Hey, y'all!

I've been through a LOT with my '87 GT over the last couple of years. I started posting here (under Swanky_Monkey) about my car when I purchased it back in the summer of 2010. Then, in the spring of 2011, I went off of a mountain road in it at night with my dog as my copilot. We survived, but the car took some serious damage, yet amazingly not quite as bad as I had originally thought. I was run off the road by a truck, coming the other direction and way over the center line, towing a boat. But it was my reaction that ultimately sent me off the road. The big mistake I think I made in the heat of the moment was to let off of the gas and hit the brakes. My knee-jerk swerve didn't help either. The other factor was the red sand spread on the roadway for ice; which had by that time collected on the roadside. Instinctively, I grabbed for my dog, who was curled up in the passenger seat, and just let the rest happen. I recall actually crying when I saw how bad everything looked. Not just for the car, but for how close my dog and I came to losing it all. I remember thinking: "Is this really happening? Is this how I'm going to die?!". It helped that there was very dense vegetation that slowed the car and that I miraculously missed every tree.

So, I had it recovered and brought home. The CA highway patrol had to block off traffic as the poor Fiero was dragged ass-end first up the steep slope. I am finally beginning to get it back to roadworthiness. Before I really dig in, I want to be able to share all of this with the Fiero community. I literally owe this car my life. Yes, its suspension was worn and I reacted poorly, but it dropped 20 ft down a mountain embankment at 40mph and kept my dog and I in one piece. In that moment, our fates were sealed, and I made a commitment to restore it to better-than-new condition.

Bear with me. This could take a while. I will post some pictures before I actually break ground on repairs. The car starts and engages gear, so at least thats something. The passenger side is in near perfect shape, but the driver's side and front fascia are a mess. I suppose my biggest concern is the frame's integrity, and I've been formulating ways to best measure the distance between suspension mounts to see if things are wonky.

Dave

Well at least your all right and everything else can be fixed or replaced and good job on keeping your cool and grabbing the dog so he safe too. i almost lost control of my fiero on lose gravel and did the same thing. sense then i made the same vow and now my suspension is almost completely brand new and now it drives like a dream.

i am interested to see what damage you caused so please post them so we can evaluate the damage and see your handy work when your finished.

good luck

Ryan

I talked with an engineer that was part of the Fiero team. He said that structure is very strong.

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Thank you for the replies! Above are a couple of links to my original posts (which are now archived) back in 2010.

Before I do anything, I'm going to post some pictures of the car. And, before I back it out of the garage to take pictures, I'd like to replace the near-new driver's side rear tire, which was ripped open in the wreck.