R.I.P. s/n 5409

I survived a head-on collision on the Ventura freeway because the other car was the crumple zone (Cadillac vs. Opel). I don't know of any sports car that could have accomplished that feat, though the manner in which Stefan Eriksson's Enzo came apart was a strong argument for the redistribution of impact.

Sorry to hear of 5409's demise and happy that you survived.

 

that just loved the seller's rose-colored trip thru memory lane with the car on Sunday afternoons?
Made it sound like he's owned the car for decades...instead of weeks!

KevFla

 

After seeing the photos on ebay I can't help but wonder whether our friend had his head straight when he refused to buy back the car from the insurer. Or, maybe it was the lure of a "gold-chain mobile" that kept him from doing the right thing.

The Planet will soon be blessed by the birth of another awkward GTO replica--- thanks to such caretakers as the 5409's.

 

Are you not a fan of the GTO "tribute" that I see all over the Chicago area?

 

Am I missing something? I thought that the car in question was badly wrecked. That's a tiny fender bender! You could find a whole front clip for a couple grand, or just rework the existing metal!

 

Scott, how did the car handle after the crash? Was it still "straight"?

 

Tim,

The impact was more severe than it appears; the sheetmetal is kinked on both sides at the base of the windscreen. The door alignment is off. The recommended repair was to find a replacement body section from the door pillars forward. I was willing to place a bet that I could fix it without the replacement of the front half of the car - that's why I flew down to TX.

Regards,

Art S.

PS. Jay_GTB, go away; you are obnoxious and don't have a clue.

 

Christ, there are at least a hanful of good bodies at any given time around the Planet. You'd be unwise to repair the car given the loose bodies around. The question we should ask ourself is if we'd be so ready to write off this car had it been a 250GTL?

 

The difference between Fords and Ferrari is that Fords can be brought back after they've been hit by a train twice. A Ferrari is dead as soon as it has a shunt! How little did I know when I steeped in to this game!

 

You know what I find to be funny? All these non-Ferrari owners telling Ferrari owners what they should do with their cars. For some reason, this phenomenon appears to be particularly acute in the vintage area. I wonder why?

Dale

 

Jay,

Christ has little to do with it. Since your profile says that you own a 275 GTB, you should know first hand as to what is involved in disassembling a car of similar construction to yours. Norwoods was the shop that was going to do the repair work and they prepared the repair estimate that lead to Hagarty totalling it. Scott believed Norwoods as they are the shop he deals with. Are you now saying that they don't know what they are doing? If so, then it is a good deal and you should step up and save the car. The ebay starting price isn't much different than the price it sold for at the insurance auction.

Also, if this had happened to a Lusso 5 years ago when they were going for under $100k in driver condition, the result would have been similar. Obviously, today, this type of repair would be a small fraction of lusso's value.

Art S.

 

It doesn't matter really what Norwood says. Norwoods will always sound like Gods to the unknowing. Today, a 330 2+2 (like 5409) all restored and on the market for $160,000 is a far better buy than a make-believe GTO-- for which folks pay twice that. This may not be obvious to you today, but 5-6 years from now it will be a clear case of "should've".

 

4 headlight 330 2+2 for $160K???

I don't think I've seen that happen yet.

Can you sight any examples of a 4 headlight 33 2+2 going for that kind of money?

DM

 

Well then, you should.

Dale

 

Scott, yesterday I found two priceless pictures of 5049 that I thought I had lost when my hard drive crashed... Luckily I had printed them in color on a regular sheet of paper. I will make every attempt to scan those tomorrow and get those to you!

 

Scott, yesterday I found two priceless pictures of 5049 (from our Toy Run drive) that I thought I had lost when my hard drive crashed... Luckily I had printed them in color on a regular sheet of paper. I will make every attempt to scan those tomorrow and get those to you!

 

I am very dissapointed every time I hear these cars are totaled because repairs do not make economical sense. They are not supposed to, it's supposed to be a hobby - you don't get paid for playing golf either! Unless my car burns to the groud I am prepared to fix any kind of damage it will suffer, never concult an insurance company, never whine about money and never look back. I wish the "so and so" cars will soon all get parted out that the remaining cars can find owners who are up to treat their cars with respect they deserve.

 

I say put a '65 Dodge Dart body with GT badges on it and be done with it. Ceci n'est pas une Ferrari...