how not to get rid of your DSM...

405 freeway northbound, number two lane. some asshole in a large suburban decides my lane is going faster. my #1 fear is realized. he probably looked right over the car, the top was down [my #1 fear, in case you didn't read into that]. so into my lane he proceeds. i react and swerve into the fast lane into a parked car. this is 20 MPH traffic. friday at about 2:45. passenger side colides with driver rear side of a 90 something camry. apples are flying. i bounce off and the clutch hits the floor. i end up a couple carlengths away out in front. smoke starts pouring out from my CF hood. i smell fire and start grabing things of value. then i jump out and open the hood. lots of fire. and i thought the last fire under the hood would have been the last one. [safety not to all. after 2 engine fires i am going to start carrying an extinguisher. you should too.] 3 foot tall flames. i'm running around the freeway thinking 'what do i save?' so i take the valuable papers and fuck the rest. the highway patrol rolls up on me and over the loudspeaker tells me to get back into the car. i scream back that it's on fire. and right about now i'm so pissed that i want it to burn. like the space shuttle lifting off i want it to burn. the highway patrol lady is still on the loud speaker shouting to get back into the car. as i turn back to the stricken spyder the radiator blows and puts the fire out. i proceed back to the car and get yellad at some more to get it over to the side. i then proceed to give the hand across the throat signal to the patrol lady. she does not understand me. she yells to get over to the side. again i flash the hand over the throat, but with a bit more slash on the throat movement. translation: this car is not going to move itself. it is dead. and if you don't understand my cut-throat signal i'm going to piss on your nice shiny car. response: you can't start your car? more throat slashing ensues. now if you have ever wondered why cop cars have those big black things on the front of their cars, wonder no more. she slammed the back of my car and i think i got my neck cracked more from that than the actuall accident. so we are moving across 5 lanes of busy highway. you would think that with lights and sirens and all that people would get out of the way. not the case in CA traffic. i almost hit some other guy who was trying to beat us across the 50 foot gap in traffic. i was laughing and pointing at him hoping to god the cop would gas it so i could hit him...

so now i get a chance to evaluate the damage. the pass front side is banged pretty good. headlight smashed and pushed back. CF hood busted up pretty good. oil and water running out everywhere. open the hood and here is the rundown: cracked the FMIC in half, smashed the pipes flat. pushed the radiator into the turbo/intake, cracked turbo in half. fan got stuck and caused the electrical fire that ignited a bunch of plastic around the fan, including the fan itself. CF hood toast, cracked all over. not too much body damage, the front facasia and ender bent up, along with the metal above the smashed headlight. doesn't really sond like $8,000 in damage, but it was, at least that is how the adjuster added it up.

wrecked 3pm friday afternoon. $5,500 check in hand 10am tuesday morning, monday was a holiday. progressive ins rocks. i lost my rims, but did manage to get out 1 Eclipse 4 channel amp, 1 JL Audio 500x1 amp, my gauges [GReddy 60mm peak/warn EGT + Boost with the boxes, but the wires were too installed to get correctly, F/A ratio], the SAFC2 [i just pulled the wire out, it's about 3' long], the Type R boost controler with the motor and the box, the type-s BOV, and my shift knob. oh and my GReddy oil and water cap, and the PIAA SparkBlue. 9000k headlights, somehow even the smashed one didn't break!]

i cried at the thoughts of parting with a perfectly good race head completely ported and polished with the works valves, lifters, and springs, and the 264/272 cams with the AEM adjustable cam gears... it's ok to cry with me... the full 3'' apex'i/greddy turbo-back exhaust... the B&M shortshifter... the 660 injectors, AEM Fuel Rail, B&M FPR & Gauge, and 255 Fuel Pump... the turbo was in half but the turbo too...

i guess the fact that i'm picking up a 2004 Benz S 55 tomorrow morning makes up for it. but i'm sad to see it go. and the bastards towed it away right before i came to get the rims. fuck it.

happy DSMing, and don't forget your fire extinguishers!

wow,vince that sucks man,sad to hear but at least your ok man.How is the dj thing going.

sorry for the loss... did you get any pics?

so what happened to the guy in the suburban?

Wait a second, she told you to get back into a burning vehicle!? ..with three foot high flames!!!????

Wholly fucking shit. First of all, that police lady was a dumb whore. I would have given her the finger and more if she would have told me to get back into a burning car...

Second, how come you only got $5.5k for it when they totalled it up to $8k? I say find out where they towed it, and steal the rest of the shit right out of it.

I'm glad your ok though man, I mean well atleast for the most part. Another DSM bites the dust...

Ouch man, you didnt even get to take the rest of your shit out of it? Man, I'm sorry.

Ahhh shit. That sucks Vince. Glad you're okay, but any info at all on the ass with the Suburban? I would *love* to have gone ballistic on his ass, Godfather style.

That does suck man....I am sorry....and yeah what happened to the guy in the suburban....he probably just fucking drove off like every other california driver that causes an accident...

actually i had a car pull out in front of me and i slammed on brakes and got rear ended...got the liscense plate of the car but the officer said it was the guys fault that it me...so i guess he got away clean

ya i have no idea what happened to the guy in the SUV. his escape was small compared to the srest of the scene. it was always something that i was scared of, one of the things you learn to look for in CA driving a low viz car.

and the payoff was minus my $2500 colision deductable.

and i was too dumbstruck to take pics! i thought about it after the fact, then when i went to get the gauges etc i was so distracted of the scene i forgot again. but when i went to get the rims i was all ready to do it, but the car was gone!

here is a link to the new Benz, but it's the sales link so i'm not sure how much longer it will be up...

http://www.fletcher.mercedescenter.com/mbcenter/b/preowned/vehiclespecs.jhtml;jsessionid=IMYXMY5QVO3PCNKDDOFS M4RVIMNYUJVC?selectedVehicle=WDBNG74J74A404053&_requestid=68832

Niiiice. Did you find out where your Spyder is? I think I would definately have to go do some "damage assessment." ;) Did you get a good price on the Benz? Who was at fault?

Wish I had that kinda money :)

I'd be driving a brand new Z06 :)

i gotta give it up to the new Z06. blew out the F430 and the 997 Turbo [with the sic new variable geometry turbine] completely. in every category. faster straight and most G loading. quicker braking. the works. but they are like 85k out here, financed like 92+. and for that, i would go new M5. i got the S55 for 63k, financed 69k. not bad for 493HP and 516 ft/lbs and a 4.6s 0-60. and did i mention 11.9@116?

http://www.dragtimes.com/Mercedes-Benz-S55-AMG-Timeslip-3462.html

not bad for a car that gently massages your back and weighs in at a hefty 4300lbs...

once i discovered that not all fast cars have to be cramped and small i went all out. i feel safer taking a freeway on-ramp under full acceleration in this car as well as the 01 740i that i just crashed [i'll elaborate in a sec, and yes i did total 2 cars in 2 weeks] than in the DSM.

and for those who don't know me that well because of my now less than daily appearances on AF, here is a short rundown of my life. first off, i'm not some rich kid. the truck i had before the Spyder was a 91 GMC Jimmy 4x4. 4.3l efi V6. slightly lifted on Rancho 9000 shocks. the police impounded that truck and i never saw it again. 8 months later, little jail time and time in rehab and sober living i'm making money and bought the Spyder with 78k of bone stock miles. did *most* of the work to get her going and had some help at 2 diferent shops, Dynamic Design of Canoga Park, and Road Race Engineering [yes the famed RRE]. and let me tell you that the guy's at RRE are fucking masters of the craft. about a year and a half ago i took over payments on a friend's 01 740i Sport. i totaled it 4 weeks ago. then i totaled the Spyder 2 weeks later. things happen for a reason and i ended up with the S55, which if it wasn't optioned almost exactly the way it was, i would not have gotten. god willing i will have 4 years of sobriety on 11-21-06. in the same company i have risen from a Tele-Marketer to an owner of a Branch. i have worked my ass off for the last 4 years and am human proof that aything is possible if you work your fucking ass off. i went to rehab with a bag of clothes and a couple crates of records [i'm a house DJ as well - http://waxdj.com/djvincecarter, i'm still doing raves around LA!] and 4 years later i'm out of control with happiness. just so you know me a little bit.

so about the other wreck...

have you ever been sitting at a stoplight and the person next to you goes so you go too, only to find that you are entering an intersection against a red light? well i was that guy, made it about 3/4 of the way thru and got hit by a guy doing 60. i managed to get the car turned about 20 degrees when he hit. let me tell you that big german cars are fucking tanks. i slid about 20 feet and came to rest. the did that hit me, his car looked like he hit a wall. the BMW was totaled because he hit the tire and the whole rear end buckled and twisted the suspension. that was the expensive stuff, and the rest of the cosmetic damage pushed it right over the edge. if you want a great luxury car for cheap go find an 01 740i Sport. super fast and superb handling. they are M7's if they would have ever made one. and in CA, the one i crashed comp'd out for about 22k. not too expensive, ~300HP but it feels like 400. very fast in general and it will crack your neck off the line.

but i will say that a vented type-s on a 2-3 shift pushing 22psi on the way to heaven is a very sought after feeling. there is nothing like it, and while i get ooh's and ahh's from the S55, i have yet to get a reaction like i did from the spyder with the top down laying down rubber pinging the rev limiter and the BOV going crazy, and i probably never will. those who had the privlidge of riding in the spyder will never forget it. and i already know that the spyder will have turned more heads than the S55 ever will. and on that thought i just remembered the fuckign quaife with less than 2500 fucking miles on it that is getting squished right now. if they only knew what they had on thier hands in that junk yard...

i'm still brewing the Spyder GSX. completely stripped down. full cage. 1 seat. somewhere down in the 10's. top down in the 10's. that will be cool.

DSM FOR LIFE.

sorry to hear man. I heart my spyder but I'm always worried trucks won't see it when they look over. I blow my horn at people that "merge" into my lane all the time.

Ooh, top down 10's. Vince, there is a guy in MN that I can get a hold of that has done atleast one AWD conversion and is actually in the process of another (turning a 95 (?) Galant into a Evo III, AWD, RHD, 4g63 and everything). If you ever get itchin for a drop top AWD, shoot me a PM.

Congrats on your elivation of Life. I was just looking through some old threads and was wondering what you have been upto. I havn't seen in here in like a year...

ya i have been making random appearances over the last few years. i'm glad to see not much has changed. i was in here when there were less than 8000 total posts [the sub menu where you choose evo/eclipse/galant etc will let you know the size these days] and the DSM world was just starting to boom again. i thas been a long ride at the top and if anyone had a clue it would be a 4g63 world still. the new 'sports coupe' world is still a decade behind the DSM world...