Sad news
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,536
Likes: 10
From: Sault Ste Marie Ontario
Sad news
My car is officially written off today. The car was a 76 and I have owned it for 35 years. My son got into an accident where he put the car in a ditch. At the start, it did not look bad as the driver's side was basically untouched. The problem is it hit the rear right corner and the damage was done. The passenger window was broken inside the door. bottom of passenger door folded, frame bent. 
The good news is My son is ok only a broken arm. The car has given me my family and friends lots of great memories. RIP
The good news is My son is ok only a broken arm. The car has given me my family and friends lots of great memories. RIP
Dr. Detroit
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 10,097
Likes: 4,027
From: New Braunfels Texas
Exactly...it is just fiberglass and steel......
Buy it back!!!!!
BTW...Saulte Ste Marie is an absolutely beautiful place.....stopped a few times on our way to Hayden, ONT......and the Picture Rocks further north at the Park.....Algawan Park? Been a while. Snatched a Salmon out of stream up there with my bare hand.....amzaing territory.
Jebby
Buy it back!!!!!
BTW...Saulte Ste Marie is an absolutely beautiful place.....stopped a few times on our way to Hayden, ONT......and the Picture Rocks further north at the Park.....Algawan Park? Been a while. Snatched a Salmon out of stream up there with my bare hand.....amzaing territory.
Jebby
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 224
Likes: 41
From: Catawba, N.C. USA
Good to hear your son is OK. Given the length of time you've owned the car I presumed you considered a repair. I too have a 76 and although maybe not highly collectible I love that car. I am doing a 73 body off restoration in my garage and have discovered how easy these cars are to work on. With the help of this forum, youtube, google, craigslist and trial and error I have been able to tackle just about every aspect of the work and I'm no mechaic or bodyman. If a frame shop can straighten the frame fixing most other components is doable with all parts available and realtively inexpensive. Doors are pretty basic and if your major components survived no reason your car can't be saved. If the car can't be saved hopefully some of the parts will survive for others to use.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2022
Posts: 1,159
Likes: 492
Echo what the others have said. Glad to hear your son is OK. Everything else can be fixed. Owning a car for that long, it's basically a member of the family with fiberglass skin. I wouldn't hesitate to buy it back from the insurance company at basically pennies on the dollar, and repair. Show us pics.
Late last year, I went through a compete rolling chassis replacement on my '69 (not for accident, but for rust), and it's now completely stripped down for color change/repaint. What started as a simple brake caliper replacement became a full restoration. Yours can't be any worse than that.
If you're handy, have the tools and facilities, you have options. Front/rear clips, door skins, frames, hoods are all readily available, and neglected mid 70's C3s are so cheap, you could buy one as a parts/donor car and cannibalize it to make yours whole again.
Salvage title would mean nothing to me if I had a special car for so long.
Late last year, I went through a compete rolling chassis replacement on my '69 (not for accident, but for rust), and it's now completely stripped down for color change/repaint. What started as a simple brake caliper replacement became a full restoration. Yours can't be any worse than that.
If you're handy, have the tools and facilities, you have options. Front/rear clips, door skins, frames, hoods are all readily available, and neglected mid 70's C3s are so cheap, you could buy one as a parts/donor car and cannibalize it to make yours whole again.
Salvage title would mean nothing to me if I had a special car for so long.
Last edited by Corvette-ZL1; Aug 24, 2023 at 09:43 AM.
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 3,694
Likes: 833
From: WI
I'm surprised you let your son drive it.
I remember on several occasions when I was in high school ...my buddies would get their license and drive over to my place afterwards to show me. Of course it was obligatory to to take me for a ride to celebrate. What a mistake, can't believe i lived through those! One buddy in his Gen2 Camaro Z28, of course took it up to 100mph or whatever, and we ended up going airborne over a railroad tracks at like well I don't know what the final speed was. The car went this way and that ...still can't believe we didn't roll that car! Another buddy going around a corner too fast had two wheels in the ditch but it was a steep ditch had we gone down it. Couple other stories like that. These were on rural country roads. Knowing this, when my daughter's friends got their licenses, we didn't let her ride with them for a bit till they learned how to handle things. There's been some teen driver deaths in our area. Darwin award kind of things.
Fortunately your son wasn't hurt.
Yeah, buy it back and put the body on a C6-inspired rolling frame! That would be like a new car, all new performance, but with the C3 look.
I remember on several occasions when I was in high school ...my buddies would get their license and drive over to my place afterwards to show me. Of course it was obligatory to to take me for a ride to celebrate. What a mistake, can't believe i lived through those! One buddy in his Gen2 Camaro Z28, of course took it up to 100mph or whatever, and we ended up going airborne over a railroad tracks at like well I don't know what the final speed was. The car went this way and that ...still can't believe we didn't roll that car! Another buddy going around a corner too fast had two wheels in the ditch but it was a steep ditch had we gone down it. Couple other stories like that. These were on rural country roads. Knowing this, when my daughter's friends got their licenses, we didn't let her ride with them for a bit till they learned how to handle things. There's been some teen driver deaths in our area. Darwin award kind of things.
Fortunately your son wasn't hurt.
Yeah, buy it back and put the body on a C6-inspired rolling frame! That would be like a new car, all new performance, but with the C3 look.
Last edited by Mark G; Aug 24, 2023 at 10:43 AM.
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