As many of you know, I use my 77 coupe as my DD. It's not perfect, I don't have a bunch invested in it, and nothing beats listening to the side pipes after a hard day at work.

A week ago today we had a snow storm with high winds, my work had started two hours late because of the weather, this is only important because I got to drive in sun light instead of pitch darkness. I knew the roads were going to suck and I thought it would be interesting to turn on my action camera I have mounted to my rear view mirror.

Everything was going pretty good on my 37 mile commute, I got some good shots of the sun rise



And then about 8 miles from work this happened:



I was doing about 45mph in 3rd and she stepped out on me... it was my own fault, I was going too fast and it caught me off gaurd.

The good news is I am ok (just bumped my head on the t-bar) and the car is repairable. Here are couple shots of the damage:



Mostly cracked fiberglass and I either bent a trailing arm, or a radius rod

That is my story.... I uploaded the video to show a couple friends, and after almost 1000 views in 24 hours I figure it will make back here.

So when someone says "hey, did you see that dumba$$ crash his C3 into a bridge?" You can say "Yes, yes I did"

 

So sorry brother:-(

i could feel that in MY bones when you hit!!!

Question... your dash.... it looks , strange?? is it there?
and do you record all your driving??? that would get me in way to much trouble!!! lol:-)

 

WOW! I'm glad you're O.K. and the car isn't wiped out!

 

Dang, REALLY sorry to see this happen. Glad that you are okay and that, all things considered, the damage is not hateful. It could have turned out far worse. Fiberglass+cold weather=instant snapola.

I do love that your '77 is a DD. It's a great car and my son and I subscribe to your channel on Youtube.

You going to repair the bumper cover or look for a new one?

Later,

Lee

 

Dang, shame that happened. Nice looking '77.
I'll admit I had to drive my '72 during the winter back in the '70's as it was my only ride too.
It actually did pretty good with the posi until the snow started accumilating and building up under the front.
I just starting buying winter beaters especially when they started heaping the salt on the roads around here.
Hope you get her fixed up.

 

Real sorry, why no snow tires if you know you could get weather like that?

 

..............and I'm afraid to drive it in just rain.

 

You running a posi? I have been worried about that very thing on my '72 SWB & have not put a posi in due to the fear of a snowy spin out.

 

Well that sucks but sure am glad your ok. The car came out of that relatively well! As hard as it hit I'm surprised the quarter is still on it! Good luck on the repair. It`ll be all good by spring!

 

Sorry, I too wonder if snow tires would have helped.

 

DAMN! Glad you are okay and the damage is not worse than it was.
Iowa really sucks for corvettes. I have mine in the garage and am doing winter upgrades, but it is not heated and I am not getting much done. When it starts to get warm I am going to want to get it on the road, so I have to push through.
Do you have a link to your you tube channel? I don't have flash on this computer and can not see the video.

 

That's why I never put posi in my T-bucket, I was sideways often enough without it.

Glad you're OK and the car wasn't wrecked!

 

As long as you're okay that's all that matters. The car can be repaired.

 

Great to see that you and the car are pretty much Ok, could have been much worse! Also glad to see that the chevy in the background was able to stop in time.
On another note, great looking '77! Good looking setup with the pipes and wheels.

 

Hey Chris-

No problem- that'll buff right out!!!

Glad you are out driving it...just think if you had been driving a Prius no one what have given the video a second look!!!

Maybe the video goes viral - Then pays for the repairs and you get to upgrade the suspension!!!

Oh- and his 77 can cover all terrains!!!

SCCA Rallycross-

 

It's a fine line in slippery conditions from being in control to going out of control.
It could have been so much worse. You're OK that's the most important thing. The Corvette is not really as wrecked as it could have been. This is a teaching lesson for sure. Thanks for sharing.

 

Wow, lots of replies.. with questions! hopefully I don't leave anyone or anything out.

Part of that sound was the fact that I had my aluminum floor jack in the rear package area. so it's actually better I went in backwards or I could have had 40lbs of metal in my back!

The dash is kinda there, my car is original from Arizona and all of the plastic and vinyl in the interior was -baked-. I removed all of the plastic and padding. I stripped the vinyl and foam off the dash pad, and what you are seeing is the plastic under structure, and on the left of the frame is the home built HUD that has an air/fuel and vacuum gauge. Once I'm done I'll re-foam/ wrap it in vinyl again, but for now it just looks ugly.

Lastly, no I don't video all the time.. the action camera I have I have been using for Rally and Autocross. However commuting 70mi a day /something/ is bound to happen. I knew the roads were going to be questionable and I was just thinking I would be a bad@$$ and show off my winter commute

Lee! My One subscriber!

I actually have another bumper cover already... was going to shave off the bumperettes (FYI a concrete bridge rail is NOT the proper tool for that job!) I also have an extra set of trailing arms, so that is something.

Sorry nothing has been posted recently, I am registered for SCCA autocross in April, and there are a couple more rally events they are trying to plan, but they are having trouble finding venues. My action camera also does Time-lapse video so I'm hoping to use that to document painting my new race helmet and building the new chassis with C4 suspension for the 77... so stay tuned!

This is my second season on this rubber, they are an all-season hi-perf SUV tire. They did pretty good last year, but since I have started Rallycross I have been looking to get a set of dirt/snow tires. I have just been waiting on payment for an airbrush job to fund the purchase... a day late and dollar short I guess.

Yes, mine is Posi. First car I have ever had with one... not sure how much it hinders. I do know proper wheel alignment is IMPORTANT!

Brent, your car is awesome! it should be kept someplace safe! Mine.... not so much
here is the link for my channel

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3P...rWxeUCtXWYAB2w

Funny footnote: that chevy truck pulled up after I had got out and was surveying the damage. Turns out it was a woman I used to work with, she got out and said: "Hi Chris!, How is it going?"

Thanks, Richard!
I feel a little bad that I'm not more upset about the whole ordeal.
Most everyone is like:

"OMG, YOU DID WHAT!?!"

Me:

"I slid backwards into a bridge" -Meh-

But most everything damaged I was planning on modifying anyways

Lastly here is another (little longer video) of the drive that morning... nothing exciting in this one

 

Looks like you hit ice the way it just let go. You did a good job avoiding the rails for as long as ng as you did, but I was amazed at the lack of expletives.

 

I'm glad you have a sense of humor, it goes a long way in riding through one of these problems.

It doesn't look all that bad. There will be some who say you need to rip off the entire quarter and replace the whole panel, but really, on a DD, you don't need $5000 bodywork and a $10,000 paint job.

And add me to the list glad to see you are using it as a DD.

I don't know what you have found, but good chance you only bent the lower strut rod. Of course, you should examine the four bolts holding the strut rod bracket to the rear end, or simply replace them with new ones. Also, check the toe-in shims at the front of the trailing arm, as a jolt could know them loose if they are slide in shims.

I was going to say you need a four speed and not an automatic, but then I see your reference to being in third. Back in the day when I drove mine daily or nearly daily, and up north in the white stuff, I found kicking in the clutch and staying off the brakes frequently let the car regain some control as the wheels begin to spin again. A buddy had a '76 and was constantly in problems in the snow or ice until he learned to kick it in neutral at the first sign of any sliding.

I can see you laughing thinking about a Florida guy talking about how to drive in snow. But then, I've been backwards in Corvettes faster than many have been forwards in them and not crashed.

Positraction gets a bad rap since many think in terms of spinning out, like when you goose it in the rain. But really, it gets some drive force to both wheels and reduces the spinning on one wheel, so you do have better control. Those spinouts in the rain happen because someone put too much power down and broke both tires loose.

And be very glad you kept it off the guardrails on each end and didn't rip a big chunk of fiberglass off the car. Depending on if you are going insurance repairs or on your own, I'd worry about the mechanical for now and leave the cosmetic until the weather is much nicer.

Good luck with it and thanks for sharing, even if it is embarrassing.

 

That sums up how I feel! I work in the engineering department for a custom tuck manufacturer and I have become accustom to sizing up complex challenges and finding solutions on the fly. To do that, you need a good attitude, deal with things as they are, and keep moving forward. Getting all worked up helps no one, and fixes nothing.

You are 100% correct about the the clutch and letting the car coast to regain traction. I have done that many times, though I don't remember if I did -this- time. That 20 seconds or so are a bit of a blur, I backed off the throttle.... and if I didn't punch the clutch the drop in RPM would have acted like a brake, making the problem worse.

I got the car home but not have had a chance to tear into it. I am going to do the repairs myself (of coarse). Once the rear end is fixed I will get it re-aligned and the fiberglass will wait until it's warmer. As I eluded to in my earlier post, I have another frame (the original one is bent from and accident before I owned it) and C4 suspension to hang off it. The C4 track width is wider, so I was going to flair the fenders anyways!