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I'm just starting out with my vette, but this makes me sad to see. I'm sorry to hear about your beautiful car, but completely glad you are okay. No car is worth the price of a life. She gave her life for yours, sooooo in my opinion, you owe it to her to get another vette.
I'm just starting out with my vette, but this makes me sad to see. I'm sorry to hear about your beautiful car, but completely glad you are okay. No car is worth the price of a life. She gave her life for yours, sooooo in my opinion, you owe it to her to get another vette.
I thank goodness that Bernie is not hurt. That car hit very hard. I have never seen a frame twisted like that. And I wish him well with the insurance company and payout.
But there may be a lesson to be learned here:
I was probably going about 60 when I tapped the brake and it all of a sudden grabbed to the right very hard. I couldn't correct it and slid sideways and the rear driver side hit a concrete telephone pole on the right side of the road.
That is consistent with a front brake rubber flexible hose internal failure. In other words the pressure from the brake pedal grabbed the pads but could not be released because of internal obstruction in the hose. Thus the caliper locked up and pulled to the right.
Just a thought. Those hoses can look fine on the outside but internally can be finished. Change them out when in doubt. There was a post in recent months about a similar problem with a rear line but I can't find it.
(My lesson was at 20mph thankfully. No harm done.)
Depending on how the $$$ all work out....you can get frames for those cars pretty cheap actually..or just buy another car that needs work and combine them. I've seen mid 70's cars selling very cheap at times. Very rough looking..but solid underneath and you can get good 'glass off of them. But again..depends on if it's worth putting time and $$ in..only you can tell what you like.
Those rear sections just weld on to main frame anyway...so they can be cut off and new ones welded right on. No one would know the difference and you're back in business. Find rails either new or from a donor car.
It's also a great candidate for a backhalf frame job with a universal kit and a solid axle conversion. Don't have to tub it...just add frame rails and put it back together.
The good news is that you are okay and the car did exactly what it was suppose to do. It held up where it was important and let those rails give to absorb the crash and the fiberglass just peeled away. Is what I'd like to see from a crash like that. Hopefully you have enough decent parts insde that you can just find someones project car cheap and transfer your parts over and get back on the road.
I actually wouldn't even be spending the time to replace the frame or have it repaired with all the fiberglass damage. I've seen some frames and bodies pretty cheap lately. They just need your interior and engine.
Whatever you do. Get new brake lines on the next car