oh wow
 

Dang man... Dunno what to say. Guess you need more than a trim piece now. Glad you're ok. :mad:

Yea, but it polished up REAL nice.. lol..

I have an appointment to see a doc today. I can't shake this headache and my upper shoulder is bugging me.

Thanks guys, I may not respond to every post, but I read every one of them and the thoughts and comments make this much easier.

So sorry to see how that guy bitchslapped your baby Steve. That was always my worst fear and a hit like that would've totalled my one-piece fiberglass bodied GS. It's good to know that Penny will live again. It has to... it's my absolute all-time favorite Camaro! :bow:

Glad you are, for the most part, ok Steve. I do have to say, even broken Penny still looks hot. I hope everything goes smoothly with the insurance and with the repairs. I am so sorry that this happenned. As many have said, this is also my worst nightmare when my car gets done. I would be impossible to be around untill the car was fixed if it was me. Hopefully it will not be down long.

David

Sorry to hear it Steve. What a mess. Well, the car could use fresh paint anyway. Right...

I am glad you are OK, and I hope you can get that headache straightened out quickly

I can't put into words how I would feel if that happen to me once the car was done.

Wishing you a speedy recovery on both you and the car.

Lets see how good the insurance is when it comes to pay for work on a car that is 40 years old.

OMG Steve :( One of my worts nightmares as well. main thing is you are ok and the car can be fixed.

I just heard the news via text message while I was sitting at the airport in Las Vegas hung over last night. I am SOOOOO sorry about Penny she is just plain badass.

I am glad you are ok and hopefully that headache will go away. And am also very glad that the car is fixable. We all know your'e going to make her even more perfect than before.

BTW the car sounded just plain badass in the burnout vid. Loved it. :hail:

Hope you and the car have a speedy recovery. :yes:

Ryan

Wow Steve that blows, but I am glad to see the car dented and not you. Sheet metal can be replaced, skulls are a little harder to come by. You'll get it fixed, we know you will. It'll all workout. Just a bummer when it happens. Keep Smilin' :)

Man, I'm nearly speechless. When I read Penny was down, I hadn't even finished viewing the recent posts on the thread - Penny is done and on the road!
Penny is a great car. I looked forward to every build update. After it was completed, I thought - that car must be a blast to drive.
When I saw the picture of Penny after she'd been hit, my chin landed on my chest. All that effort and fine work, damaged, and by a driver who simply wasn't paying attention.
Glad nobody was hurt. You've got a good attitude about the whole thing. Good luck with the re-build.


_______________
- Dan

I'm a betting man and I believe the car will end up being nicer once it is fixed. Knowing Steve from these car forums, in the end the car will be better after the repairs are made. Every time he works on the car it evolves to another level. I expect the same thing will happen again. Good luck!

R.P.

Damn Steve, Just saw this thread. Sorry to see this happen. Good to hear you are ok, car can be fixed no doubt and will be better than ever when all is said and done. I can't wait for the feature to come out.

So sorry, Dude. That is completely sickening and a grim reminder to all of us but I'm a big believer in "it could always be worse" and I can tell you get that too.

How much of a kick in the nuts is it that the "Penny Lives" thread is just a few inches down the page from this one???

Keep the faith!

An interesting article for PHR???
 

Steve,

This might be a great article on what happens when a car such as yours is wrecked. Following the insurance, the repairs, etc. Judging by the amount of replies to your thread, I bet a lot of people would be interested in following this in the magazine.

Just a thought.

Darren

I know it'll be better than ever.. your last pic with the clouds is my new screen saver...very cool.

How 'bout putting 67 quarters w/o lights and weld up the fronts????

Just did on my '68... looks clean. Chris

I don't want to repaint the front fenders.. the reason I didn't fill in the fronts is that I didn't want to repaint the rear quarters.. lol

Irony?

So far Alstate has been great, they called me back today and I will know tomorrow (after they interview the driver) if they accept 100% liability. She offered me a rental and said given the details she knows (so far) of the accident that the other guy was totally at fault and that they would fix the car. I even warned her it was an expensive car and repair.

So far Alstate is getting an A+ from me.. will know more tomorrow.

Steve I am so sorry to see this . I am sure everything will workout .
did you get an estimate yet? I thought you said 10,000 in another post.
That would be a deal at 10,000 . I see at least double that .

newest guess is $15-20k..

Lots 'o cash...

You should pad that estimate. Just for pain and suffering, and wasted time.

Now a days, aren't decent paint jobs $10-15K?

That really sucks! Makes you sick, good luck with everything!

That pic keep bothering me, I'm calling Haggerty this week to raise my limits.

Steve, are you still working on the insurance article? I think this highly unfortunate learning experience it will at least result in great benefit to the community. That isn’t much of a consolation prize, though.

I know it is way too early to ask, but do you think when all is said & done, could you quantify if the 'modifications' to the car (3-link, etc.) materially (say >20%) inflated those costs? What I mean is, if that were a 'regular' show level fit & finish 68 Camaro, but replacing the cool parts with stock parts (or common aftermarket parts, say TTIIs instead of those works of art you call wheels), would the repair be much less? That is a lot of sheet metal to fix. If that were my car, with my current 10k limit, I’d fear total loss even though it isn't 1/100th of the quality of your car. I think drawing a comparison of the 2 scenarios might be a very eye opening experience for many of us. Just a thought.

Hang in there, she will rise - again! :thumbsup:

Yea, I'm pitching the insurance article. I think it would be good info and at least it's not, yet another, cam swap or typical magazine story.

I want to stage up the wrecked Penny for a lead shot, who wouldn't read that? lol

Also, if I do a quarter panel replacement story could I call it "half penny".. lol

To answer your question..

What needs to be repaired has zero to do with any fancy parts I have on the car. If this was a stock Camaro the bill would be almost the same since it would need quarters, sheetmetal and paint just like me.

In my case $15k is 15% of the value of the car. In a regular Camaro it could be 50% or more.

Yes, it's a story that needs to be told.

How you manage a sense of humor amazes me. Ever see a penny run over by a train?
http://photos.imageevent.com/creekma...trainpenny.jpg
Sorry, gallows humor. :willy:



That is kind of what I figured - metal is metal, within reason. NOS and quality repop parts aren't cheap either. I was rehanging my front clip over the past few days so I keep thinking about this.

They say a 1st gen on the cover sells rags, so a pretty bashed one shoud too. :_paranoid I think it would show PHR is ahead of the pack. No one does that kind of write up.

Scott-

Alstate called just now and they accept 100% liability. In other words the guy that hit me admitted it was all his fault.

Step one is a win!

Next up is the battle with the insurance adjuster... Wish me luck.

Just don't trust those SOB insurance agents. licensed crooks is what they are and nothing more.


I hope it all works out,

Rich

I agree. You need to seriously inflate your damage award to get the right amount for your car. Been there and done that. They will throw a low ball offer, unless they accept that it's not your normal camaro, which is hard for them, because they don't typically care and they go by bluebook for that year.

Hi Steve,

Man that sucks,

On the bright side, this will be an to refine Penny just bit. The idea of shaving the side marker lights doesn't sound bad. Maybe bring in the bumper in and shave the bolts. That makes for a good how to article. Weld a fews seems, tighten up some gaps. Perhaps send the wheels back to get the flat finish you wanted, shave the trunk and door key hole, etc....

The only condolence is that I know that Penny is going to be even more BITCHING in the end.

Glad to hear your ok.

Al

What they should, and probably will do, is let you take it to the shop of your choice, and pay the entire bill with no quibling. You shouldn't even have to be involved.

I put a 98 vette into a ditch leaving my lakehouse in wisconsin once. Then tried to drive between a large sewage pumping station and a 2' diamter oak tree. Unfortunatley, the space was 6" narrower than the car. She lodged just in front of the doors.

I actually tried to back her out, looked in the rear view mirror just in time to see one of the front tires hit the ground 40 feet behind me. That damned LS2 was still purring like a kitten, but the PCM was laying on the ground in a puddle!

A neighbor recommended a shop about 40 miles away that retores corvettes. Insurance company had it tows there, and 4 months later I got it back good as new. Never saw a bill, never saw an estimate, just handed the shop owner my check for the deductible and drove her home.

Damage was 17k plus

oh yea, darned sorry this happened Steve.
Was just last Friday I was reading all the posts about her being done :(

I have been on the other end with an insurance company. I got rear ended in an older Porsche, and their insurance tried to tell me where to take it, and that they were only going to pay so much for the claim. I pretty much told then to get f****d and we haggled to the point where I almost hired a lawyer, and after that they caved, but I had to produce receipts to replicate the work done on the car. It was a major pain in the ass. Not only that, they wanted to use after market body panels, not Porsche panels.

Steve - I've been away for a while, just seeing this thread now. I'm so sorry to hear. Thankfully (and most importantly) no one was seriously hurt. I'm sure she will be even better when BOS gets done. Hang in there, man. -Rob

I would be in jail for murder. That is absolutely insane..

Hate for everyone that worked on this project and put there heart and soul into it.

I'm not gonna lie, living vicariously through your car build has been fun. Hate to see it end up like this. Glad you are well. Now that you will have the back end all apart, ever think of replacing the SS tank, with a real bladder lined fuel cell? Would one fit with the LD three link?

Not "end".. just delayed.. Penny Version 1.2 will be back on the road in a few months.

Yep, alreayd working with Fuel Safe on a tank with a bladder. HOWEVER, the tank for Rick's held tight even with a big hit. That says a lot about the quality of thier welds and workmanship.

Oh, and the fuel cell would have zero problem fitting with the LD 3-link system.

Wow.. I just read this thread... at least the guy who hit you didn't even try to candy coat it and took full responsibility. That is rare these days. I had the same thing happen to a Porsche I built. It was on a 70 chassis and it had a full tube frame and the body panels, roof and everything was carbon fiber. This was only 400hp but wieghed 1900 lbs wet :) All the aftermarket Porsche body panels fit like crap so just to make the panels fit perfect and paint was very costly . Got hit.. and I have to say , Farmers paid out almost 30k after I supplied them with some photos of build and receipts, met with the adjuster... and I was paid in less than two weeks. Hopefully your experience will be as good.
And I am glad you were belted.. guys don't realize that the human body and belts stretch in an impact.. and an unhelmeted head doesn't like eating chrome moly or mild steel tubing !

Dude I feel so bad for you and your car. I have always loved your ride. Especialy the color. My 73 camaro is Dupont Sinful Cinamon which is similar to yours. I hope everything is done soon and even better. If that possible.

Steve,

I was shocked and sorry to read what happened with you an Penny. I have pictures of Penny in my garage and she has been an inspiration. Glad your'e ok and that Penny will turn up again. Keep us all informed of the progress.

Steve please keep us updated on the insurance work. I hope you have Classic Car Insurance because I thought the insurance company's just go blue book value on you. They might say your car is totalled and pay you blue book value on a 1968 Camaro. In the State of California you have the right to take your car to a repair facilty of your choosing. You probably all ready know that though. Keep us updated and sorry for the damage. Hope you feel better, SS.

In memory of penny, I saved your picture (15 hours prior to the incident) and put it to my desk top.:thumbsup: I'll take it off when she's back on the road so keep us posted. Keep your head up, everything has a way of working out.;)