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I am sad to announce that my GT40 replica was involved in needless vehicular destruction this afternoon. I was taking my turn at 4 way stop on my way home from work when halfway thru the intersection a woman texting while driving slammed into the passengers side rear wheel and quarter panel of my car. I looked over and saw her coming but couldn't stop what happened, I was honking screaming and waiving my arms to no avail. The fiberglass from the rear wheel back was crunched in, the rear wheel control arm was broken and the frame appears bent and all of the panel gaps are out of whack and the rear body of the car is all jacked up on one side.

I get out of my car and the woman runs at me screeching that I blew through the stop sign. I did my best to maintain my temper and not argue. The funny thing is she was so sure the accident wasn't her fault that she had the gas station on the corner run their outside camera footage back to view it with the sheriff's deputy in tow to prove she couldn't be at fault. The footage shows her clearly at fault by texting while driving and taking off out of turn and hitting me. The Deputy looks at the lady and asks her if she understands how a 4 way stop works and if she knows it is illegal to text and drive. She then admits in a small voice that she may be at fault. I got a copy of the camera footage and called Hagerty Insurance and then called for a rollback tow truck to come tow me. This is not the way I hoped my afternoon would go. Nobody got hurt and that is the important thing, even though someone will get hurt if this driver doesn't stop texting and driving. I was too sad to take pictures but will post some when I do. I am glad I have Hagerty Insurance. They will pay to fix it to my satisfaction, or so they say.

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Cop  stops a lady driver

Cop asks for license....."Don't have one" lady says

Cop asks for registration...."Don't have one, I stole the car" Lady says

Cop tells lady to open trunk and get out of the car....."There a body in there, I killed him" Lady says

Cop handcuff lady and calls for backup

Six cops and the sergeant arrive, search car and trunk finding nothing, lady hands sergeant her license and registration

Sergeant questions lady while first cop stands by totally bewildered

Lady says "I was driving to church when this liar stopped me, I suppose he told you I was speeding and texting too!"



Sorry to hear about the accident Jimmy

Wow. I know the feeling Jimmy.

I got rear ended at a light in 2006 in my Spyder. I didn't go fast enough after the light changed and some hoon in his pickup forgot I was in front of him. In a big hurry of course...no damage to me or my date, just the car.

Find a Corvette shop with a good reputation. They can fix it for you. Really glad you weren't hurt.

Hey DannyP I was thinking the same and so is the Hagerty Insurance team. One of the shops they recommended near me is

Rod’s Corvettes Customs and Classics (502) 249-1309

715 West Stephen Foster Bardstown KY 40004

This will be the type of shop if not the shop that repairs the GT40. It is an hour from me but 99% of collision repair centers will not touch a custom fiberglass car repair. I know because a called 3 of the top body shops in my area yesterday thinking I would tow the car directly to the place that is going to repair my baby and they all said no thank you on this job. Hagerty paid to tow the car to my house yesterday and they told me they would pay for the tow to the shop I choose. I won't even have to pay for my $500.00 deductible they said, they told me they will be going after the woman who hit me insurance to pay them back for whatever this costs to repair. The adjuster told me since my insured value is $45000.00 they have up to that amount to spend on the repair which I estimate is going to cost $15k plus to repair. I will post how this process proceeds for the benefit and education of my fellow SOC members to know how this works if they ever find themselves in this situation. Have a great day Friends and drive defensively.

@Jimmy V. posted:

I wanted to post the video of the accident taken from the gas stations camera but the SOC site wouldn't accept the file. Anyone wanting to see the video or knows how to format it in a way this site will allow let me know your email address, I will send the video to you.

Post it to youtube or Vimeo, then embed a link to it in a post. That's how I got EFI help on Speeduino.com.

Here is what happened behind the Marathon sign. The pics show some of the damage to my GT40 replica. It may not look like much but it has put the entire back body out of alignment and created stress fractures not shown in the pictures. The pic looking at the back of the right side wheel is to show that the tie rod end has been broken off. This is the main reason the car had to be towed, the rear wheel is now free to turn in or out almost 90 degrees. The car is modified Fiero in the back and the Fiero used a front wheel drive type transaxle with a longitudinal engine setup. The wheels are locked in place with a stationary tie rod on both sides. Adjusting these is how the alignment is done. I am tempted to repair the tie rod end but know I need to leave it for the insurance people to take care of.

I still haven't gotten the police accident report and nothing will happen until I get it.  I am in a hurry up and wait mode.

GT40 accident 1GT40 accident 2GT40 accident broken tie rodGT40 accident cracked fiberglass at hingeGT40 accident cracked fiberglass left hingeGT40 accident out of alignment body

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  • GT40 accident 1
  • GT40 accident 2
  • GT40 accident broken tie rod
  • GT40 accident cracked fiberglass at hinge
  • GT40 accident cracked fiberglass left hinge
  • GT40 accident out of alignment body
Last edited by Jimmy V.

The builder of this replica (V8 Archie ) did swap in some of the suspension upgrade parts that were available at the time in the front and rear for improved handling and strength than stock Fiero and switched it to adjustable coil overs on all 4 corners. It will be a tedious process to make this as it was before the accident. It will be 95% getting the fiberglass body repaired. As it is now the wreck has sprung it somehow. I will leave it to the experts to figure out. My job is to make sure the car is as good or better than it was.

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