A moment of silence for a fallen car.. Penny goes down..

[Steve1968LS2]

It was the best week. Penny was done, on the road, and any issues were minor. She ran fast, ran hard and felt great.

The people on the road like her, they snapped pictures and tossed "thumbs ups" wherever she went.

It was the culmination of 1.5 years of re-doing her into what I envisioned. A lot of people put in a lot of time and it showed, I was tired but proud.

Since last Friday I had been driving her a lot. Nearly 500 miles so far. Today (Saturday) I was going to take her down to Best Of Show Coachworks so we could rack her up and do a "bolt check". Mainly just to make sure everything was nice and tight. We were also going to fix the window trim that came loose and fix the resulting nick. Small stuff. Was also going to take the guys for a ride in the car.

Got on the 91 fwy and headed off. Car was running sweet and it was nice. In Corona I hit traffic. No surprise, this is California. It was the type that went then stopped, then went then stopped.

I was stopped in Penny.. fully stopped when I heard the screeching of tires. I never saw the full sized GMC 4x4 truck... but I felt the impact.

Luckily I had my foot on the brake rather than just sitting in neutral. That kept me from eating the car in front of me. That and the large gap I generally leave as a cushion.

I knew I was screwed.. royaly.

The guy was sorry, I was furious. At first I thought he pissed himself then I realized he had spilled a drink all over himself. I wanted to choke him.. to death.. repeatedly. After many curse words I calmed and realized that he was sorry. Hey, it's not like he set out that day to screw up my life. The good news it that it was a fully (and I assume heavily) insured company truck. If you live in SoCal you know that was a relief.

He admitted full fault to myself and the CHP. What else could he say with the back of my car creamed? Nothing... I had the flatbed truck carefully load her up and take her to Best Of Show for repair. I'm sure it will take months.

The bad: Needs all new sheetmetal in the back except the roof. Both quarters, both valances, trunk, etc.

The good: (there's always good) the hit was high so all the energy went into the quarters and not the frame which on cursory inspection looks fine. She drives and moves... Oh, and I'm ok.

I was wearing my full harness, it kept me in place and also kept me from banging the cage. I'm sore, I have a headache, but I not in the hospital.

There was really nothing I could do, I was fully stopped in traffic. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I guess that's life. I'm sure his insurance will pay (after being a Pain in the ass). BOS is very versed in dealing with insurance companies, so I'm not concerned.

Penny will live again, with fresh sheetmetal and even nicer body work. I joked with the BOS guys that the only f'd panels are the ones that they didn't paint. lol

I will post a picture.. but it's not for the faint of heart.. Remember to be safe out there. You can do EVERYTHING right and still get tagged by someone yapping on a cell phone, sucking down a latte or putting on makeup. It's an inatentive world.
here's the bad part....

ack!

[68protouring454]

HOLY ****!!!!! dude i would of **** in his mouth, man i am glad to hear your ok, and at least it does not appear that it got into the rails or roof, damn
on second look, you sure the rear of the drivers rail did not get pushed or folded?? thats right where it attaches to the tail panels inner panel.

[ironworks]

WOWthat sucks, I cannot say that I would be the same, I would have flipped his car over and over and over. I cannot imagine the heartbreak, all that work.

[pushrod243]

man that sux, i feel your pain

[Steve1968LS2]

The worst part is that those were OEM factory, rust spared original body panels..

The good part is that it can, and will be fixed.. Just a pain in the ass.

Would have done no good to beat down the guy. I'm sure he didn't want to him me anymore than I wanted to be hit. He just zoned out and I had to pay the price.

[Sales@Dutchboys]

Man that sux. Glad that no one was hurt. hope everything works out.

That is my worst fear with my car.

[Steve1968LS2]

Originally Posted by chevy2boy333

That is my worst fear with my car.

Yep, and thier's no defense.. like getting hit by a meteor. You just hope you're not sitting in the target zone.

She took the hit and sucked the damage into the best areas. At least the frame and suspension is fine. (I hope)

In positive news. I finished shooting her for Super Chevy friday night.. Her feature will still go on

[customcam]

man Steve sorry to hear this
atleast your OK the car can always be fixed but geez that guy needs a few slaps

[awr68]

Go to a Dr. in the morning if you feel any internal...or any pain for that matter! My wife is still hurt from getting rearended a few years ago! She has a screwed up sholder for life....and you took a WAY bigger hit!! Keep track of all expences, you'll need it in the end!!

A couple years ago a friend of mine told me of a 'very nice' first gen Camaro on the side of a freeway near where I live that just got rear ended. It appeared the car was just finished and the poor owner was in tears on the side of the road! Man, I'm not sure how I'd feel if this happed to me. I've been working on mine for 5yrs and still have a ways to go! That's work/time they can't pay you for in my mind!

At least BOS knows you and Penny real well and you both are in good hands!!

[James OLC]

Unbelievable Steve. At least you came out relatively unscathed. Like you said, in the wrong place at the wrong time. Penny was - and is - and will be again - a masterpiece.