Killed by a Mercury POS...

[OVA1]

Heading south on a main 6 lane feeder, in the middle lane of three at a very busy intersection. Light turns green and I ease out, not an ounce of hurry goin' on... just cruisin'.

Two cars pull out of the shopping center on the right. The first cuts immediately into the outside and the second follows right behind but seems to be going wide, cutting into my lane, I can't cut outside because of the first car... so I move left to give her the the middle and sure enough she doesn't turn and is heading straight into the inside...

I'm on the brakes and heading to the median... but can't go deep in the median because of the fairly sizable oak trees and am aiming for the turn lane, hoping to jump the curb and ride it into the turn lane to avoid hitting her.

.

.

.

Guess where she finally decided to go?

.

.

.

Even as my brakes were screaming "GET OUT OF THE WAY CRAZY LADY!" she never looked left... and sadly as a result, we ran out of options when my right front corner met her rear driver-side door as she entered the left turn lane.

I came to a stop with my passenger side tires pinned against the curb and the rest of the car sitting on top of major hedge work...

Tie Rod on passenger Spindle snapped... Driver-side front rim is toast... Driver-side rear rim is probably fixable but bent on the lip. Passenger qrtr panel and nose are done... and the hood has some damage on the passenger corner. Both front tires are now planted firmly against the back of the wheel wells pigeon toe'd like a Murf...

The good news seems to be in the engine bay... as far as I can tell that is whole, no leaks. We're talkin' MIRACLE level here...

She was cited for the accident and we had several witnesses that came out of nowhere to explain how the lady just shot out into the road, as if she had a license to steal and Star-Trek Shields with which to do it.

SOoooo... We're down... AGAIN! Taken down by an old Mercury beater that wouldn't replace my DANA if ya parted it out for top freakin' DOLLAR!

The Deputy said 'That's what they do... If you'd been riding a Bike you'd be broken to pieces and fightin' for your life in that ambulance.'

I'm like: 'MAN, have you seen my CAR?'

Sadly, my buddy's shop is out of commission, (long story) and I don't have access to a lift at the moment, so I have NO IDEA what it looks like 'down-under'. My guess is it ain't pretty.

Anyone gone through this already? What's to be expected with the tubular K and A-arms? Do they usually hold up?

PS... I will bring her back and when she is done THIS TIME... She will be sporting a horn that will be the envy of every DEISEL LOCOMOTIVE ON EARTH! Truckers will blush when I pull the trigger on that thing... I'm talking STUPID HORN here... She'll look next time, just before the heart explodes.

[popo8]

wow man.... im sorry.

glad ur ok..



pics of damage?


Larry (Popo8) Co-owner
LTXtech.com

[Ashley]

sorry man glad you're okay though.

[MeanTA]

Man that sucks! sorry to hear this happened. surprised you didnt jump out of your car and start choking her.

your gonna have to just get under her and see what the damage is. and if the frame is bent.

the k member is a pretty stout piece. but of it is tweeked. i have a factory one i can send to you. just let me know. as far as a-arms. they may be twisted if they got a hard enough side impact.

[Badbird_96]

Dude I'm so sorry to hear that. I would have went to jail for assault and battery for sure.

[OVA1]

Thanks brother Popo, I'm still a little too frosted to look at the bright side. But glad to be whole... And yeah, I've got pictures... I'll get'em posted up over the weekend.
I've had a massive head-ache since I woke up yesterday. It's only begin to let up this evening. And I've got to go out of town tomorrow on business... no choice thing.

It's cool that you've bought into the site... I don't know when that went down, I just saw it, but thanks... This is a great site and I appreciate you stepping up to keep it that way.

PS... And I appreciate all the good vibes and well wishes from you guys and gals... I'll post up what we find when we secure some lift time.

[HAND HERPES]

Sorry to hear that, nothing that isn't fixable though ;)

PS: When I first read the topic title, I thought this was a street race kill LOL

[firebird_1995]

Is the headache from the accident? You might have tweaked your neck....

[RedRyder]

Glad to hear your safe. Try and take it as easy as you can. The head ache could be from mild head trauma. If it gets worst/or don't go away go in and get checked out.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[OVA1]

Oh golly... Thanks guys. Much appreciated. We're getting some movement from the respective insurance companies and hopefully will have her in surgery soon.

[popo8]

Thanks brother Popo, I'm still a little too frosted to look at the bright side. But glad to be whole... And yeah, I've got pictures... I'll get'em posted up over the weekend.
I've had a massive head-ache since I woke up yesterday. It's only begin to let up this evening. And I've got to go out of town tomorrow on business... no choice thing.

It's cool that you've bought into the site... I don't know when that went down, I just saw it, but thanks... This is a great site and I appreciate you stepping up to keep it that way.
...


No problem man... do yourself a favor, and go to the doctors.... have the headache checked out first, and 2nd documented. Even if you did not hit your head on anything, neck back, shoulder etc strain can cause head issues.... also stress or concern could cause injury from sudden BP spikes...

As for the site, I purchased the Brewer brother's shares, and am now partnered up with Fastbird (sean) and with the guidance and care of our number one ADMIN (B. MEISSEN) we have actually moved the entire site over to his server and he hosts us. We have been smoother and more active, with new members daily, and even while trying to deal with and fight the fights life gives us all we are still trying to make it grow!!!
Non of it would be possible though without all of our members.... its THEIR site....

Thanks Bro!

[LT1RUNNER]

That bitch!

[Madman337]

Geez after hearing this I am convinced more than ever to get a horn like that too because I have almost been taken out several times in the last week alone, glad your ok and I am sure you will get you car back and it will be better than ever.

[OVA1]

Well got her back on the street... one white fender, a new OEM nose (black) and a brand new BMR front end later.

Naturally... not a week later the Opti has crapped out. New OEM unit is IN THE HOUSE and goes in tomorrow. Stay tuned... :)

[Fastbird]

Awesome. Glad to hear it's back together.

[FSTFBDY]

Wow that sucks. Glad to see its coming back together. now get one of these.
http://www.hornblasters.com/products/details.php?i=nathan-airchime-k3-540-train-horn-kit

So many times I wish I had something to scare the shit outa other NON lookers. I dont care if I get a ticket for a stupid loud hore and scaring the shit out of an old person. If they can't see they shouldnt be driving in the 1st place.

[OVA1]

Thank you brotherman… Should be back in driving trim tomorrow.

[OVA1]

Wow that sucks. Glad to see its coming back together. now get one of these.
http://www.hornblasters.com/products/details.php?i=nathan-airchime-k3-540-train-horn-kit

So many times I wish I had something to scare the shit outa other NON lookers. I dont care if I get a ticket for a stupid loud hore and scaring the shit out of an old person. If they can't see they shouldnt be driving in the 1st place.


Dude! That's the ticket!~ Sadly, for 16 bills, there's MANY higher priorities… Such as paint for that white fender. But THAT horn is on my Christmas list…

[OVA1]

18051

This is the best part of the rebuild… It looked pretty much the same before, except it had a Spohn K-member and the BMR A-arms were black.

It's ALL BMR now and it's all Brand Neeewwwwww… (Which is nice…)

Ended up with new everything, from spindles, through the shocks, to what ya see in the photo. Required two rims be re-trued locally (they did a great job as far as I can tell) and a brand new one cut by Centerline. They got it right the second time…

The picture below on the top is what it was supposed to be and the picture on the bottom is what they sent… I literally got the car home, after having looked it over pretty good at the body shop and as soon as I stood on my driveway and took a gander, I'm like: "Whuh? That's wierd… that rim looks like crap now…" and a few moments later, I realized it was the wrong cut. But Centerline and the body shop went right to work getting it right… Now all four rims are nice and round and ONE is REALLY shiny!
1805218053

As noted above, the Nose is also new and OEM, the passenger fender however came off a junkyard find, which is white… and sticks out like a white fender on a black and blue car.

I'd show ya the picture of the OEM Opti, but it's over at the shop… It's replacing the SECOND MSD in a year! So tomorrow, we head to the shop and expect to spend the day tediously installing it with all the love and attention that such a massive pain in the keaster deserves…

[FSTFBDY]

I agree 16 large is NUTS. so just get THE GOOD http://www.hornblasters.com/products/details.php?i=caboose-228-air-horn-kit
lol

[OVA1]

LOL… That's mo-betta… Now to just figure out where to shoe-horn those dude's in…

[OVA1]

OPTI-HELL!

I knew from the gitgo that I didn't know anything about the Air-Vacuum system that vents it.

We've had some issues and while I'd like to blame it all on the Opti and MSD, I can't…

ONCE AGAIN: IT'S OPERATOR ERROR :hi:

On my first build, I didn't run ANY Air or Vac line to the Opti, and the car ran like a bat out of hell, mod after mod, Friday Night After Friday Night, race after race and never once so much as missed FOR THE BEST PART OF 14K MILES.

I didn't do so, because of some grand plan, it was all ignorance of the first order and I got lucky.

Today as I installed the 4th Opti since this engine first fired, hopefully, me and the Opti-Gods are even.

I spent the weekend reading the entire web knowledge base on the opti and finally came to grips with the air/vent thing. Those of you that knew all about it, don't bust my balls, I'm a low-volt technician and business owner… the only reason I work on my car, is that I can't afford to pay someone to do it; (not entirely true, I do rather enjoy it now, since the terror of ruining everything has waned…) so, I don't see the engine world as someone versed in mechanics probably does… most of this crap is a giant mystery to me and I learn only what I MUST LEARN to fix that which is broke… with the emphasis being on: IS IT READY TO RACE TODAY? If not, life sucks… if SO… life still sucks because I spend every moment driving down the road, sensing everything through a constant state of paranoia… 'What was THAT? Did you hear THAT? Did you feel something? What'd you DO?'

Anywho… I finally discovered the path that gets air through the opti…

Here's what it looks like when it doesn't. This opti is probably 7-8 months old… with MAYBE 3-4 hours on it…

18110181111811218113

EVERYTHING THAT CAN CORRODE, is CORRODED TO DEATH… This thing is all >BUT< BRAND NEW! The Air-intake side of the vent was connected to the vacuum side and nothing to the Vacuum side.
So, if you WANT to piss-away:bigmoney:$500… (not including the installation), THAT will do it and, in short order. :embarassed:

For those that do NOT:

You'll find two Inlets on the bottom of an Opti. One on the plastic side, about the size of a #2 Pencil. That's the "Air-Inlet" side… This connects to the intake on the engine side of the MAF, or "After" the MAF… The other is the vacuum side… this connects to the Intake, on the driver side, last one on the back, low; it has filter and a check valve to prevent air from going the wrong way, respectively from the opti, to the intake.


18125

The stock AC Delco - Repop… (I know right? I paid nearly $600 for a repop from the Dealer; schmuck, right? Yeah I'm pissed, but if this be-otch runs, I'll be fine.)

[OVA1]

Replaced the opti yesterday, fired on the first twist… also replaced the Radiator due to the wisdom of our resident Fastbird… (Tip of the hat brother… you can't believe the crap that came out of the old cooler… looked like a combo of beach sand and vomit.) It was late when I wrapped her up, but I took her down the street and she DO IMPRESS.

Set out a new 30 yard strip of dual tire burn for the boys to shoot for, out in front of the shop ;).

[OVA1]

Don't know how this turned into my build thread… but the fuel pump finally tanked :D .

Decided to take her out today to handle the errands and it was a smokin' hot, humid as hell day. (No AC… :cry:)

But almost every time that this build has crapped out, its been on a main artery called "Pine-Ridge Road"… So, after much running up and down US41, stop and go boxed up traffic for several hours, I decided to take on Pine-ridge and "Cleanse the Demons"…

We had a little tangle with a diesel pickup truck guy (there's always one…) who figured it out ver quickly and that took us through the intersection from which I've been towed several times and she's runnin' like the proverbial top. Several lights up the road however, I felt the first 'drop' or hesitation… its hard to described, but its palpable and highly intermittent.

Then at idle, at the second to the last light, having gone nearly the entire length of the nemesis road… she starts to falter. Temps between 180 and 190ish… not bad, but warmer than she'd been all day… I managed to throttle her out of it, but she was balking all the way to the shop, where she finally just crapped out on the service pad.

Let her cool down for a half hour, screwed the old fuel gauge down on the schrader valve and it told the story…

The cool part was, that after calling Jegs and ordering a new pump, I was digging around along my wall in the shop and found a BRAND NEW never opened fuel pump that I'd ordered a year ago and totally forgot about, all due to that same problem and had just never got around to installing, because the problem 'went away'…

Anywho that's about it, but if you've read this far, I appreciate the faith… and I'll try to make it up to ya somehow. :cheers:

[OVA1]

Fuel pump is in! Also installed the KYB Rear Shocks that I bought a couple of years ago... and oddly enough, much like the 17 year old radiator, the new shocks actually seem to be quite an improvement over the stockers...

Runnin' like a raped ape.