on it". Considering the source, it's probably the highest compliment I've got on the car from someone who's seen in person.
Rich... did you get a quote from Souncy ?.Marks joint?
WOW!!! 11 grand for the damage, I'm really out of touch. I'm in the retired low income group too. I think I would be tempted to do as many of the repairs myself and pocket some of the money. But who needs another project :005:. Geez I only have 12 grand in my whole car..
My daily drivers I have always guessed high on body damage when it's happened. I was in shock when he told me what they were sending. Before that my biggest problem having a shop do the work was I'd no longer be able to say I did everything myself, and that's been a REAL big source of pride for me. Now it was joined by the money thing. Yeah, I had planned on doing some of the "work" on it myself..disassembly, assembly, finding parts, etc., now It may go further. I've got Roger Vasholtz in Kansas checking his doors to see if he has a rust free/dent free one. He's within driving distance (350 miles) if he's got one. He thinks he's got 1/2 dozen "virgin" doors with oem paint, but is going to take a close look at them and call me back.
The door has the worst damage, so if I can find one easily brought up to snuff, that'll help alot.
Some of the reason for the high estimate is alot more has to be repainted than on another car because of my rolled pan. The Grundy appraiser brought that up first. He was looking and said "there's no place to stop on this car...no seams, no molding breaks. He though the'd at least have to bring the paint around to the door on the passenger side.
Jeff. I did not get a dollar etimate from Mark. We were waiting for the Grundy appraisal, and were pretty much looking at it as a normal insurance thing where they work it out with the insurance company. I was going to do the assembly/disassembly and buy the parts in exchange for them doing some additional work to repair the right fender damage I did on it last fall.
You can still claim you did everything yourself and feel good about it because you did. I wouldn't let the repair detract from that.. I'm sure at this point the car can be fixed easier then the pride.
Just seems high to me, I don't have 11K in my whole car, Mark