Another testament to the toughness of an 80 when mine met a Buick yesterday. (1 Viewer)

[J-Bo]

About 7 a.m. yesterday, east coast time, my 80 was hit head on by a driver who fell asleep. The speed limit was 55 so I assume he was going between 45 and 55. I was going about 20 if I had to guess. I had no where to go after he bounced off of the guard rail and into me. As you can see from the pictures, the 80 won. He went backwards and the 80 held its ground only to be turn into the guard rail. The driver of the car was injured and taken to the hospital. I do not know the extent of his injuries. I walked away and am left with only soreness this morning.

My Metal Tech bumper was most impressive with how it held together and protected me and the 80.

It sounds stupid to get emotionally attached to a vehicle, but in this case I am. I loved that truck more than any car I had ever owned. It protected me. Right now my plan is to take the salvage offer from insurance and have it delivered to my house where I will take it apart and find the extent of the damage. She still runs and drives, but the radiator is gone and the fan is in the motor. I cannot tell if the frame has been damaged beyond the frame horns or if the front clip is knocked over. The damage goes further back to the door gaps suggesting the body has been tweaked. At least, I think I can get her to run again as a trail rig. Still, she will never be the same.

Right now i have to find something else to drive, but nothing else measures up.

I just though I would share this because as much as I love and appreciated my Cruiser before, my appreciation has only grown with this incident.

 

[Taildragon]

Thats crazy, glad your ok. I always tell my wife about these storys. She drives the cruiser when the weather is bad outside.

I think I see a trail rig build-up in the hardcore section!!!

Justin

 

[mot]

J-Bo,

Glad to hear that you're OK!

Just curious... how much difference do you think it made, if at all, to have the air bags in your accident (It looks like they deployed)...

And as for getting attached to your vehicle... I have no idea what it would be like.

Good luck with the search for a new cruiser!

 

[lt1fire]

Sad to see that but glad you are ok.

 

[J-Bo]

J-Bo,

Glad to hear that you're OK!

Just curious... how much difference do you think it made, if at all, to have the air bags in your accident (It looks like they deployed)...

And as for getting attached to your vehicle... I have no idea what it would be like.

Good luck with the search for a new cruiser!

Thanks.....The air bags did not come into play. My seat belt restrained me and I had no contact with the bags. I am 6'4" though and have the seat all the way back. A shorter person might be closer to the steering wheel and have contact with it in a collision like I had.

 

[retrofive]

Wow, glad you are ok

GL and keep us posted on your trail rig build.

 

[cruiser enthuiser]

Wow. Sorry about the accident and your LC getting smashed. You're not kidding about your 80 winning - that Buick is fawked up. Gives me comfort that my wife and son drive in the 80 everyday.

 

[Atticus]

Glad that you are okay. But yeah, your 80 is completely f'ed up now. It will be tough to get it back into trail rig shape, is my guess. There's no way you didn't bend the frame and screw up motor mounts, etc.

 

[Snowtire]

Glad you are OK! Thanks for sharing the photos. My guess from looking at these photos is that your front axle took a lot of the impact. Check that out. Height is pretty helpful in an accident like this. This is the reason my wife and kids travel in an 80. Good to see that the 80 performs as well in reality as it does in my imagination. Are there any other 80 vs. other car accident threads? I'd be interested in seeing other photos.

 

[informationjunky]

WOW, glad your ok!

 

[landrunner]

WOW!

Those head-ons can be merciless....glad to see these LC's are tough, and you are all right.

I can attest to becoming attached to a vehicle.

I just recently sold my 1985 4Runner I owned since new. I bought my 97 LC to take it's place.

It was the only vehicle I wanted to replace the Runner....the only one I thought could live up to tuffness of that 85.

Needless to say, the 4Runner went to a good home. I can only hope the new owner will covet it as much as I now do my LandCruiser.

 

[spdwaver]

Wow - that's some major damage sustained by both vehicles. IT would appear that the frame is nowhere near straight given the fact that front the bumper, similar to mine, is pushed in as far as it is on the driver's side.

I am glad you made it through alright, and that's a real bummer that you have to part with a vehicle you have grown attached to.

Fortunately, there are a few things that can swap onto your next 80, should you decide to invest in another.

 

[VanGo]

The emotional attachment is one of the symptoms of addiction- all MUDDERS share this! Glad you could walk away.

 

[arndog123]

Glad you're ok. Sorry to hear about you LC though.

 

[Doc]

Send some pics to the metal tech guys!

-glad you're OK!

 

[OB-1]

It's good to hear your ok J-Bo. I would still get checked out if I were you just in case, especially if the soreness doesn't go away soon.

Salvage what you can for your next cruiser.

 

[Kaoscruizer]

Glad to hear you are all good .. the cruiser will survive! Just get in there and see what you need to do. Wait a week or so till your body tells you it's good to go.

 

[J-Bo]

I appreciate the nice words. I did go get checked out because my family worried about it and I am fine.

I don't know what I will do. Take the salvage cost and keep the truck or take the full payment amount and remove after market parts and replace with the stock parts before giving up the truck....assuming the insurance person that told me I could do that knew what they were talking about. Even if I get another one, it won't be this one which I found and bought like it was meant to happen. No money will replace the time and effort I put into that truck.

It looks like any way you slice it, I am out of pocket. I found out that the guy that hit me doesn't have insurance, so now my uninsured motorist coverage will pay the claim and take it up with this individual.

Right now, I am commuting for work 4 hours on Mondays and Friday so I need something that I can drive and not worry about. It sounds like I may end up in a boring late model that looks like every other car on the road. Sweet!

 

[gotmud]

If you still plan to build a trail rig, be sure to get it on a frame machine after you pull the sheet metal. The condition of your frame may be the tipping point of whether or not to proceed.

Glad to hear you are OK. Head ons are nasty. Looking at your pictures, I can see there was a lot of energy in that impact.

 

[cruiserdan]

The frame is definitely bent. That's a parts-truck right now.