Crashed my M491 on 1/1/15 run... Resurrecting "Herman"

[Paul491]

It was a clear, frosty morning in Southern Cal, a bit unusual. But hey, it's tradition making the early a.m. run with all the local guys on New Year's Day! My wife an I were on the road greeting the dawn heading for the rally point. Life's good. It was a small run, about twelve Porsches strong. All were having a great time flying through the canyons in North San Diego County. I was breaking hard downhill, swiftly approaching a blind right hander when an on coming truck suddenly appeared coming head on. No where to go, added more breaking, then the terminal slide on the narrow frosty black top... No time to react. BOOOM! then silence...




It was a hard hit. The windshield flew out as the front of the car crushed on impact. 1st, checked on wife, she's ok, tried to open the doors, no luck. By that time fellow Porsche friends were popping the doors open and disconnecting the cracked, leaking battery as the full fuel tank was leaking. An explosive situation. We literally walked away without a scratch, just bruised from the harnesses. A miracle indeed.



A few months earlier a good friend of mine, SWB Sam, recommended Brewster Industries in San Clemente as a good place for service and mods. Well known for their long involvement in racing, major repairs and restoration work, these guys were outstanding! Check out their work in Herman's engine room...



After the accident, I contacted Scott Brewster, who invited me to flatbed Herman, my '84 factory turbo look to their new facilities for an assessment. To my surprise and great relief, both he and his father, Bill, agreed that Herman could not only be saved, but returned to better-than-new condition. These folks have been a great asset in dealing with my insane insurance company. At this point, I am hoping the insurance company will offer enough $$ to fix the car...

[Bill Douglas]

I'm pleased you and your wife are OK. Sorry about Herman

So the truck was on the wrong side of the road coming around a blind corner?

[tips]

good to know your ok

[winders]

Was the truck in your lane or did you go into his lane?

[OldSpool87]

Oh man…glad you both are ok. Take your time with the car. I crashed mine in May 2014. Another Pelican gave me that same advice which kept me with the car. Good luck and keep us posted!

[slow&rusty]

Wow...a hard hit, but glad everyone is OK and looking forward to updated as the car is restored to its former glory.

[NYNick]

Thank God for the harnesses. Glad you're both ok.
Heartbreaking pics.
Nick

[ted]

Hope you can find a bunch of expensive Turbo Look comps to convince your insurance company to repair and not total it. Engine looks great!

[sleepy911]

Your lucky it was a truck and not a small compact car. You could have hurt someone or worse. I know these cars are fun to drive fast but to many people die every year because of this. And before you all fry me what would you say if your 16 year old daughter was driving that truck.

Please Be safe on the road and drive fast on the track.

[empeg9000]

Wow! That's a hard hit! I'm glad everyone is okay and your car will be up and running.

[wayner]

Originally Posted by sleepy911

Your lucky it was a truck and not a small compact car. You could have hurt someone or worse. .......

..... what would you say if your 16 year old daughter was driving that truck.

I would say that Winders raised an excellent question.
Depending on the answer your scorn may be misdirected at the wrong driver, but maybe you are right. We'll have to wait and see.

Originally Posted by winders

Was the truck in your lane or did you go into his lane?

[SiberianDVM]

Glad you are OK. Your damage looks very similar to the hit my 84 Targa took in November, but everyone I have talked to says my car should not be repaired.

Good luck.

[Lapkritis]

Glad to hear everyone is okay and interested to hear where on the road the impact occurred. From what I see with debris field on the pavement and resting location, it appears to have been an over-cooked corner with impact in the oncoming lane. Does the bra say "MOVE OVER" backwards? That would be fitting.

[mobius911]

Given that insurance companies are (still) involved, speculation on cause/blame and engaging the OP in these discussions is probably not a good idea. I think we can all agree with this statement, and focus the discussion on his car's resurrection:

Originally Posted by sleepy911

Please Be safe on the road and drive fast on the track.

[kshafer1]

Paul - I was behind you most of the morning on that drive and have to say it was a wonderful way to start the year until the accident. I'm glad to hear Herman is getting rebuilt and I look forward to seeing it completed!

Take care,

- Keith

[crustychief]

Dang Paul. I guess Herman will live again. I am glad you are ok. I have not seen herman in a while but the engine looks GREAT!!

[winders]

Originally Posted by mobius911

Given that insurance companies are (still) involved, speculation on cause/blame and engaging the OP in these discussions is probably not a good idea. I think we can all agree with this statement...

Oh, I suspect the evidence at the scene is pretty clear cut......

[Paul491]

1st, thanks for all your well-wishes for my wife, myself and of course, herman.

Just to let you know, I wasn't driving like a half-crazed mad man. I've owned herman since 1998 and have logged over 175,000 fun-filled miles for a total of 282,000 on the clock.

I was only going about 35 mph on impact and the truck was probably doing about the same. It all happened so fast thru the corner, I can't recall if he was crossing the line on my side or not. I just know, there wasn't enough room...

Since this was my first accident since 1969 and only the second in my 65 years, I assumed full responsibility. The way I look at it, if I wasn't there, none of this would have happened ( at least on my side). Lesson learned: Be wary of unknown roads.

It would be great to get some recent M491 comps from you guys to up the value. So far, Farmer's Insurance wants to total herman! Yikes!! They are offering $38,000 and asking $15,500 for the salvage??!!?? Insane!!!

Scott, Bill and the rest of the gang at Brewster's are confident they can do all the required work plus a repaint in the neighborhood of $30,000k for damage they can see. If new comps show higher values, herman can be fixed for up to 75% of his comp value. So, as you can see, comps are VERY important right now.

Any recent M491 coupe sales out there?

[winders]

Originally Posted by Paul491

I was only going about 35 mph on impact and the truck was probably doing about the same. It all happened so fast thru the corner, I can't recall if he was crossing the line on my side or not. I just know, there wasn't enough room...

Either he was in your lane or not. The road is plenty wide there. If there wasn't enough room, and you were in your lane, he had to be in your lane. Does the evidence at the scene show that?

[GH85Carrera]

With enough money it can be fixed. If the insurance company totals it and it is fixed back perfect, it will still have a salvage title and much reduced value.

Think long and hard before spending that much to fix a car that will forever be tainted with a salvage title. It is just a car, and has no feelings. It can be replaced.