WARNING: DISTURBING IMAGES inside of my '69 Charger....

[Dino]

I am really glad you're still around to tell and in one piece!  I'm so sorry to see your pride trashed but it truly is replacable and you are not.

Do make sure your health is top priority and if you don't trust your doctors, get second and third opinions!  I'm in health care and see tragedies that could have been prevented way too much. 

[resq302]

   speechless....... absolutely speechless.   glad you are for the most part ok!

[miller]

I am glad your okay, I think all of us here should take note and look twice before we take a green light.

One thing, why did you have a steel wheel on your car in the wrecked photos?

[elanmars]

I had a cracked rim from a few weeks ago, so I've been driving around with the spare.

thanks for the good vibes though. that goes for everyone.

the search for a new car begins...argh...so if anyone knows any good deals on a 68-69, or even other years, including coronets/satellites-roadrunners, holler please. just looking for something decent, not needing much body work, maybe needing paint (i can go with flat black for a while, as i like that look). doesn't matter if it has engine and trans, as this would be my opportunity to go the 5.7/6.1 route...

[Chryco Psycho]

My 71 R/T Charger clone is available , fully restored
440 4spd, pistol grip ,front disc , 8 3/4 rear ,
http://www.cuda-challenger.com/cc/index.php?topic=75467.0

[greenpigs]

 

If your typing the story in you can't be in too bad of health.....that's a GOOD thing.

I skipped a few pages as it is depressing to read but will you be ale to get a comparable Charger with the insurance check?

FWIW I liked your Charger as it being white is a rare thing.

[elanmars]

i can get on a computer, watch tv but pretty much can only really chill/rest/sit down...but even sitting and laying down can hurt unless i do it certain ways. i will have surgery for small fractures in my face, otherwise if they were to heal naturally, i could develop double vision down the road, as well as have a wonky eye...don't want double vision nor a wonky eye, no thanks!

so yeah i survived and i'm not as bad as it could have possibly been, specially looking at the damage...but by no means i'm fine or in good condition, definitely battle damaged, can't walk far (walking around/moving, it's "ow ow ow" for the most part, as i walk like a zombie currently), can't do much, back and neck hurt, legs, my left hand for some reason...all the drugs i'm taking really just keep the discomfort at bay, not really getting rid of it all the way. i'm bummed the rest of the school semester is off for me, can't work at all, be it my part time job or photography, can't watch my daughter properly, can't go out much, can't really hang out with friends unless they come over (and a few of them have and it's been pretty awesome i must say) doctors said 6-8 weeks recovery with my condition.

but i'm very lucky and grateful. some of that may sound whiney but it's just the truth. i'm just not the type to complain much and just roll with it, there's not much i can do but chill and take it easy. i can go online for a bit, edit photos, watch tv and catch up with some tv shows and movies, reading...i'd much rather none of this had happened but oh well!

with the Charger, i had full coverage. adjustor is supposed to come out within a day. not sure how all of that works because i've never been in this situation but i've been told they'll also cover contents inside of the car-i had my canon 5D mark 2 camera, which is not cheap and it's useless now. does anyone know what kind of percentage the insurance gets if I decide to keep the wreck? there's still a lot of good stuff in there and it can be stored in one of my friend's places with other mopars, and if i need a part here and there or sell some to people that need them, well that'd be great i guess.

the chargers i'm looking at are more in the 5-15k range, a base car. i'm not a numbers matching, real r/t, 440 type guy because those kind of cars aren't really affordable for me-plus every Charger i've owned, i've made into a daily driver. unless i had a modern dodge challenger as my daily, i just dislike the idea of these cars to sit and barely be used, for me. others can do as they wish with their cars but me...i love to drive them. so yeah, not trying to find something too nice or all the way restored. something in between, something i can do as i'd like paint and mechanically wise. something that's not super rusty, with solid frame rails and floors, good interior, not needing a lot of repair bodywise. not too concerned with the mechanical aspect as my plan is to drop a 5.7/6.1-and if not, well, i'll find a small block as my daily and eventually get a big block for fun .

i also loved the white, it stood out at night, the color complimented all the body lines greatly and when i had tint on it, it looked even sweeter and more sinister. just a month ago i had finally gotten all the mechanical gremlins out of the way. i paid a lot for this car and pretty much had to replace/restore/repair almost everything mechanically minus the engine. the work that had been done to this poor car previously was atrocious and a time bomb-sure, things worked okay for a while but once they started going out and we started looking at what was going on, it just blew our minds how half-assed the work to this car was. one thing goes out and it just started a chain reaction. it has been so ridiculous. i've never seen so many splices done to a car either, that was amazing. the amount of junk that was in the transmission and gas tank was incredible. i really should have taken pictures of all that while it was going on but i do have a long list somewhere of everything i did. i just have to find it.

[Brock Samson]

How about some Photos of your Nurses?.. 

[elanmars]

i can definitely put up some photos of friends and models i've worked with haha...

my dear nichole is actually a nurse-too bad not at the same hospital i was at, she would have cheered me up big time, awesome woman.

this is a Charger I saw in a parking lot one day hanging out with her, back when I had a '73. I guess Brock Samson was on a mission in New Orleans!!

[Brock Samson]

yeah, she's my Fav. of all the Girls you've posted over the Yrs. AMazing Bone Structure! 

[elanmars]

she sure does!

found this about my car, with my pics:

http://www.ridelust.com/a-sad-ending-to-a-beautiful-classic/

too bad i don't have my photography website running yet, as i could have asked for credit and a link for advertisement. oh well.

i also wonder how a modern car would fare in such a situation. some of the comments here have piqued my curiousity.

guess my next car will need a roll cage and "death proof" it a bit...

[bull]

she sure does!

found this about my car, with my pics:

http://www.ridelust.com/a-sad-ending-to-a-beautiful-classic/

too bad i don't have my photography website running yet, as i could have asked for credit and a link for advertisement. oh well.

i also wonder how a modern car would fare in such a situation. some of the comments here have piqued my curiousity.

guess my next car will need a roll cage and "death proof" it a bit...

It looks like that might have been written by Mike (Mr Angry) but I'm not sure. Whomever it was that wrote it, I wonder what training the author has undergone and what insight he has into your specific crash to be able to come to the conclusion he has? He says he recently "came across these pictures" and yet he claims to know that a modern car would have done better in the crash. I'll readily admit that in many cases, a modern car is most likely going to be the safer vehicle in a crash, but there's not enough specific evidence to conclude such a notion with the amount of certainty the author has in this particular case. All he can know for certain is what the pictures show; that a 69 Charger was destroyed.

[hemi-hampton]

Modern cars are made with Crush zones. This way the car gives away & folds up like a Pretzel. Thus the cars takes most of the impact & less on the occupant. The older cars with no crush zones did not fold up like a pretzel & they held up better but more impact was absorbed by the occupant. In this case as hard as the impact was I think the newer Modern car would be so far gone & folded up to smithereens & nothing left. Occupant would not have survived if this was a newer modern car in my opinion.  LEON.

P.S. No Engineer but I've worked on several smashed cars on frame machine

[tan top]

Modern cas are made with Crush zones. This way the car gives away & folds up like a Pretzel. Thus the cars takes most of the impact & less on the occupant. The older cars with no crush zones did not fold up like a pretzel & they held up better but more impact was absorbed by the occupant. In this case as hard as the impact was I think the newer Modern car would be so far gone & folded up to smithereens & nothing left. Occupant would not have survived if this was a newer modern car in my opinion.  LEON.

P.S. No Engineer but I've worked on several smashed cars on frame machine

yeah i think your right Leon    modern car would of been completely destroyed !!  just a  wadded up lump of scrap !!
or like when you see a aeroplane wreckage scattered all over the place 

[elanmars]

thanks for the insight on that. i was hit on full force by a chevy dually, going 70+ mph. so while i'm no expert on what kind of impact modern cars can absorb and take, i can't imagine a modern car being able to do far better than my Charger.

[Brock Samson]

 If it was a smaller car. things might've been a lot closer.. what ifs are for the birds - just glad your still with us - is all that really matters.

[bill440rt]

Modern cas are made with Crush zones. This way the car gives away & folds up like a Pretzel. Thus the cars takes most of the impact & less on the occupant. The older cars with no crush zones did not fold up like a pretzel & they held up better but more impact was absorbed by the occupant. In this case as hard as the impact was I think the newer Modern car would be so far gone & folded up to smithereens & nothing left. Occupant would not have survived if this was a newer modern car in my opinion.  LEON.

P.S. No Engineer but I've worked on several smashed cars on frame machine

yeah i think your right Leon    modern car would of been completely destroyed !!  just a  wadded up lump of scrap !!
or like when you see a aeroplane wreckage scattered all over the place 

This is one area that I respectfully disagree. Yes, modern cars are designed with crumple zones allowing them to crush in a certain way. However, the way they are designed is to PROTECT the occupant cabin. Modern cars employ the  use of crumple zones, high strength & ultra-high strength steels to transfer collision energy around the occupant cabin & throughout the vehicle. Some metals are so hard, they cannot be repaired & must be replaced after a collision. Intrusion beams are also found inside panels, such as the inside of doors & sometimes quarter panels. No need to touch upon airbags here, either.
Older cars were made of mild strength, cold-rolled steel. The strength of metal was increased with the metal thickness, not molecular structure. There is NO side protection on older cars, Charger doors are just empty, hollow shells.

Bottom line is we can speculate all we want, I'm just happy to see elanmars alive & well.

[FlatbackFanatic]

But, side impact crashes on the newer cars has been very bad from what I've seen in books and T.V. Their just starting to get side impact airbags and making the sides ot autos better. I've seen some tests at 30mph side impact on newer cars, and they looked worse than elanmars Charger. Just my  . The metal used back in the day was alot heavier than what they use today. Heck, I can crease the side of my car by using my hand.

[leeandgrant]

SPEECHLESS...

I walked away from an accident four years ago plenty of people said I should have died in. I had one of those guardian angels looking over me that morning also.

Over the years as I get older is I become more and more of a defensive driver. Not saying that would have prevented your accident.

Another thing I noticed about your posts is the fact that you are already talking about getting back behind the wheel already.(when you are physically able to).  The mind may be a different thing though. Each situation is different. After my accident I found myself second guessing each turn of the wheel and just very skiddish.

Best wishes on a speedy and hopefully a full recovery.

[hemi-hampton]

Todays cars are made of tin foil. Most are unibodies like the old mopars. The HSS high strength steel frames might be tougher to bend but thats not going to do you any good being hit on the side by a big full sized Chevy dually Truck doing 70mph +. The HSS is surrounded by tinfoil. It's these Crush zones that make a car much more exspensive to fix since there is now much more damage to car which means these newer cars get totalled very fast & easy. The % to consider a car totalled was lowered. These new Saabs got Headlights that cost upto $1,000 each. A car will get exspensive to repair quick with $1,000 headlights, $1,000 front chrome Bumper or $3,000 front bumper on vette. Thats the way the big 3 wants it, thats why they make replacement parts so exspensive. So you can junk that new car & buy a new one. Keeps them in Business.    LEON.


P.S. Pic of eclipse after I pulled frame & repaired. $12,000+ in damage

[redmist]

These old cars are cool, but ARE NOT more safe then any modern car...  at ANY angle of a hit, sorry folks! I love them also, but the old "I would rather be in an old car wrapped in iron." Is right up there with the "I would rather be thrown clear of the accident then wear a seatbelt." statement. Just silly!   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joMK1WZjP7g

[magnumminded]

These old cars are cool, but ARE NOT more safe then any modern car...  at ANY angle of a hit, sorry folks! I love them also, but the old "I would rather be in an old car wrapped in iron." Is right up there with the "I would rather be thrown clear of the accident then wear a seatbelt." statement. Just silly!  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joMK1WZjP7g

First off I wanted to say glad to hear you are okay. Sorry to see the car but, it can replaced. I hope you have a speedy recovery. I see a Louisiana plate here so the potential good news is that even if the other guy may of not had insurance your insurance company should take care of your medical bills I believe. If it goes over your PIP limits then his insurance or uninsured portion of your policy should take care of you.

Second, off the video posted above is not a 100%. Have you ever seen the frame of a 59 Impala?




I think your Charger faired better than this 69 Road Runner but, not by much.

[RallyeMike]

To deny that 40+ years of science, testing, and increasing stringent requirements for safety improvements is just completely ridiculous. A car near equal size to a Charger produced today is much safer in a collision. This looked like a complete 90 degree T-bone, which spread the impact as evenly as possible. Also, a Charger is pretty big car, which is certainly an advantage. Lastly, good fortunes smiled upon elanmars that day.

Thanks for the update. Hang in there!

[bull]

To deny that 40+ years of science, testing, and increasing stringent requirements for safety improvements is just completely ridiculous. A car near equal size to a Charger produced today is much safer in a collision.

You're the first one to say anything about equal size since the mini-debate started. I still say it's presumptuous to believe all modern cars will fare better than all old cars in a crash. All things being equal, I don't doubt a modern car will save the occupants a lot more grief. But things aren't always equal. If I knew I were going to get T-boned like elanmars did I'd much rather be in a '68 Charger than a '91 Yugo, and I'd probably rather be in '91 Tahoe than a '68 Charger. There are other potential factors too. I'd rather be a 20-year-old getting smacked in a old Charger than an 80-year-old getting smacked in a new Tahoe. I just don't think anyone can make a credible, blanket statement about a specific crash without knowing all the facts and comparing things equally.

The last major car crash I saw was a head-on between a mid-'70s Ford pickup and a early-'00s Jeep Cherokee, probably at about 25 mph. Both drivers walked away fairly unscathed but the Jeep looked like it had hit a brick wall at 50 while the Ford didn't look like it had been hit at all. I remember looking around to see if there was another car involved but then noticed some slight damage on the pickup and realized it was what had hit the Jeep.

[C5X DAYTONA]

Well put Bull.       Elanmars....  You sir are one lucky man.   That fact that you are hear with us is a miracle from the man above..   Seeing those pictures makes me sick to my stomach.  I don't care what kind of car you are in.  New or old.  No car is made to survive a 70mph impact.   At any angle.   Let alone save the driver from certain death from that speed..     To end this argument on new vs old crash.   Can someone donate an old Imperial to science..    I know they are banned in most demo derby's.  I don't think any new cars are......