Threepwood lives!!! - 87 C900 8V

[jskrebs]

My son's C900 8v may be finished.

All 4 of my family were on the way to my son's driving exam when he lost control of the car.

He got into the right side shoulder @55mph which was very soft from all the rain.
My wife yelled from the back seat and Ryan jerked the wheel left.
I was riding shotgun.
I reached over and attempted to counter steer as we were now heading towards the cliff face. Got it coming around but the roads were slick from rain and the car over rotated and started sliding sideways towards the right side shoulder and a telephone pole.
The car clipped the pole as we passed on the drivers side front corner.
We continued through the ditch and up on top of an active railroad track facing the way we came.
Coming to a stop with the car still running took stock of my family which were all OK.
I tried to drive off the track but could not get over the rail.
Got everyone out.
An unnamed person and his GF were following us and saw the whole thing they started to direct traffic as another person in a 4x4 stopped, had a strap and chain and we proceeded to pull the car off the track.
A little bump and grind and we were back on the road.
Picked up all the pieces, got in the car and drove home.
I can't believe the car did not flip over if it had we may have gone into the river.

As cliche as it sounds, that's why my kids drive SAAB's

I think the car is toast. The front end is kicked over to the passenger side by about 5" Bumper is gone, lights gone, Bumper cover is OK??? Hood Gone.

Anybody think we can straighten it?

[euromobile900]

Wow! That is some crash. You all sound very lucky to have gotten away with little damage to yourselves, to say nothing of how you could drive the car away!

To answer about straightening the car, there are two factors to consider: wheel alignment and future crashworthiness. For wheel alignment, the control arms are usually the weakest point, so you should first look at those. Maybe go get the alignment checked and see if the alignment shop can bring it back into spec. If they can with conventional tools, it's likely safe to drive. If not, then you've likely also tweaked the undercarriage, which probably requires hydraulic rams to straighten. The question is, is it safe to crash again? As we know, any metal that's been bent once will likely bend worse again the next time. From just looking at the car, it's difficult to see the extent of the bent metal. Lots of people weld on whole new fenders and bumper supports due to rust, and this probably weakens their crumple zone more than you would, bending your car back to cosmetic shape if the undercarriage hasn't been bent as well.

[tucksayre]

Ouch glad everyone is alright. If you can get the parts cheap, the damage doesn't look too bad. However, the front end looks pretty tweaked, I would take it to a shop that specializes with this and see what they say. I don't think you'll have an issue with safety but how close to spec can you get it. You can probably find another slow 8v for the $$ to replace/fix it, which is probably the main decision point.

Actually bending metal usually increases strength and brittleness, which is good except it'll snap like a twig next time you hit anything. Same idea as work hardening...but if we wanted strong brittle cars, they would be made out of glass.

Also did you get the car at Lincoln Way? I recognize that green 99...

[jlrSAAB]

what a dangerous road without cars protection ...
sorry about your accident and glad all of you are alright.
it is the time for another car.

[euromobile900]

what a dangerous road without cars protection ...

Yeah--I think it should've had guard rails. Sue the D.O.T.!

If you end up junking the car, grab what parts you can, and save those wheels!! They're fairly rare and awesome, and if you wait 2 months I'll come give you money for them. Gearbox is also likely in good condition, considering it's an 8v N/A.

[jskrebs]

You all sound very lucky to have gotten away with little damage to yourselves

Given the potential obstacles and typical traffic on that road we were really lucky

Maybe go get the alignment checked

It still drives well, but the tire that plowed the initial ditch by the telephone pole has a broken belt so it vibrates

Also did you get the car at Lincoln Way?

Yes, picked it up at Lincoln Way, but bought it from Steve Horn. Was eying up that 99 while I was there.

what a dangerous road without cars protection ...

You should see the portion that is 200 feet above the railroad track carved out of the cliff. Some guide rail, but if we had the issue there.....................

it is the time for another car

I reluctantly agree

If you end up junking the car, grab what parts you can, and save those wheels!!

I will, I have some more common alloys and the OEM steel wheels with Stainless Hub caps in almost perfect shape. The Trans was recently installed by me. I had the motor out, replaced all the seals, rebuilt the Alt and Starter, and did a bunch of other stuff. Would love to fall into an perfect 8v car with a blown motor and Trans
Will probably pull the motor trans and strip the chassis bare. It has a pretty nice interior too, a new exhaust, new ball joints, new brakes, and a bunch of other stuff.

My goal was to put Ryan in a safe reliable and paid for car that could get him through college and grad school. Guess he will share the 9K with his sister for a while.

[jskrebs]

My buddy Mike stops by and says "You can buff that out"

[tunnanxwd]

Holy rail road track batman. Triple jeopardy with the pole, cliff, tracks and river or is that four?

Looks like you recovered from threep schizz and came out smelling like .. too much information?

Your kid learned a lesson about drifting and how easy it happens and it wasn't as steep as the learning curve for most kids.

Straighten it? Heck, take it back to the same spot and put it in reverse and wack that pole agin' ... ain't you ever hear tell of .. "reverse engineering" ??

[jskrebs]

take it back to the same spot and put it in reverse and wack that pole agin

LOL

My family votes no

[Raub]

All 4 of my family were on the way to my son's driving exam when he lost control of the car.

Glad everyone is ok. That's one hell of a way to avoid a driving exam.