crashed my corvette! :(

[kevin-design]

Ok, so to get right to the point here- I crashed my '92 convertible corvette. :cry Basically spun the rear into a concrete wall and hit pretty squarely in the back bumper. The back 'bumper cover' is pretty well wasted. The lights to the left and right of the plate are gone and that whole panel is now hanging. There is minor damage to the drivers side panel where it now buckles above the wheel well. The driver's side door no longer wants to open.
I need to investigate further just how bad the damage is- it actually drives pretty much the same as pre-crash, but this is bad. Especially considering that its my only car.
It does appear that the damage is pretty confined to the rear and back side panel, and that the frame and gas tank assembly isn't damaged, but I am taking it in to have all that confirmed.
I have been researching replacing these parts, and am reading that this is assmebled using a lot of adhesives, and that on the convertible, this whole area may be a single huge fiberglass shell. This is all making me want to just skip the whole thing and get a new car.
I'm looking for some opinions from folks who've been through this- just how much pain and suffering is this going to require?
Also, when describing what I need, I'd like to study up terminology, as in what is described by terms such as 'rear clip', 'bumper cover', 'rear bumper' etc? What years will share parts with a '92 convertible? Finally, to avoid huge shipping costs- does anyone know of a resource near charlotte, nc?
Thanks for any help! (and condolences)
-kevin

 

[Dirtfarmer]

Sorry to hear about your Vette Kevin, at least it sounds like you're OK.

 

[LT4man]

Sorry to hear about this. Sounds like you are OK. That is the ONLY thing that matters.

Don't know of any places near Charlotte. I am in Chicago and there are some very good Vette Part Yards near me. I understand your concern about shipping costs.

SAVE THE WAVE!

 

[bossvette]

Get in touch with gmjunkie He's from Old Fort NC and may be able to point you in the right direction or even fix it for you he does nice work.
tell him bossvette sent ya

 

[BLACKTALON]

Bummer dude sorry about ya car!!!

 

[gmjunkie]

Get in touch with gmjunkie He's from Old Fort NC and may be able to point you in the right direction or even fix it for you he does nice work.
tell him bossvette sent ya

Oh man!! kevin-design I hate it when a wall Jumps into the back of you, Makes for a Bad day!! But your alright thats the main thing!!

I was just in Charlotte twice this week!! I'd be glad to Look at it!!
I'm in Charlotte at least once a week!!

I also have no problem,and have experience working with all Insurance Co.'s!!


Thanks Boss!~!

 

[vett boy]

Bummer, off to the vett doctor.She'll be fine,good luck --Steve

 

[davec0_17]

Wait till you get a estimate on the damage before you decide. Myself, my only Vette regrett? I didnt get a convertable. Targa is nice, but I wish I could take the top down all the way. I hope it works out for the best for you.

 

[XLR8]

Sorry to hear about your crash, but VERY glad you're okay. Good luck with the fix. GMJunkie should be able to help you out!

Jane Ann

 

[kevin-design]

I wish

Hi- thanks for the help! I'd definately be intereted in having you take a look at it. The bad news (for me) is that my insurance won't be involved as i'd paid cash for the car and had it only insured for liability rather than collision. :ugh I was planning to get it into Corvettes Etc. on Wilkinson, but didn't get there this weekend. I'm still on the fence as to whether it will be worth the expense and effort to repair, so I'm eager to hear from some experts. I live just off 74 near Cricket arena and my regular email is salukikev@gmail.com
Thanks for any help!
-kevin

Oh man!! kevin-design I hate it when a wall Jumps into the back of you, Makes for a Bad day!! But your alright thats the main thing!!

I was just in Charlotte twice this week!! I'd be glad to Look at it!!
I'm in Charlotte at least once a week!!

I also have no problem,and have experience working with all Insurance Co.'s!!


Thanks Boss!~!

 

[Ted Krempa]

Kevin, 'rear clip' refers to the rear end of a car with frame rails, both 1/4 panels, deck lid, etc. The rear 'bumper cover' bolts on over an inner 'bumper' structure. The rear 1/4 panels bond to the rear deck and door lock pillars. Sounds to me like you killed one 1/4 panel, bumper cover and some inner structure. Does not sound like you bent any frame rails but the jammed door and damge over the wheel well might well be a kink in the frame. Good Luck !

 

[kevin-design]

thanks ted!
'rear clip' sounds like about what I'd need then. I still am unsure of what body components are separate on this model. It appears that much of the fiberglass is a single composite structure. The jammed door is the apparent result of that rear quarter panel having shifted by about 1/16" to overlap the top edge of the driver's door. The driver's door is damaged only slightly (basically just a layer of paint) where the panel slid onto it locking it in. I nearly took a dremel and sliced that overlapping area off so that I could open the door this weekend, but couldn't bring myself to do it. I was thinking I might also just winch that panel backwards 1/16" now that I've removed the wheel wells. That should also free the door. Not yet sure which fasteners I might loosen to encourage that panel to slide. I'll try to post some pics later.
thanks again.

Kevin, 'rear clip' refers to the rear end of a car with frame rails, both 1/4 panels, deck lid, etc. The rear 'bumper cover' bolts on over an inner 'bumper' structure. The rear 1/4 panels bond to the rear deck and door lock pillars. Sounds to me like you killed one 1/4 panel, bumper cover and some inner structure. Does not sound like you bent any frame rails but the jammed door and damge over the wheel well might well be a kink in the frame. Good Luck !

 

[BLACKTALON]

Just wondered how did you spin into a wall? Is it the I was doing donuts and the car got away from me. Or was it something that was a act of God? :confused

 

[gmjunkie]

I nearly took a dremel and sliced that overlapping area off so that I could open the door this weekend, but couldn't bring myself to do it. I was thinking I might also just winch that panel backwards 1/16" now that I've removed the wheel wells. That should also free the door.

DON"T CUT NUT'n!!!!!!!!
Till I get there and Look at it!!!!!!!! People cause there self so much EXTRA work doing thing's like that!! Yes, the unitized frame is probly mis-aligned a little!!!!! NO Biggie!!!!!!

I will get there Soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm still waiting for my 07 Dealer Plates to get here!!!! I've been driving on exp. plates since last Friday!!!! State said they were sent last Wed. DHL !!! I wish they'd sent them by Big Brown Truck,They'd been here last Friday!! The difficult I do Quickly,The Imposable just takes me a little longer!!

 

[LT4man]

DON"T CUT NUT'n!!!!!!!!
Till I get there and Look at it!!!!!!!! People cause there self so much EXTRA work doing thing's like that!! Yes, the unitized frame is probly mis-aligned a little!!!!! NO Biggie!!!!!!

I will get there Soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm still waiting for my 07 Dealer Plates to get here!!!! I've been driving on exp. plates since last Friday!!!! State said they were sent last Wed. DHL !!! I wish they'd sent them by Big Brown Truck,They'd been here last Friday!! The difficult I do Quickly,The Imposable just takes me a little longer!!

If there is ONE thing I know for certain: Always listen to JUNK! This man knows what he is talking about! He is one of the best!

SAVE THE WAVE!

 

[kevin-design]

ow! my ears!.... ok, i find it much easier to do nothing, actually. Sorry I didn't have the opportunity to post those pics. Anyway, I'm on the motorcycle (rain or shine...) right now so I'll just wait till you have an opportunity to check it out. I also am waiting to drive it over to Dub at Corvettes Etc.- that guy's the best resource I've found so far in Charlotte.
Looking forward to meeting you!
-k

 

[kevin-design]

act of god?....maybe.

Hmmm.... well, it all started with a little mistake. It's a rather embarassing story, but I managed to cough it up over the weekend to a couple of friends- so I guess I can manage telling it one more time to some internet strangers.. here goes:
So I was driving back from an outdoor concert downtown. Had some drinks, but not too many, and followed with dinner, and several hours so as to insure a safe drive home. I'm from Chicago- where streets and navigation make sense. In Charlotte, everything's crooked anyway, and the streets change names (if they're even signed)and point in random directions always. This one particular evening I got all turned around and took a right onto a dark unmarked on ramp to 277 (the highway loop around the city). Upon nearing the merge to the highway, I noticed that the tail-lights are looking quite a bit lighter than usual. Historically, i've always made fun of people who've done this, always wondering how you can make this silly mistake. Anyway, I'm only a matter of yards into it before I realize I'm driving up an OFF ramp.

Here's where the trouble starts... and its filled with irony-- first off, it's not even a panic situation. There's plenty of time to do a 3 point turn, or pull to the shoulder and manouver around to the right direction. However, as I've done so many times before in this car (autocross, closed course, etc.) I figured, gee, this would be one of those rare, but practical (nobody else around, btw) times to make use of the J-turn that I'm so very good at executing. Seriously though- ordinarily, this is no big deal.
This particular time, however, my car momentarily inherits the handling of an f1 racecar, and tracks like it's on rails....directly into the concrete sidewall. Yes- more irony. This crash was caused due to too much traction. The skid that was supposed to happen didn't- maybe due to the tires being low? Generally, I have a really good feel for my car, but this one I can't explain. Anyway, so after exploding the rear end of my corvette and bouncing off the concrete, I continue on down the ramp, make a right and shortly thereafter, an officer of the law stops by to say hi. Now ordinarily, during such a stop- in addition to being as polite and respectful as possible, I make an effort to be as creative/optimistic as possible in my story without actually lying. Well, here I made an exception. Sorry.

So I explained to the kind officer and friends who joined him that the car was a salvage title that I was working on restoring- hoping he didn't notice my futile effort to open the driver's door, or my sprained arm/jaw (how I hurt my jaw- also a mystery). Anyway, he'd apparently heard the crash, but had no reports of an accident and no evidence otherwise, and so ticketed me for the plates and because I couldn't find my insurance card (which I have now- it was insured(liability) ) . Anyway, so that pretty well concludes my story. I'm out one corvette. Might be fixable. The moral? Practice more J-turns before you try them on the highway.

...oh yeah, and don't be an idiot..

Just wondered how did you spin into a wall? Is it the I was doing donuts and the car got away from me. Or was it something that was a act of God? :confused

 

[BLACKTALON]

Yeah the roads downtown Charlotte can get crazy at night.I'm from Gboro N.C,I'm about a hour and 15min from ya. Good luck wit the ride. I drove tha vette down your way about a mounth ago.

 

[SPANISHVETTS]

Kevin,
I have to take my hat off to you for admitting to that.
Let us know what junk has to say about your Vette.

 

[kevin-design]

Finally got some pics...

Here's the damage: