Cobra crash and roll bar head trauma field test

[Dirty Harry]

Glad you came out relatively OK, Buzz. Scary, for sure. I'll be in your neck of the woods in late March on a bit of a boat ride. If you want some help with your car, I'll stop by.

[Buzz]

Definitely look me up when you're here. I should be whole again by then and hopefully making progress on the repairs.

Buzz

[1795]

Buzz,

Glad to see that you are doing well and that the car can be salvaged. We all learn from each other, both good and bad. Not sure how I might have reacted in that situation. One thing is for sure, as we age our reaction time does slow and it is something that we should be cognizant of.

Take care, and have a happy new year.

Jim

[Buzz]

Thanks Jim. It is absolutely important to be in touch with the realities that surround us - our capabilities, our limitations and the capabilities and limitations of these wonderful cars we drive.
A very happy new year to you and your family.

Buzz

[tkb289]

Buzz,

Checking in to see how you are doing ... how is your shoulder, back to full strength I trust

Any news on the Cobra, have you had a chance to assess the damage or make any repairs?

Hope things are going well.

- Tim

[mdross1]

Good to hear it was not worse,and one of things that always stood out with our car was the rollbar and the little protection it offered. Then it is no worse than our motorcycles which we have no intensions of keeping in the garage. We own these toys to enjoy and that we will.

[Buzz]

Hello Tim - nice of you to check up. My arm has been out of the sling for a while now, and gradually getting back to full strength and range of motion. There was apparently some tendon damage as well so I need to do a lot of stretching and resistance exercises.

When I got the car home after the accident, the wrecker was too long to turn in the driveway to drop the car into the garage, so it was covered up on jackstands in front of the house until I was ready to tackle the repairs.

A couple of weeks ago I pulled off the covers and crawled around underneath to assess the extent of the damage. Without any disassembly, Here's what I've been able to determine so far:

Left rear hub carrier broken at lower pivot point but still partially attached to lower control arm.

Left rear lower control arm bent forward about 15 degrees, pressing rear tire into the front of the wheel opening.

Rear trailing arm mounting bracket on lower control arm sheared off. Trailing arm assembly and chassis mount appear undamaged.

All rear shocks and mounting points appear intact.

Rear drive axles appear undamaged. No apparent damage to differential and entire right side of rear suspension.

Main rear brake line before "T" splitter at the differential is damaged.

Rest of underside/drivetrain including gas tank, oil pan, transmission, etc appears undamaged.

Body has damage to rear lower valance below trunk opening, a crack across the top of the left rear fender, and cracks at the left front inner wheelwell mounting point (where it bolts to the chassis). Minor damage to left headlight area and both tail light areas.

Windshield ok, doors, hood and trunk open and close as normal. Engine starts and runs, oil pressure, cooling system as normal. Exhaust system undamaged.

Transmission shifts through all gears.

Right side tires destroyed, all wheels appear ok.

The car actually came through much better than I initially expected. The body really surprised me by how well it held up to the impact.

As far as getting it into the garage, the best solution we could come up with was to use a large commercial floor jack to swing the rear around so we could push the car in tail first, but after borrowing a jack twice and having to return it because my "helpers" failed to show up, I got fed up and went to the junkyard for a 14" wheel and the lowest profile tire I could find that would fit into the rear wheelwell with the bent control arm.

I had to drill out the bolt holes as the pattern was slightly off, but it just barely fit, albeit with a serious toe-in on that side. I greased up the crooked tire to limit its traction and lowered the car onto its wheels. I started it up and with lots of wheelspin and crabbing of the rear end, I was able to gingerly work it around and back into the garage.

Its up on stands again and I'm debating whether to pull the body off for a complete rebuild, or to just pull the rear suspension out and have the body repairs done in place.

I found a complete XJ6 IRS assembly in good looking shape sitting in a friend's shop that he's willing to sell for about $500.00US. He thinks its a 2.88 posi, not sure, but that will be easy to verify. I have a 3.54 posi now and may just keep that, use the XJ6 hub carrier, shorten the lower control arm and keep the 2.88 diff as a spare, assuming there's no more extensive damage to my existing rear end.

Lights, bumper, etc. I'll order along with some other cosmetic pieces that are starting to show their age.

I'l follow the advice of my fiberglass expert re: whether or not to remove the body for repair and painting.

Next decision - stay with my current blue or go with red?

mdross - Yes, I'm pretty sure now the forward brace on the roll bar is what I smashed my shoulder on, and I'm also convinced that because I was only wearing my lap belts I was able to crunch forward and keep my head away from impacting the hoop when the car went backwards into the embankment. I am in no way advocating against fastening up the full harness even on short drives - It was pure luck the way it worked out for me in that particular circumstance. Had it been a frontal impact, I would've been in trouble.

Buzz

[buddyg]

Glad to hear your ok and luck had nothing to do with it. The good Lord wasn't ready to take you home. Hope your repairs go well! Get that Cobra back on the road!

[dallas_]

Originally Posted by Buzz

I decided to have a go at working the joint back in myself, so I removed the sling and painfully lowered my arm so I could stoop and grab the underside of the heavy bed. Two excruciating pulls and tugs and I felt a sliding pop and a feeling of relief, even though the pain was still intense.

You, my friend, are one tough s.o.b!

Glad you are feeling better. Best wishes on getting the car back together.

[Chook]

Buzz - good to see you're back on the horse
All the best

[tkb289]

Buzz,

Thanks for giving us an update. Sounds like your shoulder is indeed on the mend and with some ongoing physical therapy, you will make it back to the way you were before the accident. This is great news!

That's quite a detailed inventory list of things to repair or address on your Cobra. The last item you mention is color. Stay with the blue or go red? One way to help facilitate that decision at this point, is do you plan to keep the Cobra or put it up for sale, once it’s fixed? If you are leaning towards fix and keep, then paint it red or whichever color you like. If you plan to fix and sell, it’s probably less expensive to keep it blue, so areas like the door jams, under the hood & trunk or other parts that do not have to be repainted, can be left as is.

My guess is it will take putting the car back together and driving it for a while, before you decide if you want to keep it or sell it. Always a tough decision. Keep us posted

- Tim

[Buzz]

Thanks for the well-wishes guys. This weekend I'll drop the rear suspension for a full inspection and assessment of damage. That and the condition of the frame, supporting structure/brackets and underbody will determine whether I do a full body-off repair or not.

Tim, I had actually reluctantly decided to put the Cobra up for sale before the accident but the involvement of working on it again may just make it more difficult to part with it. I love the current blue, but I've always been tempted to paint it a deep red, so if I end up taking the body off, I'll probably do that; but if the body stays on, it would make more sense to keep it in blue. Rebuilding the rear suspension will keep me busy for a while as well, so there's plenty of time to remain undecided.

PS: I'm sure you're having loads of fun with your beautiful Cobra. If a person is cut out for the quirks and character of these incredible little cars, conventional vehicles seem very bland and "ordinary" by comparison.

Buzz

[tkb289]

Buzz,

Well it's been a while, time to see how you are doing. I would hope by now you are all healed and back to full strength ...

How is progress on your Cobra going, what did you wind up doing ... fix the broken bits and keep it blue or fix the broken bits and repaint red?

Any updates??

- Tim

[Buzz]

Hi Tim - thanks for checking up. I am pretty much back to fully functional, with the exception of a slight protrusion where my collarbone joins my shoulder - I could have it surgically lowered but it's purely cosmetic and would only mean more down time, so I opted to leave it as is. The therapeutic weight training has become a habit again so I may end up better off than I was before the accident, health-wise anyway.

With a series of family visits, shoulder rehab, work on the house and just generally being busy, I haven't done much with the Cobra. I start it up and and bring it up to temperature every once in a while, but I have not started any repairs. My trusted fiberglass guy was working on a yacht project in the UK for a couple of months and has only just returned, so I'm hoping to get him up here to look it over this weekend.

Hopefully the repairs will be a relaxing project over the next couple of months. I've also dropped enough hints, so I expect to find a few chrome bits and pieces under the christmas tree just in time to put the finishing touches on.

How's your 289 doing? Plenty of miles and smiles I imagine. I hope all is great with you and your family as well.

[tkb289]

Buzz

Glad to hear that you are back up to par, maybe even better … great news!

Sounds like you have the right guy for the body work, then it's down to the mechanical work and you will be back on the road. My 289 has been running great, I absolutely love it. Family is well thank you. My older son got married this summer and they used the Cobra for their arrival to the reception ...

Thanks for the update, please keep us posted as to your progress.

- Tim

[mdross1]

Buzz

Also glad to hear you are up and running. Talking about using the 5 way I too have thought about our rollbar height being lower than my head a roll over would not be a good thing strapped in tight even with helmet.
With all the traffic these days around here and some drivers ability especially with cell phones in constant use, the focus has to be on survival. All my hammer down events happen when all looks good down the road ahead of me.
Have fun with your rebuild.

Mike Ross

[John A. Simpson]

HI Buzz, Glad to hear you're mending well, sorry to hear about the accident and car. If you were wearing your Gashole hat I'm sure that is what really protected your head. I can't remember how long its been since we got together in St. Lucia but good to know you're still alive and kicking.

[CowtownCobra]

Good luck Buzz!