Sad story Original owner daytona needs NOS parts Crash damage HELP!!

[gtx6970]

I know someone who can fix it and you would never know it was hit. He's not cheap by a long shot, but he's good.


http://www.ccookenterprises.com/

[pettybird]

Realistically, this was going to happen eventually. I am surprised that he hasn't stockpiled parts - just for this day of inevitability.

What are you trying to say?  Don't ever drive your car unless you have $40,000 worth of parts in the basement?  Shit happens, and I'd be SICK if it did to me, but the car would be fixed and we'd move on.  Why live in fear of something that may or may not happen??  My family has more than 70,000 miles in wing cars, no accidents.  Maybe you can tell me when we're going to get hit and I just won't drive it that day. 

I can easily quintuple the number of accidents you posted, plus all of the cars lost when they were nearly new.  So what?  It's not inevitable by a long shot.  If it WAS we'd be crashing on a regular basis.  Two of your examples (at least!) happened more than 15 years ago! 

EVERY TIME YOU GET IN ANY CAR YOU PUT YOURSELF AT RISK.  It doesn't matter what you drive.  In a year this car will look better than it ever did. 

[Magnumcharger]

Realistically, this was going to happen eventually. I am surprised that he hasn't stockpiled parts - just for this day of inevitability.

What are you trying to say?  Don't ever drive your car unless you have $40,000 worth of parts in the basement?  Shit happens, and I'd be SICK if it did to me, but the car would be fixed and we'd move on.  Why live in fear of something that may or may not happen??  My family has more than 70,000 miles in wing cars, no accidents.  Maybe you can tell me when we're going to get hit and I just won't drive it that day. 

I can easily quintuple the number of accidents you posted, plus all of the cars lost when they were nearly new.  So what?  It's not inevitable by a long shot.  If it WAS we'd be crashing on a regular basis.  Two of your examples (at least!) happened more than 15 years ago! 

EVERY TIME YOU GET IN ANY CAR YOU PUT YOURSELF AT RISK.  It doesn't matter what you drive.  In a year this car will look better than it ever did. 

Dude...calm down. You're going to pop a brain pipe.

You want to argue? Go argue with yourself.
You want to talk? I'll talk.

You're a good driver? Probably. You think that this kind of thing doesn't happen? Sure it does.
What do you think the probability of this kind of thing happening is? Would you not agree that the incidence of it happening increases the more you drive?
Sure it will.

Ever drive a tractor trailer? Are you a professional driver? Even the best drivers have "stupid things" happen, often to them.
Statistically, the more you drive, the higher your chance of having an accident.
It's not a matter of "if", it's a matter of "when".

This guy has a nice Daytona Charger...and he drives it...a lot! His chances of having somebody hit his car is a lot higher than probably most of the guys that own these cars and only drive them on Sundays.

Should he have stockpiled parts - just in case? Why not?
Most of the guys here on this board will probably admit to having a small horde of spare parts for their cars, me included.

While I feel for this guy, and the state of his car, I'll repeat - I'm not surprised.

And I'm not surprised that somebody responded to my viewpoint like you did.

[nascarxx29]

After my Superbird got plowed into .I was going to take off the daytona orig nose .And run a glass one you could change over and over.And preserve the original pieces

[marty42]

Statistically, the more you drive, the higher your chance of having an accident.
It's not a matter of "if", it's a matter of "when".

So unless you have a basement full of NOS parts you shouldn't drive your car?  I don't have $30,000+ to spend on that.  Should I not drive the car? 

I really don't get your point, unless you're just rubbing statistics in the guy's face or "scare" others into leaving their cars parked.  Which is it?

[Magnumcharger]

Boy, you just don't get what I'm saying! 

1. I'm sorry this happened to the guy. Personally, I'd loose my mind if I had a car like that and it happened to me.
2. Carl has owned this car for 43 years, and has been driving it all that time, all over the country.
3. After this many years of driving this car what do you think the odds are that he's going to have an accident with it?

My thoughts: he's been driving it so long - without incident - that he's forgotten what could possibly befall it. He was in his comfort zone.
If you or me were to buy a car like this right now you can bet we'd be a whole lot more cautious about when and where we drove it.

Not to mention, like was said above, maybe we'd consider buying some "throw away" parts to install on it, just in case somebody runs into it.
I'm not saying the accident was his fault. I'm saying he should have been prepared for the possibility of it happening.

Moral of the story: If you have a valuable collector car, and you insist on driving it like it's your grocery getter, than don't be surprised when an idiot runs a light and wipes out your "investment".

[Old Moparz]

Boy, you just don't get what I'm saying!  

1. I'm sorry this happened to the guy. Personally, I'd loose my mind if I had a car like that and it happened to me.
2. Carl has owned this car for 43 years, and has been driving it all that time, all over the country.
3. After this many years of driving this car what do you think the odds are that he's going to have an accident with it?

My thoughts: he's been driving it so long - without incident - that he's forgotten what could possibly befall it. He was in his comfort zone.
If you or me were to buy a car like this right now you can bet we'd be a whole lot more cautious about when and where we drove it.

Not to mention, like was said above, maybe we'd consider buying some "throw away" parts to install on it, just in case somebody runs into it.
I'm not saying the accident was his fault. I'm saying he should have been prepared for the possibility of it happening.

Moral of the story: If you have a valuable collector car, and you insist on driving it like it's your grocery getter, than don't be surprised when an idiot runs a light and wipes out your "investment".

I see exactly where you're coming from & know you don't mean that we need a NOS warehouse at home.  

When I drove my Satellite Convertible daily in the 80's, I knew it would be a matter of time before some nimrod would slam it & ruin the car. I scavenged extra parts at junk yards & swap meets, & whenever I saw parts that weren't expensive I bought them. My biggest fear was having to spend months tracking things down & getting reamed by a vendor for parts that weren't being reproduced. I have 2 spare hoods including an air grabber, 5 or 6 doors, a full set of ragtop glass, a roof frame, 3 grille & head light bezel sets, a bunch of trim, & 4 or 5 valance & insert sets.

Unfortunately, Daytona noses aren't common or cheap, & probably not worth keeping a few handy. The good thing is that most of what we would ever need is now being made.

[pettybird]

Not to mention, like was said above, maybe we'd consider buying some "throw away" parts to install on it, just in case somebody runs into it.

If you have a bunch of NOS Daytona parts which are about to hit the tree lawn 'cause they're "throw away" PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE pm me!

[moparstuart]

let keep focus here and try and get the word out that carl needs parts for his baby 

[nascarxx29]

Ive been on the look out for NOS.Get the car fixed and back up with available repo parts .And find NOS here and there and store it away

[richRTSE]

Not to mention, like was said above, maybe we'd consider buying some "throw away" parts to install on it, just in case somebody runs into it.

If you have a bunch of NOS Daytona parts which are about to hit the tree lawn 'cause they're "throw away" PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE pm me!

I think he was referencing this...

After my Superbird got plowed into .I was going to take off the daytona orig nose .And run a glass one you could change over and over.And preserve the original pieces

Again, what a shame about the accident, I wish him good luck in the quest for replacement parts.

[Magnumcharger]

I hope Carl has noting but good fortune in the future with his Daytona, especially when dealing with his insurance company...

This accident damage, as bad as it appears, would likely have been considerably less on a car with a "real" front bumper.

On another thread, somebody asked what it would cost to clone a Daytona. Well, other than the wing and rear plug, this repair will likely be close to that cost.
On the upside (if there can be such a thing) this is probably the best time in recorded history to source parts for a Daytona restoration.

As a final note, having a car like a Daytona Charger is a privilage. Most of us here on this website would give our eyeteeth for the chance to own one, myself included.

Perhaps this accident might serve to remind all of us that these cars are really something quite special. And if you have one, to ensure that your insurance coverage is adequate before something nasty like this happens.

[RallyeMike]

Ouch. Hopefully he can find what he needs, but it won't be easy or cheap to say the least.

I agree with others here that it's fixable with the current parts and some fabrication. Not that it will be easy, but it's doable probably for less than the cost of NOS replacement of everything. At the very least, if the NOS stuff IS found, sell the wrecked stuff to  someone with some skills who can use them on another car.

[held1823]

i know of one car that has worn a '70 charger front end for so long, it would look weird if there was a nose back on it. hopefully this one is back together soon.

[Nassau1969]

moparstuart,
Please post some pictures of the car before this sad accident happened. I'm sick over those pictures. I need some better days pictures of the car to make me feel better. I cant even think of how you feel.  If I hit mega millions I buy the NOS parts for you and have it restored. Some nut ran a red light well that's justifiable to shoot.
Danny

[Mikesmoparperformance]

Damn that sucks!! Stupid drivers You don't ram a 69 daytona Good luck with finding parts repo parts are you're best go I think? But NOS Hmmm Those are  not cheap if you can find them!
Very nice color I love it!

Here are some nos parts but no Front nose !

NOS Parts

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php?action=printpage;topic=77694.0

[Mopar John]

ALL I CAN SAY IS OUCH! I will add the NOS parts to my search list and try to help find the parts!
MJ

[nascarxx29]

Damn that sucks!! Stupid drivers You don't ram a 69 daytona Good luck with finding parts repo parts are you're best go I think? But NOS Hmmm Those are  not cheap if you can find them!
Very nice color I love it!

Here are some nos parts but no Front nose !

NOS Parts

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php?action=printpage;topic=77694.0

The guy Ken S selling those NOS parts is a friend in my area

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,79434.msg892986/topicseen.html#msg892986

[moparstuart]

ALL I CAN SAY IS OUCH! I will add the NOS parts to my search list and try to help find the parts!
MJ

thanks john i know you have had great luck finding NOS stuff 

[nascarxx29]

Not much on ebay just lenses and 1 Nos light
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mopar-NOS-1969-Dodge-Daytona-Park-Light-lenses-69-NEW-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem5639b1dd4fQQitemZ370335145295QQptZVintageQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

[Mopar John]

Stuart,
Another thought comes to mind here? How about if Carl buys a clone that has original parts on it and switches them over to his original Daytona then buys repro parts to put the clone back on the road and drive it? Save the original car for special occaisions? Or it may pay to buy a low end Daytona and do this and then sell it? Nos parts are very expensive and cars are very low in price right now! Just throwing options out there!
MJ

[472 R/T SE]

Wow, very unfortunate.  Just glad he wasn't hurt, physically that is.


I have a near NOS grill, another bumper with braces, grill door motors', hood latch pieces.  Just about everything for the front except fenders for my Charger.  All for "just in case".

[pettybird]

Wow, very unfortunate.  Just glad he wasn't hurt, physically that is.


I have a near NOS grill, another bumper with braces, grill door motors', hood latch pieces.  Just about everything for the front except fenders for my Charger.  All for "just in case".

All of those parts are worth less than one NOS Daytona grille frame.  Things get expensive when you have a pointy nose.

I can understand how some would think that if you have a wing car, it would be no problem to have spares.  However, people who have had their cars FOREVER like Carl (or us) have had them so long that the car's been paid off for decades, and we simply don't have the money to warehouse a front end.  There is no way mom or I could buy a wing car today--if they hadn't done it 35 years ago we wouldn't have them.  Not everyone with a wing car has money--many just got kept by stubborn owners! 

If I was rich and bought a car tomorrow, I'd think hard about getting spares.  For us, it's just not a financial possibility, and Carl doesn't seem like the type to swim in a gold-plated swimming pool. 

[hemi68charger]

...  Not everyone with a wing car has money--many just got kept by stubborn owners!...

Ain't that the truth !!!!

[Dave Kanofsky]

...  Not everyone with a wing car has money--many just got kept by stubborn owners!...

Ain't that the truth !!!!

I can't even afford to pay attention!