well i was coming home from work on the freewat at about 65mph when a bolt from my left rear lower control arm came out causing my car to turn sideways and flip over. my car is totaled. i walked away with a few scratchs but very hurt emotionaly. this was my pride and joy for the last 4 years. my first car. i built it from the ground up. bought the it for $200 and put about 12k into it. i can salvage a few things but the body is gone. :( :( :(

Sorry to here about your loss. I feel really bad for you. I hope you can get a hold of another chevelle soon.

HOLY SNAP THAT WOULD SUCK graemlins/sad.gif man we should start up some friggin donations for this guy for a new project car....... sorry for ur loses :eek: :(

I'm very sorry for your mishap.
Be greatful that you were not hurt and that you didn't hit and hurt anyone else.
There are more Chevelles out there.
Ron

i know the feeling.thursday the wife made a left turn in front of a new f-250.not one piece salvagable off the nose,frame pushed over and back.one 72 gone.buzz

Dude, that sucks :( glad you weren't hurt. Did you have any insurance on it? Is the running gear saveable? I know how you feel, when I was 18, I wreaked my 68 camaro convertible, my 2nd car.

Do you have Pictures????????

Matt,I am really sorry to hear of this :(
I'm glad you're OK..life is about going forward,salvage what you can,and just start over.I know its easier said than done,but you can do it!

Matt, sorry to hear of your loss! Glad your not hurt. Collect the insurance money and start all over again. Building it is half the fun.
Jim

So sorry to hear about the car...at least you walked away.

I had one of the bolts come out of my Southside bars but was only going about 20 mph..you held on thru one hell of a ride..

Rob

Well, you are lucky physically, and all these guys are right. That's life, DRIVE ON! Really sorry to hear that though.

I'm glad that you were not hurt,that's the important part!You can replace the car,we can't replace you, after all your part of the best site on the web!

That sucks sorry to hear that :(

Was it a stock lower control with OEM lock bolts?

Glad to know you're ok. The car can be replaced, trust me I know the feeling.I had a 69 Chevelle two years ago that I use to race and put in car shows (hence gared69)that was totaled by a 17 year old driver with no insurance that hit me head on.My initial reaction was(d___n) can't have anything until I realized how blessed I really was to be alive looking at the car.My insurance gave me good money for the accident and I bought the car back from them.I purchased a 68 chevelle body and started rebuilding the car and I am now driving it,racing it, and able to do so because I am still alive. Be thankful!!! I know it's hard but the car can be replaced.Hopefully you can salvage the engine,trans, and other parts that will make your next project easier on your pocket.

Matt,
Very sorry to hear about your loss. I'm going through something similar with the loss of my '70 by theft. I'm glad you are OK.

It will take awhile to mourn the loss but we can survive. I'm inspired by what Gared69 says, in fact I'm already trying to get an idea of what I can find for a replacement.

We have our health and the love of those who care about us. Keep your chin up. Again, my condolences.

Rod

thank u very much guys, it was on southside bars. the only insurance i had was liability so all i can do is salvage what i can out of the car. the place were most the time and money has gone looks to be still in good shape, the running gear.

That's really sad. For the rest of us, let's get out there and check those bolts on our fronts. I've lost one of the upper arm bolts, but no lowers, and I want to keep it that way...

Yeah Matt, that really sux to hear, but at least you're OK, and that's pretty cool considering you flipped a car.Not something many of us have done, yet. :D

Keep your head up and your eyes peeled and maybe your next BadAzz Chevelle is right around the corner. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Sounds like you may just need a good body.

i need a good rolling chassis. two of my wheels are bent, both my brand new mt et streets are gone. bad deal. :(

hey my man, hang in there
and I'm glad you're ok. Just pull yourself up by your bootstraps and get back on a horse. let us know when you make your next purchase. we would love to have you back!!
John
66 ss graemlins/thumbsup.gif graemlins/beers.gif

pics of my baby
http://idahostreetracing.com/gallery/my-car?page=1

Well, you're alive. And i bet there's still some of that body left (fenders? quarters? etc) that could be cut off of that car and bring some good $$ back. Any of the glass survive? that should put some cash back in your hands also. Interior parts? (by the way, is that a non-AC car? Looks like it has a plate above where the AC controls would usually go, is it a delete plate?).

Sorry to hear about it, but it'd be a good idea to part body/interior/glass out and make some cash back.

Thank GOD your only scared emotionally, and in a CHEVELLE, who know's what may have happened in a lesser car.


Cars can be replaced YOU can't.
Keep your chin up, seems like you have the right attitude graemlins/thumbsup.gif

What kind of hardware just comes loose? Was it the original nut/bolt. I think mine has a locking washer. I think I'll go dab some threadlock on it for good measure.

Damn fine looking car it was! and quick too. :cool:

I have the SSM lift bars,,,directions say to torque to 100ft.lbs. I've since checked mine a couple times,,,still tight after 4 years graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Someone could probably salvage that car and at least use it as a racer. Just :( put a new roof on it!

i tourqued mine about 2 years ago but hadnt checked them since.

It's just a car.

My low mileage Grand National was recently stolen (uninsured) so I think I've got a pretty good idea of how you feel.

Think about a roll bar for the next one. ;)

the 8 point roll bar is actually sitting in my room

well I'm glad your wern't seriously injured. Hopefully you can find a good deal on a roller. Sorry to hear about your accident.

Matt,
I too am glad to hear that you weren't seriously hurt. That's the most important thing, of course!
I'm also truly sorry to see all that damage to your Chevelle. graemlins/sad.gif

Oh man! What a shame. How on earth did you come out of that without major injury or worse? I would say that you didn't do as badly as you might have, considering that you are alive to talk about it. I don't know if it is better for you to walk away from it for a little while, or dive straight into a teardown. Maybe with a portable ram you could get the roof up, although it wouldn't be as strong. If your insurance co. has written it off I would not advise putting another dime into that car's v.i.n. They will not write it off again should the need arise.
Kiss the ground and be thankful. Now go and find another project car to swap your hard work onto.

2 years ago i drove my chevelle straight off a bridge trying to avoid a accident from were this lady was about to hit me head on she still caught my quarter panel and spun my around just to go off the bridge and the crazy part was they just got remoldling it and the road crews was just putting up the guards but was not none were i went off but you are lucky hope you find another chevelle soon engine and everything still look good and it being a malibu your insurance company will offer you between $2000-2500 hundred for it enought to get into another chevelle that will need you parts

Sorry to hear about your loss. I just saw the pics and I still can't figure out how you didn't get seriously injured. I mean the original seat belts hardly help in a fender bender. Hope you find another 72 soon. Good luck and aloha from Hawaii.

graemlins/sad.gif My sympathies on your loss of your car. It's totally amazing you walked away though. I wish I could say that for others I've seen that happen to. Regroup, salvage whatever you can and get started on your new project. Keep those pictures and all other memorabilia for sentimental purposes.

GOOD LUCK

Sorry to jump to conclusions about seeing the pictures,just wanted to see what you went through and survived. At least your car isn't made out of Plas-tech like the new ones or else that roof would of caved in some more. Glad your ok smile.gif You should see this one car, not as worse as yours, but he's now sueing a GM dealership because his New Corvette fell off the lift doing a simple oil change. The car now has frame damage and all the dealer said they would do, is replace the body panels. I think it's on the Camaro Board, I'll try to find it and show it to you guys.

If I can pull my car back from this:
http://www.geocities.com/motorcity/flats/8627/crashpage.html

I'm sure you could salvage your car. I'm not saying it would be easy or even practical assuming you can find a good roller for a good price but if you are attached to THAT car it can be done. You need a very competent bodyman and frameman and it can be as good as new.

I'm sorry for your situation. It is especially painful when you have a lot of your own sweat equity in a car and when it has a lot of emotional attachment. But also believe me when I say: your next car or the rebuild of this one will be better than what it was before.

Sorry to hear about that man. I was doing one of the legs of the power tour on june 10th(arlington heights,il) when on the way home, the same thing happened. Lower control arm front bolt on the southside bars came out. It didnt break, but the nut backed off and the bolt came out. the lockwashers that are supplied with them are obviously not enough. It was raining when it happened to me, so i slid sideways, and nearly hit the guardrail. I think with the southsides, since there is no rubber or poly bushings, there is more load and vibration placed on the bolts. Word to the wise, always use red loctite on the bolts.

Sorry to hear about the car Matt.

This is the second car here in about a year or so that the Southside bars have claimed. Remember the other one that darted sideways and bounced off the back wheels of a transport? For anyone reading this get lock-nuts on the bolts, not lock washers. The stock type crimped metal ones work well but they can't be re-used because they lose their holding ability when run onto a bolt more than once.

Peter

For sure avoid lock washers on things that keep you alive! They can break in half and fall out, then its just a matter of moments till the nut falls off. Use nylocks or lock nuts and never use a nylok twice. Man your lucky to be alive! I can't imagine having my pride and joy totaled like that, it would be like loosing a leg or family member. After seeing how Rich brang his L79 back to life it makes me wonder if you can too! Seriously though if you just found a junkyard velle and used it's roof you could straghten the rest as long as your frame is still straight.

Matt, Sorry to hear about your totaling your Chevelle. Rapid Robert mentioned that the instructions say to torque the bolts to 100 Lbs. It might be wise to put a little Locktite red outboard of the nuts also just in case the nuts back off for no appearent reason.