Bad day to drive the Roadrunner
Posted: Thu May 05, 2011 12:46 pm
I’ve been in the hobby for over 15 years now, and have always prided myself in being willing to drive my collector cars. I don’t own a trailer, so unless something is broken, they’ve always traveled where they are going under their own power. I’m had more than my fair share of major mechanical issues along the way, but I’ve always written those off as part of the adventure. I generally drive it a couple times a month to work.
So the weather is really nice today and I decided to drive the Roadrunner to work. I’m getting ready to take it off the road for an engine swap and figured this might be my last opportunity to drive it for a while.
Along my route this morning, there was a traffic accident involving another motorist driving into a house. Not sure what the circumstances were, but it was definitely attracting the attention of other drivers in the area, including myself.
I found myself in a situation of having to stop short to avoid hitting the vehicle in front of me, which was at the end of a long line of vehicles that had slowed down to rubber neck and stop at a traffic signal a little further down the road. With some tire squealing drama, I was fortunately able to stop well short of that vehicle.
The young lady in the car behind me was not so fortunate and plowed into the rear of my Roadrunner. Upon checking up in my mirror and seeing she was not injured, I drove into a nearby driveway and she followed. The officer working the previous accident indicated another officer was on the way to tend to our situation.
I exited my vehicle and immediately noticed her car (a late model Grand Am) was heavily damaged with two very distinct exhaust tip impressions in her hood. I then took a deep breath and looked over at my Roadrunner. Initially I did not notice any damage. Bumper looked fine. I then looked under the bumper to realize the valance was caved in extensively, and the N42 exhaust tips were crushed.
The second officer arrived within a few minutes and began taking our information. I suggested that they really needed to get another patrol car further up the road to get traffic slowed down. He did heed my suggestion and radioed for another car. He hadn’t even unkeyed his mic before another distracted rear-end collision occurred right in front of us. This one was far worse and both cars appeared to be disabled, but both drivers uninjured. They ended up shutting down the road completely after that.
I have yet to closely inspect the car, but a quick look inside the trunk did not reveal any damage to the floors. The exhaust tips are toast as are the hangers. At least one side of the exhaust system is shoved forward and bent down. I think I detected a header leak. Rear valance is toast. License plate holder is bent a bit. The bumper definitely has a mark on it and might be flattened out a bit.
The good news is the damage all appears to be limited to bolt on parts. The only paint work required will probably be the valance. All of the parts are readily available. The situation would have been exponentially worse had I hit that vehicle in front of me, or been knocked into it. I’d be looking for a 72 Roadrunner grille and Air Grabber assembly. Not to mention the fact that everybody was fortunate enough to walk (or drive) away uninjured.
I’ve already spoken with Hagerty and a claims adjuster should be paying me a visit in the next 24 hrs.
I’ll post some photos later. Crappy camera on my cell phone doesn’t do justice.
So the weather is really nice today and I decided to drive the Roadrunner to work. I’m getting ready to take it off the road for an engine swap and figured this might be my last opportunity to drive it for a while.
Along my route this morning, there was a traffic accident involving another motorist driving into a house. Not sure what the circumstances were, but it was definitely attracting the attention of other drivers in the area, including myself.
I found myself in a situation of having to stop short to avoid hitting the vehicle in front of me, which was at the end of a long line of vehicles that had slowed down to rubber neck and stop at a traffic signal a little further down the road. With some tire squealing drama, I was fortunately able to stop well short of that vehicle.
The young lady in the car behind me was not so fortunate and plowed into the rear of my Roadrunner. Upon checking up in my mirror and seeing she was not injured, I drove into a nearby driveway and she followed. The officer working the previous accident indicated another officer was on the way to tend to our situation.
I exited my vehicle and immediately noticed her car (a late model Grand Am) was heavily damaged with two very distinct exhaust tip impressions in her hood. I then took a deep breath and looked over at my Roadrunner. Initially I did not notice any damage. Bumper looked fine. I then looked under the bumper to realize the valance was caved in extensively, and the N42 exhaust tips were crushed.
The second officer arrived within a few minutes and began taking our information. I suggested that they really needed to get another patrol car further up the road to get traffic slowed down. He did heed my suggestion and radioed for another car. He hadn’t even unkeyed his mic before another distracted rear-end collision occurred right in front of us. This one was far worse and both cars appeared to be disabled, but both drivers uninjured. They ended up shutting down the road completely after that.
I have yet to closely inspect the car, but a quick look inside the trunk did not reveal any damage to the floors. The exhaust tips are toast as are the hangers. At least one side of the exhaust system is shoved forward and bent down. I think I detected a header leak. Rear valance is toast. License plate holder is bent a bit. The bumper definitely has a mark on it and might be flattened out a bit.
The good news is the damage all appears to be limited to bolt on parts. The only paint work required will probably be the valance. All of the parts are readily available. The situation would have been exponentially worse had I hit that vehicle in front of me, or been knocked into it. I’d be looking for a 72 Roadrunner grille and Air Grabber assembly. Not to mention the fact that everybody was fortunate enough to walk (or drive) away uninjured.
I’ve already spoken with Hagerty and a claims adjuster should be paying me a visit in the next 24 hrs.
I’ll post some photos later. Crappy camera on my cell phone doesn’t do justice.
. Still friends though.