Silver Streak FD
11-21-12, 03:12 AM
#27
For off-road use only
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Novato, CA
Posts: 13
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At long last, all the ducks got in a row and the insurance company sent a tow truck to pick up Rexxy. Here she is next to my current ride, loaded with all the new parts (plus one of the damaged wheels, so the inspector can snap pics of it).
It's been darn close to a year that it's moved, and several months since the engine was started. Tried to coast it down the driveway to get it in position for the tow truck, but with the tires so flat and deformed, it got stuck in the gutter. The muffler was just about on the ground, so it was too low for the tow truck to get in there and the only alternative was to start it. I knew the battery was dead, but we hooked up a jumper battery and after 5 tries (crank for 10-15 seconds, wait 1 minute, repeat), it turned over! Yay! It's funny, I've gotten a lot of inquiries, offers, and "it's a shame it's not running" comments over the last year. Some of those same guys drove by slowly as I was firing it up, blowing smoke everywhere, and I got some enthusiastic thumbs up.
It's actually still running in this shot, the smoke cleared up quicker than I expected.
Down at the shop, up on the rack...
It's pretty clear in this next pic why I spun out in a light rain...
My excuse is that the outside edge of the tire always looked fine. Lesson learned, ALWAYS check the ENTIRE WIDTH of the tire. 
Here's a shot of the dent on the passenger side of the subframe, and why the insurance company will probably argue that it's totaled. I know for a fact there was a dent in this thing when I bought it, remember it distinctly the first time I changed the oil. However I don't have any previous pictures of it, and it's been a long time since I changed my own oil so my memory of what it looked like is a little hazy. I can say there is only one dent in the thing now. I went sideways over the curb, so any dent caused by this accident wouldn't have come from the front, as this dent looks to me. My mechanic thinks the frame is not tweaked and it really should be ok, suggests putting everything together and seeing if it will take an alignment before deciding what if anything to do about the subframe.
Last shot for now, the sway bar mounting bracket. New one has been ordered, this one clearly has had it.
So I'm pretty excited to have gotten this close to getting Rexxy back on the road again, and disappointed in the insurance company's initial response. I'm ready to challenge them though, and for the most part they've been pretty helpful. We'll see how things go....
It's been darn close to a year that it's moved, and several months since the engine was started. Tried to coast it down the driveway to get it in position for the tow truck, but with the tires so flat and deformed, it got stuck in the gutter. The muffler was just about on the ground, so it was too low for the tow truck to get in there and the only alternative was to start it. I knew the battery was dead, but we hooked up a jumper battery and after 5 tries (crank for 10-15 seconds, wait 1 minute, repeat), it turned over! Yay! It's funny, I've gotten a lot of inquiries, offers, and "it's a shame it's not running" comments over the last year. Some of those same guys drove by slowly as I was firing it up, blowing smoke everywhere, and I got some enthusiastic thumbs up.
It's actually still running in this shot, the smoke cleared up quicker than I expected.Down at the shop, up on the rack...
It's pretty clear in this next pic why I spun out in a light rain...
My excuse is that the outside edge of the tire always looked fine. Lesson learned, ALWAYS check the ENTIRE WIDTH of the tire. Here's a shot of the dent on the passenger side of the subframe, and why the insurance company will probably argue that it's totaled. I know for a fact there was a dent in this thing when I bought it, remember it distinctly the first time I changed the oil. However I don't have any previous pictures of it, and it's been a long time since I changed my own oil so my memory of what it looked like is a little hazy. I can say there is only one dent in the thing now. I went sideways over the curb, so any dent caused by this accident wouldn't have come from the front, as this dent looks to me. My mechanic thinks the frame is not tweaked and it really should be ok, suggests putting everything together and seeing if it will take an alignment before deciding what if anything to do about the subframe.
Last shot for now, the sway bar mounting bracket. New one has been ordered, this one clearly has had it.
So I'm pretty excited to have gotten this close to getting Rexxy back on the road again, and disappointed in the insurance company's initial response. I'm ready to challenge them though, and for the most part they've been pretty helpful. We'll see how things go....
11-24-12, 01:58 PM
#29
For off-road use only
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Novato, CA
Posts: 13
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I sure hope so! They look pretty amazing all by themselves IMHO. I drove by the shop the other day on my way home, they were closed but I grabbed a shot through the window. To make it easier to move around the shop, they put the new rims on the back because the old ones were so messed up. Got a sneak preview below. Quite a contrast from the spare in the front. 
11-24-12, 02:07 PM
#30
For off-road use only
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Novato, CA
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Hey I forgot to mention... I heard back from the insurance company. At first they said the damage was 85% of the value of the car and had gone to the "Totals" department for further evaluation. After several more phone calls, they did a 180 and said my car was repairable! They valued it at $16k, which was over 3 times the estimate. 
