Please stop for red lights....

[78 Chevyrado]

Got hit by a lexus yesterday.  Nobody got hurt, so now i can cry about my truck. I was making a left with an arrow and this lady decided not to stop and this is the result.  dang near rolled it on its roof since her car went up under it a bit.  She hit my front right wheel and bent the spindle where the tie rod connects, and probably other stuff i havent found yet.  Also when the wheels are straight (with a lot of obvious toe-out now) the steering wheel is 180 out.  It drives like something out of an old cartoon now.  I'll look it over better later but I can't look at it right now.  I need a fender and door, but at least the part of the cab behind the door is ok.  The rocker panel wll need some work on the front edge for about 2 inches, and it curled the lower bedside under, but it looks like it may be pulled back out with minimal damage.  heck she even hit the back tire.  Pulled the front end where the core support is back about an inch on the passenger side.  She got mad when i told her the truck made it 30 years with no damage until she came along.  Guess I'm off to find all the NOS stuff I can.  My insurance is supposed to call me back tomorrow, but i probably won't get much because its so old, and I just have regular insurance, not collectors insurance.  I guess this is why mama said to save your money.   I'm going to at least get it drivable, and then if I can afford it I think i'll go ahead and get the whole thing painted.  If I can't afford it I'll wait. NOS panels or none at all.  at least I wouldn't have to worry about door dings on that side now...lol 

[ccz145a]

aw man! that really bites. So, she got mad at your comment, lol. Some people can't handle the truth. Glad nobody got hurt.

Now, get to work, man. Get that thing back on the road!

[zieg85]

Your the second this week, bummer.  I almost lost my 85 Monday before last.  2 lane state hwy getting repaved, flagger and over the hill a dead stop.  A big tri-axle dump wasn't paying attention.  Well I saw that no one was coming in the oncoming lane so I took it.  He would have caused a nice chain reaction crash but did stop in time just short of the guy that was in front of me...

[Fordeatinz71]

that makes me wanna tear up...but i don't because i know all is not lost, and she'll look great again soon!

glad you weren't hurt...hope that Lexus got destroyed...

[DnStClr]

Man what a shame. I hope the insurance co. covers all the repair. That's a nice truck. Or-was until Mrs. Earnhart came along-( I shouldn't diss Jr. like that) I also hope your insurance premium won't go up- that would pretty much take the cake huh?

[VileZambonie]

Get a lawyer... unfortunately in the litigious society we live in you'll probably have to fake injury and distress just to get compensated for the damage

Sorry about the truck man. I'm on my bike today and disgusted at how little people disregard the fact that you're on two wheels and not inside a cage. People need to pay more attention. Glad you're ok

[Dragon]

She was at fault, her Insurance will cover it and not yours!!! Even if you have Standard non-Vintage/Collector Insurance, your Insurance should go after hers for the damages to your truck!!

Your actually in a Better standing with what they will pay you, cause Kelly Blue that most Ins Co's use, only goes back to 1988 now for Cars and Trucks.... They have to go by NADA for values on anything older, and NADA is more accurate than Kelly(even though they are the same Company now) with their Values....   Even if your truck was a Beater, it would still be worth $2500 retail(Unless not running, or extremely rough!), but the Condition of your truck in it's current Appearence State, and all the Pics you have posted on the Forum, puts it closer to NADA's Mid to High Value Range ($4,600-$7,600)....  Realistically, you should get around $3500-5,500(depending on your Mileage and Interior wear, just what an Insurance Adjuster will haggle with you about)...

Sorry bout the Accident Bro, and Glad you are ok! Hope you do fix the Ol' Gal up again!
Please Make Sure to have X-rays and MRI's done to make sure you are Ok, trust me injuries can pop up Several Months/Years later...

I had a young lady decide she was going to run a red on me back in '03...  She was late for here Final Exam at the Community College, and wanted to blow through the Light on a Back Road, but I couldn't get my '89 K2500 to stop in time....   I hit her, before spinning and hitting the rear of my truck on a Telephone Pole buried in a rock wall!  Her 4dr Volvo Sedan became a 2dr length wise, with my LWB turning into a SWB....  She got out of it with a few bumps,scratches,and no ticket, while I was hauled out by Ambulance,ticketed, lost my truck,tow fines, and left stranded by my Ins. Co(They decided it was cheaper to accept her claim, even though they talked to my witnesses that said she was at fault)....

[VileZambonie]

On my way home today some grandpa pulled out right in front of me on my bike so I either a) bite the back of his bumper or b) go around him. Obviously I chose b) he still didn't even notice me but the lady in front of him in her bmw starts beeping and flipping me off! So I pulled up right next to her at the light and gave her a few choice words of wisdom lol People suck at driving is the bottom line.

[Fordeatinz71]

i'm glad you came out alright but man i would have loved to be a fly on your forks and heard that exchange of wisdom...

[Dragon]

On my way home today some grandpa pulled out right in front of me on my bike so I either a) bite the back of his bumper or b) go around him.
People suck at driving is the bottom line.

Glad you are Ok too Vile! I agree with you whole heartedly! People usually ask me if I'm affraid to drive in Really Bad Weather, and I tell them I'm completely Confident wiht my Driving Skills and Training, but I not when it comes to the idiots out on the roads.....  Here it doesn't matter what the weather is like, some idiot will cause an accident, but if it is bad weather, you can bet an even BIGGER Idiot will cause one

Most Senior Drivers can't tell you what the light is doing down the road, let alone where the Motorcyclist in the Next lane is(Nope no Age Discrimination, Just scared of the Blind one barreling towards me..... Yes it will happen to me someday, but the Messican Part of me has me driving by brail anyways )

[autorepr]

Man, sorry bout your truck!

We had a 65 yr old dude just north of me try to shoot around a car that was slowing down to turn right at a four way intersection in front of him, the problem is he crossed the double yellow line to do it and collided with a car coming at him head on! Both were doing 60+ mph, it killed him, his wife, the two people in the other car and critically injured his 5 yr old grandson. In one split second he ruined two families lives.

BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!!!! Keep the big picture and watch for those who think there the only ones on the road.

[Captkaos]

Sorry to hear about your truck.  Glad you are ok though. 

Vile, I have been riding my bike for the past 2 months also...

[78 Chevyrado]

Sorry it's been a while since I posted here.  I couldn't look at you guys' trucks because it'd just make me madder then heck about mine lookin beat up.  I'm over it now and got my plan for the truck goin. 
 Oh yeah the lexus's grille was back a couple a feet and leaked all over the road.  My insurance called me back and they're going to send an adjuster out.  I haven't gotten to it yet because the school schedule is packed full of "have to do's" So they are going to call me later this week and take care of it.  I've been looking into it and know aprroximately what I should get, so we'll see.  Her insurance is paying, it's just going to go through my insurance company. Doesn't matter how much or little I get, it'll be back to how it was shortly.  I may have a primered fender and door for a while though, because I don't have much time to strip it down for a repaint right now.
That sucks about your wreck Dragon, insurance companies are not fun to deal with, but at least this time it's me making them wait around...  
 I've been wanting to get a bike, but it's getting so packed with cars around here, I dunno.  3 years ago our house was at the edge and we only rode north, away from atlanta, but now the city's moved farther out, may be time to move before long. 
 Yeah when I told the woman my comment about the 30 years thing, all I kept getting was "What the heck does that mean," I just told her to think about it.  I didn't blow up at the scene even once, which is good for me, but when I got home buckets and old tires got kicked everywhere. 
 So far what I'll need is a spindle, tie rod ends, balljoints on that side, So I'm going to just rebuild the whole front end. The wheel amazingly seems to be straight, at least when i jacked it up and spun it fast.  I'll need a door, and a fender, and the wheel opening trim and lower trim on the fender and door, and two center caps.  Theres a dent about 1.5 long in the front tip of the rocker panel, and luckily the car missed the cab edge between the door and bed except for a small dent in the edge (easy fix).  It pushed the whole bottom 12 inches of the front right bedside inward about 4 or 5 inches, but looks like it'll mostly just pull back out.  I need a door quick because there's about a 2 inch gap along the top of the door (I can see the dash through it from above).  As far as I can tell the cab should be ok, just the tab at the bottom where the fender attaches is bent over, there's no dmage inside the door jamb I can see, but the door only opens about 6 or 7 inches right now.  I'm gonna get it back drivable and then start messing with the body.  The funny thing too,  I had just redone my A/C the day before and now it's ice cold and I was finished with the truck...   Oh the plans of men....   Thanks for the replies guys.


Here's a few better pics of it, The ones at the top are fuzzy from the camera phone.

[Fordeatinz71]

man, i hate that your truck got hit.  i LOVE your truck.  i know it will come back as good as new though, so i don't worry too much...

[lowbucktruck]

Ouch!  Well, that's one way to kill a Lexus... 

I feel for you, man.  Average people just don't understand the blood, sweat and tears that we put into keeping these old trucks running and looking sharp.  I am glad that you are going to put her back into shape, she is a sweet-looking truck.  My favorites have to be the 70's era Chevy/GMC trucks, just really classic styling.