I wrecked my Charger

[Zentelis]

I just finished putting the back end together today and wanted to back out of the garage to clean the floor.
The car has no brakes right now, but i've backed it out dozens of times using the e-brake and bump-stops in the driveway that i put down.

I started inching it backwards, but it started rolling quicker thann I felt comfortable with. I started to panic a little because my front yard (the direction i was backing) is a 40 degree drop into a large ditch that runs along the road.
I went to put my foot out the door hoping to slow me down..but the car was still in reverse..as soon as i dropped the clutch, the car jumped backwards..My brain froze and I panicked like no panic i ever felt..instinctively i mashed my right foot down but it was still on the gas.
It took off in reverse..in desperation, i swung the wheel over to run it into a tree in my front yard to stop it from going down the hill.

the rear end is destroyed. this car was almost perfect..as close to a survivor as I'd ever get. All the body panels were original..now the trunk, valance, and both quarter panels are destroyed.
To make it worse, the frame is bent on both sides..the quarter panels are pushed forward 1/2 inch so the doors won't shut..

When I bought this car, I was thrilled..this thing was in 10 times better shape than the seller let on. All the sheet metal was original and unrusted except for one part on the right rear quarter panel.
Now I've destroyed it because I panicked.
My next door neighbor is a mechanic and said he's done damage 10 times worse than what i did and it was fixed with no trouble..he said frames can be straighted and mine isn't that bad at all.

But the worst part of it is that this was my baby..I was absolutely paranoid about keeping this car in it's original condition..I was damn proud of her and proud of the work I was doing on her. Now i've ruined it.
Yes, it can be fixed..the panels can be replaced with repops, the frame can be straightened, but the point is it shouldn't have HAD to be fixed..it was fine until I messed it up. It WAS original..now it won't be. It will never be the same again and I'm having incredible difficulty dealing with that.

I know alot of the veterans don't like the idea of kids like me owning these cars and I feel I have just justified that mistrust.

To everyone in this community, I apologize. I don't know what else ic an say..i'm osrry. i am so sorry.

[CB]

man that sux!
I feel sorry for your accident, don't know what else to say...

[Silver R/T]

thats sounds like nightmare...but accidents happen

[Brock Samson]

very sorry to hear this but,..
we have all had some boneheaded moves to our credit..
maybe some others can share their exploits...
i remember backing my old GFs' brand new car up the hill to park with the door just slightly open, it went in reverse pretty good up the hill and quickly too, the door met a tree, and the door bent and didn't work too good after that, the window wouldn't roll up or down anymore either,..
I dont wana tell ya' what it cost to fix or how mad she was...
or how bad I felt,.
or how broke that made me...

Sorry you had that happen but the good news is noone was hurt! 

[Wakko]

   Sorry to hear that.  Is it going to be fixable?  The parts you listed are replacable.

[tan top]

   damn  , very  sorry to here that   ,accidents happen, true you have lost the original sheet metal , but it can be fixed , good thing no one was standing  be hind  & and got hurt . 
a bout 17 years a go i was backing the charger out of the garage    , for a late night run as i had done plenty of times before. don't know why i reversed to much & banged a wall with the rear bumper , luckily it was only at idle speed no damage , then putting the charger back in the garage , i parked it close to the back wall that time leaving about a 1 foot gap at the front, though i had put it in park but it was still in drive , took my foot of the brake , charger lept forward and hit the wall , i could not believe what i had done , luckily again hit the front  bumper no damage  as it was at idle speed . don't know where my brain was that night what a dummy .every one makes mistakes 

[Spike]

No one got hurt, that the most important thing. Yes it sucks but it sounds like it can be fixed.

[resq302]

I feel your pain as I was just through a recent similar situation.  I was working on my charger on my 4 post lift and was replacing the entire brake lines and front brakes and suspension.  Had the charger jacked up and was all completed with it, basically it was the last thing I had to do to the charger to make it factory correct.  As I jacked up the car on the k-frame, I used a bottle jack and the steel cross tray to get it high enough to get the front wheels back on.  The block of wood I had between the bottle jack and k-frame to prevent damaging the freshly painted k-frame split and the car shifted and fell partially off of the lift into the one post on the lift.  $1800 later, both fenders had to be repaired but luckily I was not under the car when it fell.  Two seconds later, my arms would have been under it as I was getting ready to remove the 6x6 blocks I was using to keep the car raised.

Again, the car can be fixed.  The emotional grief and pain will go away.  As much of a heartbreak it is to see it happen or have happen, thethe main thing is that you were not hurt and you are still around to enjoy the hobby (no matter what kind of punches it throws at you)

[1972Rallye]

...I know alot of the veterans don't like the idea of kids like me owning these cars and I feel I have just justified that mistrust.

To everyone in this community, I apologize. I don't know what else ic an say..i'm osrry. i am so sorry.

Zentelis, I'm real sorry to hear about this...  You need to keep things in proper perspective here.  Nobody was hurt and the damage is repairable.  I understand you feel you may have let some people down with this mishap - don't.  You weren't being an idiot who didn't respect what you had.  Mistakes happen, accidents happen.  You were doing your part to preserve another Mopar and keep her on the road where she belongs.  Hold your head up and get her fixed, but uhhh... start with the brakes!

[resq302]

Yes.... brakes are a good thing.  Next to going fast.

[PocketThunder]

 

[Drache]

About 3 years ago I was taking my girlfriend to grad. It was after the grad cermonies and we were headed to the dance. It was about 1:30am and pissing down rain. We have both ran back to my place to change out of tux and gown and into normal clothes and we were running behind schedule. About 100 feet from my house I realized I forgot my wallet. As I was backing out of our neighbors driveway I went to far back. The wet ground on the side of the rode caved away and my pickup ended up 10 feet down an embankment backwards. To make matters worse I had no cash on me to pay the tow truck driver when he arrived and had to borrow it off my girlfriend lol. Dumb things happen, just be lucky you weren't hurt.

[Zentelis]

Thanks, guys..I still feel horrible about what happened..like there's a hole in my stomach.

I called my body shop today and the tow truck's on its way to pick her up. One day I hope to learn how to do body work (sheet metal, etc), but this is just too much. I don't even have a teacher. I still plan on prepping/painting her myself, but this body work is too much.

I'm guessing it's going to be about $15,000 to fix it..maybe I'm over-estimating so I won't be shocked when I see the bill..


Figures, the panel that could be saved is the one that needs the patch panel.


Yes, that's tree bark.


The worst of the damage..even the C-pillar right at the corner of the glass is pushed in.

As horrible as this is, I think this may be the kick-start I need to get enthused again..I'd been so paranoid about this car that I was probably too afraid to get it back on the road for fear that something would happen to it..but now? I am more determine than ever to get her driving. As soon as she's back from the shop, I'll install the new brakes, the wiring, lighting, new gas tank and get her inspected. I am going to be proud of this car!

[4402tuff4u]

Man that's awful!! Zentelis don't be to hard on yourself. As stated before, thank God you did'nt hit a kid ridding his bike or someone else for that matter. I've been pulling my Charger out of my garage without starting the engine and you know how hard the power brakes are without vacuum? I can't start the engine yet until it gets the cam broken in. I also put wood blocks in the drive way to catch the tire for a full stop. Then when I'm done working on the car, I have to push the Charger back inside with 3 - 4 helpers! I have a good pitch/slope (30*) driveway too!!  You don't need to hear Monday morning quarterbacking - find a better way of moving that Charger and just move on and get it fixed!! Is not the end of the world bud.
One suggestion I'll make is try to back her in the garage - nose of car should be facing downhill, this way if you have an emergency, at least you have half a chance to maneuver her out of harms way. That was my first thought when I knew I was not going to have a running engine while I was working on the Charger. Second get some kind of brake system working, if not, anchor a steel pad eye on the floor and lower her with a come-along (I have this set up too for when my brake lines were off)!   

[THE CHARGER PUNK]

dude thats gotta be the worst, just looking at those pics makes my stomache cringe,(i see how you were right on originality,(whitewalls), at least you can get her fixed a car that rare of 1 of 259, it coulda been alot worse-MATT

[Charger_Fan]

Damn, that sucks. At least nobody was injured, it's a fixable boo-boo & the car wasn't completely destroyed.
Like Brock said, we've all had dumb things we've done in the past...probably plenty more in the future, the thing to do is use it as a learning experience.

[JMF]

Gutted to hear that Zentelis, on the positive side before you posted the pictures I was expecting much worse so in the pictures it looks repairable, I know that won't cheer you up though, think of some of the ones found in fields that have been brought back to show quality, good luck

[dodge freak]

Yes its not too bad, did you say $15,000 or mean to say $1500 ? Those QP can be save, in fact just the deck lid and maybe a few other parts might need to be change. I work at a body shop one summer a long time ago, you be surprise what a good body man can do. Good Luck and when you get it back Do Not run the motor until you have brakes !

[Mefirst]

Damn, that suck... I am sorry about your bad luck... I hope youll get the girl back on the road again...

/Tom

[Highbanked Hauler]

It'll need a few hours on the frame machine and some sheet metal work and you will be OK.I hit a guardrail square on with my Charger and tried to climb over it a few years ago so I know where you are comming from.  Accidents do happen thats why they are called accidents

[blackcharger]

I was moving a '67 Charger I was fixing up without brakes. Just a short distance w/o brakes. Did it several times with no trouble.Did it one time too often and bashed into the side of the trailer I was living in. Put a hole in the tailer, and mashed a fender, but it was junk anyway. Just looking at your pics, the passenger 1/4 looks OK. Trunk lis, tail light panel, priobably trunk floor need replaced. The frame shouldn't tkae much to pull. I worked in a tractor trailer body shop for a while. had big truck come in with really bad frame twists and bends. Put it on a puller and straiget as an arrow.
If you learn one thing from this, don't move the car with out service brakes. even if you han't panicked, the emergency brake won't always stop the car in reverse. Keep us updated.

[Danny Gutierrez]

Ouch that stings!!!  Don't be so hard on yourself.  Stuff happens and nobody was hurt.  Just a few months ago I lost a front wheel becuase I forgot to to tighten the lug nuts after a brake job!!!!!  Sure it's gonna take $$$$ and time but it can be fixed.  When I posted a thread about losing my wheel one of the responses that really got my attention was from Bull, and he stated that nobody is perfect and we all screw up on occasion.  Just be sure to post some pics of the repair so we can all follow along in your Charger's progress.  She's gonna be nice when you're done.

[rt green]

ouch!!! well, all i can say to try and cheer you up is you have a charger and it runs!  some menbers on this board cant say that.    best of luck to ya. i know it'll be sharp when your done

[Shakey]

It don't look too bad.

[Mike DC]

 
I also think it's not TOO bad.  Enough to ruin your month for sure, but not to ruin your whole project.

---------------------------------------------------------

Get it professionally pulled on a frame machine.  They can probably get it straight enough to save the original quarters.  You should be able to get this done for less trouble than most of us, since you've got such a low-rust car to work with.  Professional shops will actually want to work on it and actually want to do a good job (unlike when you bring them a rustbucket). 

Just make it clear to the shop, as politely as possible, that you ARE NOT working under any time or money constraints on this job, you just want it fixed as PERFECTLY as possble.  (If you're a young kid, the last thing you want them thinking is that you just wanna get it back on the road as fast as possible.)  Talk to them casually about the amount of resto work you've been doing/planning, and all the detail-oriented resto parts you've been ordering, etc.  Say things like "Man, this thing has already been so much money and so much time . . . at this point I just wanna end up with everything done RIGHT, no matter how much more it costs."


Remember, having a little body filler on the quarters or rear panels isn't inherently evil when it's used for SMOOTHING purposes like it was originally intended for.  Heck, plenty of us are buying used front fenders these days that need just as much straightening as those quarters, and we're happy to get "decent, workable" ones. 

 

[70charginglizard]

  Man that sucks but like most everyone else here is saying "at least you were not hurt" Things can be repaired and like you said. Its given you the inspiration to proceed forward with the restoration then there must have been a reason for it happening. Now you can go forward without any second thoughts.
Good luck and were all here for you if you need any advice.

[DodgeChargerNeeded]

Thats one thing that freaks me out about cars, especially old cars is having poor brakes or no brakes at all. Very scary because you have little to no control over a big car like a charger and on a slope it spells trouble but accidents do happen and you learn from them.

[Blakcharger440]

Yep, that sucks but live and learn and then move on. You will get it fixed and back on the road for some serious driving! 

[TheGhost]

Hell, some of us (definatly not me...) still make mistakes like that.


Don't be too hard on yourself.

[Steve P.]

Just be glad it didn't take off on you while you were IN the garage with the door open!!!!

What color will you be painting her??

[Zentelis]

Thanks for the well wishes, guys!
I'm waiting to hear from the body shop..it'll probably be next week 'till the estimator gets back to me. I asked them not to do anything until I talk to him personally. They're going to want to replace the bumper, tail lights, gas tank, etc, but I already have all those parts in my garage.

Mike, I did originally impress upon them that they should take their time and do it right, not fast. Thanks for the tip about the bondo, though, I'll be sure to tell them that!

Let me tell ya, it still hurts to look at those pictures.

Steve, I'll be painting her black at first..probably a single-stage paint until I get the hang of it. Then I'll try clear-coating with a QQ1 blue-pearl flake (to retain a "nostalgic" link to the original color )

Again, thanks alot for the support..I was terrified I'd be kicked out of the community!

[Brock Samson]

them are some nice GTs in the pic..
them yours?..

(again I'm sorry for your Chargers' accident.  )

[Zentelis]

yeah, the yellow Stealth is my mom's. The red Stealth TT and VR-4 Spyder are mine. My mom also owns a pearl yellow Spyder SL..only 5 in that color were ever produced..

what can i say, my family likes rare cars

[Zentelis]

Update:
The body shop called today:
"It's pretty bad"
and
"We can't get parts"

They want me to find the parts, then _maybe_ they can fix it.

I was looking for donor cars yesterday, or part-outs, but I didn't find any that weren't already sold..
where the heck do I find body parts for this car?

I've looked at Shermans...but are they going to have everything I need? The body shop didn't even tell me what I'd need..they just said "we can't save any of the metal". This was a phone message, so I'm going to have to wait all damn weekend until I can call them on monday..I feel sick enough..i don't want to wait 3 days to call them.

[blackcharger]

I wouldn't be so quick to buy the "can't save any of the metal" As others have said, at least the passenger 1/4 looks saveable. The trunk lis,tail light panel, etc, yeah they're done for.Definetly get a second, maybe a third opinion of your baby.Between year one, Paddock, Shermans, and used parts, there is none of that damage that can't be replaced. And it doesn't have to cost you your first born for the parts. Deals are out there. Shop around for them.

Dave

[dodge freak]

Find another shop ! Pay them for the tow and what they did and cut your lost before it keeps going. They might charge you for storing it over the weekend, so what, pull it out of there! A good shop would have at least call and spoke to you. They must just do insurance work on new cars. Find a shop that likes to work on old cars. They are just going to rip you off.

[dodge freak]

We took a 2000 Buick to a rad shop 2 years ago cause it was running hot sometimes. They call a hour later said the intake gasket was leaking and it cost $700 to fix it. I ran over there and paid them $65 for looking at it and took it home. I started looking at it myself, find out from the shop books the fan has a low speed and a high speed setting. I bought new Fan relays for it 3 @ $20 each and it was fine for 2 years till we sold it a few weeks ago. This shop was great 5 years ago now there was new guys in it and I would never go back.

[terrible one]

I also think that you should take it to a different shop, at least to get their opinion. If worse comes to worse, you still shouldn't have much problem finding metal between repro parts, this board, and Ebay. Deck lids come up on Ebay pretty frequently. The tail panel shouldn't be too hard to find either.

[89MOPAR]

   That sucks, probably anything you do bad to the car after this can't match the pain and embarrassment, so at least it's over with.

Bad for the loss of survivor also. I owned one, and the responsibility to keep it as pristine as possible is rough, no doubt.

That is why I would never buy, rent , or  live in a house with an angled driveway near the garage.

At least you did not hit either Stealth / 3000....

Was it insured ??

[Charger_Fan]

I agree with these guys, definitely get a second (or 3rd) opinion.

[chrisII]

ill add a bonehead move of my own. a few years ago i was unloading my race car from the trailer in my driveway. I had unchained it and for whatever reason wanted to just move it back a few inches.so i pop it out of park and give it a small push. the car gets onto the trailer ramp and i toss it back in park...too late its not guna stop! it did as it hit my neighbors fence and the corner of my faradge at the same time. messing up the fence pretty badly and really busting up the corner of my 2 year old (at the time) garadge. it didnt hurt the car, but did nothing to help the neighbors who already did not like the race car! i was able to fix the garadge (itll never be right but ooh well) and the fence but i can deffinately relate to fealing like a bonehead..ruins your whole day.

[dodge freak]

I am sure my neighbors love my car also. Once my Holley's needle  clog up and my car stalled coming down the street. Was able to open the hood , take the needle and seat out and put in back in and push the secondary pump once to help start it. It fire back up but I felt like a idiot the whole time working on it. All my neighbors have 1-3 year old cars, that never do that. Cheer up, you will get it fix and move on. Still don't think it looks so bad.

[Mopar440+6]

Zentelis, I am so sorry to hear about your Charger. I also wrecked my car (not the Charger) this week. I sent you a PM about some of the parts. If you need any help let me know.

[70charginglizard]

http://www.chargerspecialties.com/

Should have some of the needed sheet metal...if you decide not to try to salvage the bent stuff.

[70charginglizard]

http://www.jimsautoparts.com/body.htm


These guys sell a lot of sheet metal as well for the charger.

Good luck and keep your chin up.

[4cruzin]

Thats a sad story . . .    Hopefully not too much to fix.   

[sixpack70]

I have three bonehead driveway stories. One I had my wifes 97 cobra in the driveway, I pulled the ebrake but didnt have it all the way up. My driveway is slanted and I needed to jack up one side to look at a suspension part and spin the tire to check for any issues. Well it was fine and I lowered it. It hit the ground and I took my hand off of the car, it started to roll. I said a cuss word or two and ran around the front of the car as it had too much momentum for my 220lbs to stop. I was able to get int othe drivers seat and slam the brake.

Other story was with my 69 mach 1. I had it in the driveway idling with the ebrake on. I went to run through my front door and open the garage so I could park the car. When I went into the garage I noticed I didnt hear the car outside anymore. I though oh no someone snagged it in the 10 seconds I was walking through the house. I open the garage door and hear the slight rumble of my car. I rolled down the driveway and down the street. It hit a curb and stopped in some rocks narrowly missing a palm tree. I felt so stupid! I was lucky there was no damage.

Now the third one is the charger. I was unloading it off of a trailer first day I had it. It had brakes when it was loaded on the trailer, but had st some point decided to fail along the trip. So we pushed the car off of the trailer and it didnt stop. It slammed into the carport support smashing the rear quarter in. Its not too bad and I can fix it with some patient bodywork. Oh and last thing, I drove this car around the block without brakes. A little exciting but I used the clutch and gear to slow down. Didnt move faster than idle.

Lesson I learned, wont do that crap anymore! I hope you can find a way to get your car fixed. I know how you feel when your car gets damaged. It really sucks and can get you down. Keep your head up and look for parts. You never know, you might find more than just sheetmetal when you look and shop around. Could end up to be a great experience.

[Zentelis]

lizard, thanks for those extra links!

I just got back from the body shop. Pretty much everything needs to be replaced except the passenger 1/4 panel. He's also going to put the patch panel on for me.
He may be able to save the valance corners, too.
He ballparked $4000..but that's before he's gotten underneath.

I asked him if it can be fixed and he said "absolutely. The only thing that would prevent it from being fixed is a rusted frame"..and as far as I know, the frame is _not_ rusted.
He also said I was kinda lucky that the rear valance was so rusted..it took alot of the impact and probably saved the car from even more damage.

I'm still worried sick, though..he's going to put it up in the air today and get a good look to give me a proper estimate. He said $4000, but I'm guessing he'll say $8000.

Here's a little peice of news that made me feel a whole lot better..the driver's side quarter may not be original..he saw a seam under the C-pillar that indicates a replacement weld. I know it sounds silly, but I felt alot of relief when I heard it may not be the original panel. The passenger panel is original, but can be saved.

Here's the catch..he wants me to put brakes on it before they repair anything. They have to drive it up onto the frame machine and won't do it without brakes. I asked if he could put them on for me and he said it'd be cheaper for me if I towed it home and did it myself..that seemed like a pretty upstanding thing to say.
So, I'm ordering the kit today..It's gonna cost me a little extra in interest (I was waiting for a 0% intro credit card), but I just want to get this whole repair finished ASAP.

Thanks again for the support, guys..your stories have reminded me that I'm not alone
I'll keep everyone updated.

[moparguy01]

You can fix a rusted frame. We do it all the time at work. just did it on a 67 Mustang. rear rails and front rail, did a set on a 67 camaro not long ago either. You just gotta find shops who do this stuff everyday. Collision shops dont do good restoration work. Not trying to dig you guys in a collision shop or anything, but usually they dont want to do old cars cause its too much work and they dont make as much money off it.

[dodge freak]

They want you to take it out of there to have the brakes fix, great. Then drive to another shop and let them look at it. $4,000 is alot of money to just get it back like it was. Thats no paint right ?

I have no idea if you live in a small or big city, but there must be at least one other shop near by. Where I live by the Detroit area you can find all types of shops and all types of prices. The best are not the highest price also. I drove my car in to Detroit to have it painted, came out great for half the price the shops right by my house wanted.

[Zentelis]

Just a small update.
With the help of some members here (Especially Bryan, thanks man!!) I've finished gathering all the parts I'll need for the repairs. A lot of folks here who posted in this thread or in other threads gave me some leads on far less expensive parts than any one supplier could offer.
They're being shipping tomorrow and the repairs should start by next week!
Chances are I'll still need additional parts as they tear everything apart and find other little problems, but I don't think it should be more than a couple hundred dollars.

[greezygirl]

that is a heart break.
but youre not hurt so like my dad says,''shit happens kid.  now fix it."
also i have repaired panels in way worse shape.

[TylerCharger69]

yes...that really sucks.....but.....it can be fixed!!!   For the record.......I used some Year One quarter skins on some restos.....They fit pretty good for the most part with minor alterations   as far as the panel behing the window....There's a place that sells them, but I can't remember where...I'm sure someone will chime in on that one.

[Lord Warlock]

First you make a post to the 3Si threads (for all the rest here, 3Si is the largest 3000GT/Stealth forum around, and zent and I have been on there for about 5 years) , and it almost sounds like you pasted this one from that thread, got all the sympathy you could there, and now post it here so we can all feel bad for you again.  You my friend, are a glutton for guilt.  I feel bad for you, but my tears won't fall again...sorry, only one teardrop per forum lol. 

At least here on this site, you may be able to find the needed parts you need.  YES its ME....and yes, you've found my 2nd home lately. 

Lord Warlock

[1fine69]

damn sorry to hear about that. what a bummer time to pull up your sleeves and get to wrenchin again 

[myrtle]

Im sorry to hear,. I hopeit all works out,..
BUT ON A BRIGHTER SIDE,.. I may know of a way you could make a lil $$ to offset the repairs,...

Gimme some info on the two beautiful Stealths I see in the Background,..
They look like 2nd gens,.. RT/TT?
Im in th emarket for one,...

[Lord Warlock]

Plenty of RT TTs for sale on 3si.org.  However, I did find a brand new 893 mile original and another with 15k miles.  the 15k one is selling for 15k.  I posted a link in the classified section there.  Or you can search ebay.  There is no fee to join 3si.org, only if you want to post in the members section.  (I have a 1st gen TT i'll sell for restoration funds on the charger)

Lord Warlock

[Zentelis]

Gimme some info on the two beautiful Stealths I see in the Background,..
They look like 2nd gens,.. RT/TT?
Im in th emarket for one,...

Sorry, not for sale 
The red TT is my #2 dream car.
The yellow R/T is not a turbo and belongs to my mom.

But, like warlock said, you can find plenty on 3si.org and ebay. When you do find one, let me know (or warlock, i'm sure) and I'll do my best to give you my opinion on it..
Lord Warlock and I have been involved with these 3000GT/Stealths for a long time

[myrtle]

Allow myself.. to, introduce myself?

Ah its the original

VR4_007

long time member of 3SI

[Lord Warlock]

Hows the parts hunting going?  get em all delivered yet?  I just spent a good afternoon taking trim off and cleaning off the old mags on one side.  It sometimes amazes me how clean the old charger really is, not a single rust hole on any of the wheel openings or even rear lower quarters.  I've started working on the body, but can tell mine is going to take longer than a few weekends.  But at least I'm doing something on one of the toys now, better than wasting time indoors.  (its been too hot to play outside lately-just cooling off now)

Was the body shop willing to do the metalwork? Once you got most of the parts. 

LW
hey 007