My 86.5 has finally met its demise
04-13-2005, 04:22 PM
#1
Three Wheelin'
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My 86.5 has finally met its demise
No, my motor didn't blow up.
I was driving down PCH. It was about 9:45PM. I had just left Chris' (CMW) and was on my way to get some food with my girlfriend. The posted speed limit was 35mph, but everyone knows that when the streets are empty, 45-50 is a very acceptable speed for this road. I do not recall the speed I was driving when this all happened, but a police officer estimated me to be going about 40mph. I personally believe I was doing 45.
The road was 3 lanes, a center divide, then 3 opposing-traffic lanes. I came upon a small hill of sorts where I could not see beyond it, and visibility was low. As soon as I got over, I noticed a teen (likely 18-19 yrs old) with a skateboard had just left the curb from the right (it was NOT at an intersection, it was j-walking). My first reaction was to begin to veer left because the kid would see me and get back on the curb. The kid made it into the 2nd lane, and almost into the 3rd lane (close to the center divide, he would have been home free). I immediately realized that if I continued on my current path, I would hit him. I quickly made a correction and began driving to the right (towards the curb). At this instant, the kid FINALLY noticed me, and completely freaked out. He actually tried to go BACK to the curb, but ended up falling right in the middle of the street. His head was facing towards the 3rd left lane, his entire body was in the 2nd lane, and his foot was partially in the rightmost lane next to the curb.
I thought that if I had tried to make another correction and go for the leftmost lane (where there was slightly more room), there was a possibility I would hit his head and instantly kill him. I actually thought that I was going to run him over and there was nothing that I could do. I could see his face closing in rather quickly and I was aiming to get my car between his foot and the curb. I figured best-case scenario is that I would only break his foot/leg.
This had all happened over a timeframe of about 3 seconds. I had very little time to think and react.
Next thing I know, my car is right up against the curb and the pssgr-side/front tire grabbed and ended up bringing the entire car onto the sidewalk. I took out several signs, a historical columbus bell (the LAST one in the city), and I uprooted a tree.
The car had stopped after the tree and had lightly hit a wall. I immediately asked my girlfriend if she was ok. She said yes. My door would not open becuase a tree was in the way. I checked to make sure my girlfriend's door would open, then I climbed out of the window to look for the kid. I walked all the way down the street and could not find him. Apparently, he ran and nobody saw where he ran to. A new Carrera 4S that had been driving close to me had witnessed the entire thing and stopped for me. They mentioned that I did indeed miss the kid.
Shortly, police arrived, a fire truck, and some cleanup crews. My 2 best friends both came and took some pictures and helped me gather my things from my car. Everybody who witnessed the accident said that the kid should have died and couldn't believe that I was able to miss him. They also couldn't believe that both my girlfriend and I were able to walk away. I told them all that it was because of the 928 and I was buying another one as soon as I could come up with the money. Several police officers were admiring the car and talked about how the 928 was so bad-*** with its V8 back in the day.
At the end of the day, I was able to get it towed back to my garage and plan to part it out. Don't get too many ideas about the motor/tranny though, I think I have plans for them.
At this point, I don't even care about the car. All I can think about is my girlfriend and the kid. I wouldn't be able to deal with myself if anything had happened to her.
There are more pics in here:
http://www.nauticaltech.com/~mike/in...?object_id=515
I was driving down PCH. It was about 9:45PM. I had just left Chris' (CMW) and was on my way to get some food with my girlfriend. The posted speed limit was 35mph, but everyone knows that when the streets are empty, 45-50 is a very acceptable speed for this road. I do not recall the speed I was driving when this all happened, but a police officer estimated me to be going about 40mph. I personally believe I was doing 45.
The road was 3 lanes, a center divide, then 3 opposing-traffic lanes. I came upon a small hill of sorts where I could not see beyond it, and visibility was low. As soon as I got over, I noticed a teen (likely 18-19 yrs old) with a skateboard had just left the curb from the right (it was NOT at an intersection, it was j-walking). My first reaction was to begin to veer left because the kid would see me and get back on the curb. The kid made it into the 2nd lane, and almost into the 3rd lane (close to the center divide, he would have been home free). I immediately realized that if I continued on my current path, I would hit him. I quickly made a correction and began driving to the right (towards the curb). At this instant, the kid FINALLY noticed me, and completely freaked out. He actually tried to go BACK to the curb, but ended up falling right in the middle of the street. His head was facing towards the 3rd left lane, his entire body was in the 2nd lane, and his foot was partially in the rightmost lane next to the curb.
I thought that if I had tried to make another correction and go for the leftmost lane (where there was slightly more room), there was a possibility I would hit his head and instantly kill him. I actually thought that I was going to run him over and there was nothing that I could do. I could see his face closing in rather quickly and I was aiming to get my car between his foot and the curb. I figured best-case scenario is that I would only break his foot/leg.
This had all happened over a timeframe of about 3 seconds. I had very little time to think and react.
Next thing I know, my car is right up against the curb and the pssgr-side/front tire grabbed and ended up bringing the entire car onto the sidewalk. I took out several signs, a historical columbus bell (the LAST one in the city), and I uprooted a tree.
The car had stopped after the tree and had lightly hit a wall. I immediately asked my girlfriend if she was ok. She said yes. My door would not open becuase a tree was in the way. I checked to make sure my girlfriend's door would open, then I climbed out of the window to look for the kid. I walked all the way down the street and could not find him. Apparently, he ran and nobody saw where he ran to. A new Carrera 4S that had been driving close to me had witnessed the entire thing and stopped for me. They mentioned that I did indeed miss the kid.
Shortly, police arrived, a fire truck, and some cleanup crews. My 2 best friends both came and took some pictures and helped me gather my things from my car. Everybody who witnessed the accident said that the kid should have died and couldn't believe that I was able to miss him. They also couldn't believe that both my girlfriend and I were able to walk away. I told them all that it was because of the 928 and I was buying another one as soon as I could come up with the money. Several police officers were admiring the car and talked about how the 928 was so bad-*** with its V8 back in the day.
At the end of the day, I was able to get it towed back to my garage and plan to part it out. Don't get too many ideas about the motor/tranny though, I think I have plans for them.
At this point, I don't even care about the car. All I can think about is my girlfriend and the kid. I wouldn't be able to deal with myself if anything had happened to her.
There are more pics in here:
http://www.nauticaltech.com/~mike/in...?object_id=515
04-13-2005, 04:32 PM
#4
Burning Brakes
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Mike,
I'm glad you & your girlfriend are ok. That is some story. Naturally the kid didn't stick around but it is good that you had witnesses. Sucks . . another shark bites the dust. That was S/C'd right?
I'm glad you & your girlfriend are ok. That is some story. Naturally the kid didn't stick around but it is good that you had witnesses. Sucks . . another shark bites the dust. That was S/C'd right?
04-13-2005, 04:34 PM
#5
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I am glad you and the g/f are ok.....the kid too I guess. A world class had to get destroyed so another teenager could prove how stupid they can be. Paying ZERO attention when crossing a street.
I feel your pain as my 87 got wrecked because of another stupid driver.
I am sorry man!
04-13-2005, 04:42 PM
#7
928 Barrister
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Glad you both are OK. I feel your pain, though not as intense as a similar incident occurred in my life. In a Plymouth Fury (road runner variety) I was passing a line of cars when all of a sudden one of the cars in the middle of the pack decided she would like to pass the ones in front of her. I was committed to considerable speed as I was almost on her rear quarter, and when she pulled out saw her head and face and had only two choices: nail her directly in her driver's door probably killing her, or veer to the left and nail a telephone pole head on on the left side of the road. I chose the pole. The Fury was not too badly smashed. The insurance company told me "Next time hit her so we can be certain it was really her fault". Heartless bastards they are for sure.
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04-13-2005, 04:42 PM
#8
Amazing reactions considering the amount of time you had to make a decision, and what an amazing car to be able to respond to them.
Seeing the pictures makes me want to cry.
Seeing the pictures makes me want to cry.
04-13-2005, 04:47 PM
#10
Drifting
Glad to hear you are alright. Must be the color of the car. I totalled my '86 Prussian Blau two year ago. Young girl maybe 18 pulled out in front of me. See my Avatar
04-13-2005, 04:55 PM
#12
Supercharged
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A similar thing happened to me when i was 16 - only difference was that it was a Country Squire station wagon and I was the kid! Oh yeah, and the car did NOT miss. I was pretty banged up. Obviously I lived, but it sucked. Driver was speeding 40 in a 25 with the sun in his eyes. I was walking to the bus stop. Glad I lived.
Sucks about the car, but glad everyone is alive and undamaged. Hope your ins co works with you. You will roll again. No question about it. Once you've been bitten by a shark, it's like reverse fishing - you're the one hooked for life!
Nice photo's BTW.
If those are H4's, can I have first dibs? Hell, if they're H5's I'd be interested.
Sucks about the car, but glad everyone is alive and undamaged. Hope your ins co works with you. You will roll again. No question about it. Once you've been bitten by a shark, it's like reverse fishing - you're the one hooked for life!
Nice photo's BTW.
If those are H4's, can I have first dibs? Hell, if they're H5's I'd be interested.
04-13-2005, 05:01 PM
#14
Supercharged
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You might want to contact SHARKS here on rennlist (his name is Mark). He has a red 86.5 auto. VERY CLEAN that he'll probably be looking to sell around June time frame. I'll let him tell you why. Thought you might want to know in case you are interested.
-Andrew
-Andrew
04-13-2005, 05:01 PM
#15
Three Wheelin'
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Thank you for all the replies. Considering the circumstances and the outcome, its safe to say that it could have been MUCH MUCH worse. I prefer not to look back though. I truly believe that there was nothing more I could have done in that situation.
At this point, I just want to move forward and get everything taken care of. I will be parting out the car, go ahead and PM me with your requests. I'll make a thread about the SC kit because i'll probably be selling it first since I was going to buy a twinscrew/intercooled kit from Andy. I'm almost certain that i'm keeping the tranny. I will most likely be keeping the motor too unless someone REALLY wants it... It has low compression in 1 cyl (edit: this was BEFORE the supercharger install. I did another comp test after about 8k miles of driving and the compression numbers were about the same), but has proven to make 345rwhp on the dyno with just under 5psi of boost... so it can't be THAT bad. I can't possibly be without a 928.. so hopefully I can get behind the wheel of one within a couple months. No hate for the 16v guys, but i'm only looking for 32v and newer. I need a car that is pretty much solid and looks nice... I feel that I put too much money into my 86.5 to make it run reliably.
Thanks again.
At this point, I just want to move forward and get everything taken care of. I will be parting out the car, go ahead and PM me with your requests. I'll make a thread about the SC kit because i'll probably be selling it first since I was going to buy a twinscrew/intercooled kit from Andy. I'm almost certain that i'm keeping the tranny. I will most likely be keeping the motor too unless someone REALLY wants it... It has low compression in 1 cyl (edit: this was BEFORE the supercharger install. I did another comp test after about 8k miles of driving and the compression numbers were about the same), but has proven to make 345rwhp on the dyno with just under 5psi of boost... so it can't be THAT bad. I can't possibly be without a 928.. so hopefully I can get behind the wheel of one within a couple months. No hate for the 16v guys, but i'm only looking for 32v and newer. I need a car that is pretty much solid and looks nice... I feel that I put too much money into my 86.5 to make it run reliably.
Thanks again.