Trackday crash – need advice

rdrr · 11:27 AM

Well, time to share some bad news. At a trackday in the rain, an unfortunate off track excursion ended in me hitting the kitty litter while going sideways – resulting in my car doing one complete roll.

First of all, I walked away with minor cuts from broken glass and some bruises. 911s are tough little cars and the race seat and six point harness kept me firmly in place during the roll. I am very lucky.

Now for some pictures. The faint of heart should look away.

edit: Images removed

The areas with the most damage are the roof, left door and left fender. The right side door has a dent, as does the right sill cover. The right fender appears to be only scratched. The front rubber spoiler and possibly the valance have taken a bit of a hit, but it doesn’t look bad.

From the door jambs back, the car looks fine. Front and rear bumpers are ok, the bonnet is fine, the tail is fine.

The windscreen shattered along with the passenger door window, but all other glass is OK (although the rear screen had popped out).

Visually the car looks straight. The panel gaps are all nice and even, except where there is panel damage.

The car starts and drives. The steering and suspension seem Ok, but haven’t been inspected at this point.

Now, my initial thoughts were that the car is a write-off and I would be best off selling it in parts or complete in order to partially fund the purchase of another car, or buying a tub and moving everything over.

However, the advice I’m getting so far is that the car is repairable and that it would be my best option. The roof would be cut off and replaced, along with the left door and fender.

What do you guys think? Once I make the decision on the basic direction, I’ll decide on whether to return the car to its pre-crash condition, or to sharpen it up as a more track focused car.

Fishcop · Fishcop's Garage

Hey Eckhard

Seriously tough luck mate. I think we're all feeling really bad for you.

I had a crawl around it on the day and agree that it is repairable. Paul Ford rolled his Turbo a couple of years ago at Classic Adelaide and has since rebuilt it to the amazing RSR replica we see at most track days. I hope he's reading and can chime in.

It is perhaps an opportunity to create something special if you're so inclined... I'd certainly look for a sunroof-less turret.

On the other hand - if you do want to get rid of the wreck - please PM me as I'd be happy to "tender' for it. Sorry if that sounds mercinary (I don't mean to come off like a seagull).

Keep on the look out on evilbay as rhd shells come up occasionally. There was one a few months ago from a stolen and stripped turbo.

If you want a hand with anything, don't hesitate to ask.

Cheers

rdrr · 11-20-2007, 12:46 AM

Hi John,

I have been getting a lot of calls and emails from club members. It is really great to be part of such a supportive group of people. I would like to get in touch with Paul Ford and have a chat about the process he went through with the rebuild of his car. If you have some contact details for him I would appreciate if you could PM me or email me on eschwarting@bigpond.com

I'll certainly let you know if i decide to sell it. At the moment I'm more inclined to repair it, but we'll see.

Thanks for offering help. I will definitely need help with this project!

Giantman · 11-20-2007, 12:58 AM

Sorry hear of you bad news Eckhard. Did that happen at a PCQ event? Which track?

Looks like a good opportunity to make something special and track oriented.

All the best with whatever you decide!

Fishcop · Fishcop's Garage

No worries - I have Paul's details and will forward them to you.

johndglynn · johndglynn's Garage

Ouch - bad luck Eckhard, glad you got out of it OK.

jester911 · jester911's Garage

Assuming the car is straight it probably is repairable. However the cost of doing it may be more than you will want to bear. What coverage do you have from your insurance co. since this was on a race track?

If you will be paying for this out of pocket you may want to get some estimates on repair costs before you make your decision. If you do decide to keep it and repair it while your have the roof off the car that would be a good time to consider welding in a cage. That is unless your not doing anymore track driving which would be understandable.

Good luck and let us know how it comes out.

hmd · 11-20-2007, 02:38 AM

Having had a recent race car incident, I feel for you.

My advice is to get an estimate as accurate as you can on the cost of repairs. Then turn it to a financial decision, i.e. cost of repairs versus cost of replacement car less parts sale from current car.

squerly · 11-20-2007, 02:54 AM

Oh my, that's terrible bad luck Eckhard. Something similar happened to me about 10 years ago but some trees kept the car from rolling. $4K later I was up and running but I never went to the track again on street tires. Good luck man, whichever way you decide to go...

MrPerkles · MrPerkles's Garage

Glad to see you walked away from that one,at least its only the car broken.Its a peice of metal it can be mended.

Dixie · Dixie's Garage

My deepest condolences.

Nothing else I can add that hasn't been stated here already.

David · David's Garage

Sorry to hear about this. Of course we all run that risk in tracking our cars.

If you do decide to make it more of a track car, it's easier to install a proper roll cage with the roof removed

.

89911 · 11-20-2007, 04:57 AM

You have some decisions to make. Everything is repairable. Chances are the frame is fine since you didn't impact with anything. The amount of damage is very extensive though. If you wanted to keep it, I would fix it as cost effective as possible and use it as a track car. If you tried to return it to it original state, you will be spending a large amount of money for a car that is going to be severely devalued because of the accident. You will never regain this back. Fine if you are never going to sell it. If not, you might want to cut your losses now.

NoLift911 · 11-20-2007, 05:31 AM

Major bad luck. My 02. There are plenty of rollers out there in much better shape and can be had for cheaper than your car fixed. Find a roller and take all your good parts off and swap them out.

(Maybe you can even take this opportunity to put the steering wheel on the correct side

)

aftermath · aftermath's Garage

Looks like time for a full cage and a FG roof

livi · 11-20-2007, 06:29 AM

That is awful. Glad to hear you are physically alright at least. Must be a heart braker to see such a wonderful machine in that state. Hope everthing turn out OK in the end.

911teo · 11-20-2007, 06:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nolift911

Major bad luck. My 02. There are plenty of rollers out there in much better shape and can be had for cheaper than your car fixed. Find a roller and take all your good parts off and swap them out.

(Maybe you can even take this opportunity to put the steering wheel on the correct side

)

Yup.. I don't know how many rollers you might have access to down under but the above is sound advice.

Also it will give you the opportunity to start fresh with a new tub.

Good luck whatever decision you may take and I am really glad you are fine!

Dantilla · 11-20-2007, 08:58 AM

A friend bought an '84 that had been rolled on the track from an auction. He had a new roof welded on, and drove it for several years. He finally sold it just a week or two ago.

JMatta · 11-20-2007, 09:54 AM

Very terrible luck my friend...never go into the kitty litter sideways! Easy for me to say, but I've seen it time and again.

rdrr · 11-20-2007, 03:50 PM

Thanks everybody. Some good advice here - as usual!

I am in the process of getting a few quotes from 2-3 different places. This will be coming out of my own pocket, so I will then have to carefully do the numbers and try to remain as objective as possible - as difficult as that may be. At the moment I'm feeling quite attached to the car - it did save my life. I will keep you informed.