Hayden's Cars- Annual update!
- Thread starter Hayden
- 428 comments
- 78,098 views
- 3,694
- South Australia
Need? No not really. Want? Most definitely! It is a hefty project but i'm seeing that as a good thing. I've been wanting to tackle my own big project for years and so far I'm enjoying the challenge. I work long hours so I don't get much time to put into it, but on the bright side, theres also no hurry to have it finished. 
- 3,694
- South Australia
I have a little bit of bad news.
The saturday before last a friend called me and asked if I'd care to join him at the local footy ground to watch our home team play their first game of the year. I jumped in the 86 pulled in the gate and backed it up next to a mate's dad's 4X4 and went off to find my friends. I had a great day catching up with mates I haven't seen since school and watching (the usually underdog) home team kick the ass of the premiership favourites in the 2 main grades. I noticed in the distance while I was chatting to someone that some kids were walking around my 86 and just thought they were admiring it so didn't think twice and continued listening to what was being said.
Then, about 20 minutes later I had a mate come up to me and say "are you ready for the worst news your going to hear today?" I raised an eyebrow and he lead me to the car. I now knew what the kids were looking at. See this rather big and nasty looking tree branch?
See these (and plenty of other) scratches down the rear passenger quarter on my 4 month old car?
Yea, it was on my car. I couldn't believe it. Of all the cars in the place and of all the times it could've fell down without damage over the off season it had fell today on my car. Luckily it had only grazed by the panel rather than falling on the car proper. After we moved the branch off and dragged it away I had a quick look at the damage. I was hoping I could rub the scratches out with elbow grease and ScratchX but they were far too deep. I ran into the wife of the mate's dad that I had parked next to and she said those kids were swinging off the tree, throwing sticks and :censored:ing around when her husband was there earlier in the day. She said he'd told them to cut it out but when he moved his car later in the day they'd gone back to it. I had no words in reply to that. Well, none that get past the swear filter anyway.
So I've avoided posting this until I could talk to a collision repairer and today I finally got that chance. The business' owner immediately sent a worker out with a buffer and compound and after 20 minutes work he was fortunately able to get off all the scratches. Unfortunately you can't buff out a dent or a deep paint chip
.
I couldn't get a picture this late that shows the damage properly so I'll post one tomorrow.
The owner told me that it would be $1500 to put a new panel on and have it sprayed. I told him my insurance excess isn't much less and he said the other option I had was to take it to a backyarder who could bog it up and spray it so it's no longer visible. I didn't like either option and he said that if you didn't know it was there you wouldn't see it and that if it were his car and money he wouldn't bother. Then he said thanks for dropping by and told me he wouldn't charge me for the buff job.
So that's that, the car I put nearly half my wage into a week, take good care of and am proud as punch to own now has two permanent blemishes because some people can't control their children. Words can't really describe how gutted I am at that fact
I have Z news but I'll post that tomorrow, time slid by on me while I was writing that.
Edit: They are pretty small blemishes but that's not the point. The car was perfect and should still be perfect. It's as simple as that.
The saturday before last a friend called me and asked if I'd care to join him at the local footy ground to watch our home team play their first game of the year. I jumped in the 86 pulled in the gate and backed it up next to a mate's dad's 4X4 and went off to find my friends. I had a great day catching up with mates I haven't seen since school and watching (the usually underdog) home team kick the ass of the premiership favourites in the 2 main grades. I noticed in the distance while I was chatting to someone that some kids were walking around my 86 and just thought they were admiring it so didn't think twice and continued listening to what was being said.
Then, about 20 minutes later I had a mate come up to me and say "are you ready for the worst news your going to hear today?" I raised an eyebrow and he lead me to the car. I now knew what the kids were looking at. See this rather big and nasty looking tree branch?
See these (and plenty of other) scratches down the rear passenger quarter on my 4 month old car?
Yea, it was on my car. I couldn't believe it. Of all the cars in the place and of all the times it could've fell down without damage over the off season it had fell today on my car. Luckily it had only grazed by the panel rather than falling on the car proper. After we moved the branch off and dragged it away I had a quick look at the damage. I was hoping I could rub the scratches out with elbow grease and ScratchX but they were far too deep. I ran into the wife of the mate's dad that I had parked next to and she said those kids were swinging off the tree, throwing sticks and :censored:ing around when her husband was there earlier in the day. She said he'd told them to cut it out but when he moved his car later in the day they'd gone back to it. I had no words in reply to that. Well, none that get past the swear filter anyway.
So I've avoided posting this until I could talk to a collision repairer and today I finally got that chance. The business' owner immediately sent a worker out with a buffer and compound and after 20 minutes work he was fortunately able to get off all the scratches. Unfortunately you can't buff out a dent or a deep paint chip
.I couldn't get a picture this late that shows the damage properly so I'll post one tomorrow.
The owner told me that it would be $1500 to put a new panel on and have it sprayed. I told him my insurance excess isn't much less and he said the other option I had was to take it to a backyarder who could bog it up and spray it so it's no longer visible. I didn't like either option and he said that if you didn't know it was there you wouldn't see it and that if it were his car and money he wouldn't bother. Then he said thanks for dropping by and told me he wouldn't charge me for the buff job.
So that's that, the car I put nearly half my wage into a week, take good care of and am proud as punch to own now has two permanent blemishes because some people can't control their children. Words can't really describe how gutted I am at that fact
I have Z news but I'll post that tomorrow, time slid by on me while I was writing that.
Edit: They are pretty small blemishes but that's not the point. The car was perfect and should still be perfect. It's as simple as that.
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CAMAROBOY69
Premium
- 18,567
- Michigan
- CAMAROBOY69
Sorry to hear that. The good news is most of the scratches buffed out. The even better news is that it could have been much worse.
- 3,694
- South Australia
Absolutely. The branch was definitely big and heavy enough to do a hell of a lot more damage than it did. Here's the best pics I could get of the dent & chip.
On to the promised Z news than shall we? I'm a freight delivery driver and a few weeks ago we had a convertible hardtop for a Triumph Stag pass through the depot. I got to have a good look at how it mounts, and just familiarise myself with what had gone in to making it. I then spent the next few days thinking about different ways I could make a similar system up for my convertible and by mid last week was ready to get started on making it happen. My first thought was to make the original mould out of mesh, it was a complete failure.
Next i gave floral foam a go, and while it shaped awesomely I decided that a better place to start was with what I had. So, i covered the soft top and it's surrounding areas with masking tape. I also built walls from cardboard that run along the entire perimeter, this will give the finished fibreglass mould a lip all around the edge which apparently adds strength.
Next I wrapped it all in duct tape and tin foil. Plenty of internet sources said that this will keep any resin from seeping through to damage what's beneath.
With that done I went out and bought (literally) all the fibreglass I could get my hands on locally but on laying it out dry, I realised it was barely enough for 1 layer đź‘Ž
So now i'm stalled while I wait for more fibreglass, release agent, resin and hardener to arrive from ebay. I know you're probably scratching your head trying to figure out what's going on here so i'll lay out my plan.
- Make 'plug' from original softop. I choose to also include the decklid and other surrounding areas in my plug to give me all the space possible to work with for design later on
- Make mould from plug
- Cut, shut, shape and fiddle with mould using foam, fibreglass and body filler until it's outside shape is exactly what I want it to be and is perfectly smooth. This will be the most challenging, nerve racking, time consuming and frustrating step by far.
- Make a second mould off the top of the shaped mould.
- Mould the final mould from the inside of the second mould. This one has to be strong as hell because I might end up needing to make more than one roof. These things aren't made at all for 300zxs, so once I get mine finished I'll put some photos up on the internet to see if anyone wants to borrow the mould or have me make them one.
- From this final mould, make the actual hardtop.
- fit mounting hardware (which needs to be professionally fabricated) to hardtop, add reinforcements and sound deadening to inside. Fibreglass over all that then have the inside professionally trimmed in a nice black fabric. Get outside professionally painted to match colour of the car.
I've spoken about doing this for ages and always put it in the too hard basket. My mind ran away with me and now it's happening. Obviously threre's a lot more too it than my quickly layed out dot points imply but we'll cross all those hurdles when they come. I've passed the point of no return now so i'm just eagerly awaiting my supplies. My goals are to not have to modify the car to fit it, have it look like a factory option and to get to the finished product for under $1000. Yup, I'm freaking insane.
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- 3,694
- South Australia
While I was waiting for some stuff to arrive I decided it would be a wise move to build up the surrounding walls and beef up the foil joins with more duct tape to make sure no resin escaped.
Then I was stuck waiting for two shipments of stuff to arrive. The first, of fibreglass cloth, arrived last weekend and I sat one layer in place, and patted it out so it would conform somewhat to the shape beneath.
Just in time for this weekend, the rest of my stuff arrived! 4KGs of fibreglass resin, catalyst, some gloves, a special roller, some paint brushes, a respirator, a kitchen scale and some plastic mixing containers.
With all the equipment ready, I kicked into gear and filled all the containers with resin ready to have hardener mixed in as required. 4 batches later, the layer of cloth that was sitting in place was wetted out. I then put the mat (that I had cut in shapes ready to go in the post above) down and started wetting that out. Unfortunately it soaked up twice as much resin as the cloth did and twice as much as I'd expected. I only just had enough resin to wet it all out. Which means I don't have any resin left to put another layer of cloth down, and this may not be strong enough to survive being separated from the car as it sits. Fingers crossed all goes well when It's cured in a couple days time.
I recently discovered that radiator fans from naturally aspirated 300zxs fit the twin turbo models, so I might have to "borrow" the convertible's for the next gymkhana.
The 86 had it's 10,000km service done last week. No problems arose and all went well. Theres a come & try autocross day tomorrow that i'm considering entering it in, but i'm yet to decide on that.
The Skyline is patiently waiting for my dad's work schedule to agree with an event. It can be a bit frustrating watching events go by while our car sits still, but these are the joys of shared projects.
Thanks for reading folks!
Then I was stuck waiting for two shipments of stuff to arrive. The first, of fibreglass cloth, arrived last weekend and I sat one layer in place, and patted it out so it would conform somewhat to the shape beneath.
Just in time for this weekend, the rest of my stuff arrived! 4KGs of fibreglass resin, catalyst, some gloves, a special roller, some paint brushes, a respirator, a kitchen scale and some plastic mixing containers.
With all the equipment ready, I kicked into gear and filled all the containers with resin ready to have hardener mixed in as required. 4 batches later, the layer of cloth that was sitting in place was wetted out. I then put the mat (that I had cut in shapes ready to go in the post above) down and started wetting that out. Unfortunately it soaked up twice as much resin as the cloth did and twice as much as I'd expected. I only just had enough resin to wet it all out. Which means I don't have any resin left to put another layer of cloth down, and this may not be strong enough to survive being separated from the car as it sits. Fingers crossed all goes well when It's cured in a couple days time.
I recently discovered that radiator fans from naturally aspirated 300zxs fit the twin turbo models, so I might have to "borrow" the convertible's for the next gymkhana.
The 86 had it's 10,000km service done last week. No problems arose and all went well. Theres a come & try autocross day tomorrow that i'm considering entering it in, but i'm yet to decide on that.
The Skyline is patiently waiting for my dad's work schedule to agree with an event. It can be a bit frustrating watching events go by while our car sits still, but these are the joys of shared projects.
Thanks for reading folks!
- 3,694
- South Australia
Success! After 30 minutes with a knife, some swear words and a little gentle persuasion, we have lift off!
It was quite a bit more flexible than I'd hoped, but it feels pretty solid, stayed in shape and makes a nice, reassuring thud when you hit it. I'm certain it will stand up to being covered with foam just fine
I went and had a look at the autocross and completely by chance stumbled across a few members of a BRZ/86 car club. They were a good group of guys and invited me to join up, which I promptly did. They're a very active club but my location means I unfortunately won't be able to do many of their cruises or events. On the way home I saw this billboard and figured it was worth grabbing a picture of.
It was quite a bit more flexible than I'd hoped, but it feels pretty solid, stayed in shape and makes a nice, reassuring thud when you hit it. I'm certain it will stand up to being covered with foam just fine
I went and had a look at the autocross and completely by chance stumbled across a few members of a BRZ/86 car club. They were a good group of guys and invited me to join up, which I promptly did. They're a very active club but my location means I unfortunately won't be able to do many of their cruises or events. On the way home I saw this billboard and figured it was worth grabbing a picture of.
- 3,694
- South Australia
Due to my age, my insurance excess is even more than the shop was going to charge me. Using it would also upset my no-claims bonus. I was thinking that the football club's insurance could cover it, but it turns out theres a sign waiving liability on the gate
- 3,694
- South Australia
@Ibonibo I'm yet to have someone ask me where it came from, so i'm assuming that i'm the only one who looks close enough to notice. It gets on my nerves every time I wash the car though.
So, I bought some expanding foam...
Which I emptied on to the fibreglass and left to expand over night...
Then using a saw and some 80grit sandpaper, I got busy shaping the driver's side pillar. It was a very gradual process but eventually a body line started to appear.
After a while it started looking pretty smooth but some air bubbles in the foam reared there ugly heads. I'm not sure i really like the shape i've created, but it's a start.
On tomorrow night's agenda- buy and spray a lot MOAR FOAM.
Apologies for the photos being sideways. If your flexible, tilting your head 90* to the left will show them properly
So, I bought some expanding foam...
Which I emptied on to the fibreglass and left to expand over night...
Then using a saw and some 80grit sandpaper, I got busy shaping the driver's side pillar. It was a very gradual process but eventually a body line started to appear.
After a while it started looking pretty smooth but some air bubbles in the foam reared there ugly heads. I'm not sure i really like the shape i've created, but it's a start.
On tomorrow night's agenda- buy and spray a lot MOAR FOAM.
Apologies for the photos being sideways. If your flexible, tilting your head 90* to the left will show them properly
- 3,694
- South Australia
@Ibonibo
The dust this foam makes is freaking crazy! I've been sweeping it under the car after each session so once I'm done I'll take a photo of the pile that's left behind
@Nismo34
Ridiculous is definitely the right word. I get paranoid every time I drive it at night, I don't think it would take a hit from a kangaroo too well
I did more foaming over the weekend...
Unfortunately I used a different brand of foam which, once shaped, more resembled swiss cheese than a smooth surface. This limited how much detail I could put into carving that bit, so I just sprayed my other can of the same stuff where the back window will be.
Which obviously brought about the swiss cheese situation again, so today I bought some of the foam I used on the first bit and filled up the big holes. That's right, I used the product how it's meant to be used! I then went and sprayed two cans of the good stuff on the top of the roof. Here's how it sits while I wait overnight for the new foam to cure.
The dust this foam makes is freaking crazy! I've been sweeping it under the car after each session so once I'm done I'll take a photo of the pile that's left behind
@Nismo34
Ridiculous is definitely the right word. I get paranoid every time I drive it at night, I don't think it would take a hit from a kangaroo too well
I did more foaming over the weekend...
Unfortunately I used a different brand of foam which, once shaped, more resembled swiss cheese than a smooth surface. This limited how much detail I could put into carving that bit, so I just sprayed my other can of the same stuff where the back window will be.
Which obviously brought about the swiss cheese situation again, so today I bought some of the foam I used on the first bit and filled up the big holes. That's right, I used the product how it's meant to be used! I then went and sprayed two cans of the good stuff on the top of the roof. Here's how it sits while I wait overnight for the new foam to cure.
- 3,694
- South Australia
This is the exact process I'd use if I were making a bodykit. The only difference is that shaping would be one of the last steps, instead of the second on a very long journey. If you've got the time, patience and money than it's it's really quite easy to do. The hardest things about making a bodykit would be getting it to look classy while still putting your stamp on it and making sure each side is the same. Just make sure if you actually do it to put up a thread and not cheap out on the foam
Rightio, so lets take a look at the last two nights progress on the roof shall we?
After carving the basic shape, I decided that I wanted to have the middle portion of the roof indented just a little to compliment the slight bonnet bulge. It was a fair bit of work, but I eventually got it to about the right height level. (Where the hacksaw blade is)
Only to realise it didn't line up with said bulge. So I used some left over tape to track where the drop needed to be.
And after quite a bit of work I was starting to get pretty happy with how it looked.
Now, to warn any potential body kit builders, from the last photo I posted before this post, to the last picture on this one sums up about 4 hours of work. Carving this stuff is easy but it's also time consuming as hell, and mistakes that leave deep gouges are easy to make. Just saiyan'.
I spoke to my dad about entering the rainbow Z in the gymkhana and he told me not to do it. He said rather than testing it like that I'd be better off having the engine fully rebuilt and compression tested. He even rang the man who did the engine work on his drag car* and my brothers old work ute** to discuss it. Unlike most mechanics this guy didn't run and hide upon hearing 300zx and said he would be more than happy to rebuild and tune it. He's going to get back to us on a cost figure.
* Stroked to hell, alcohol injected, supercharged, dedicated drag racing V8 Chrysler ute
** The F6 ute was making upwards of 650RWHP when he sold it
It's OK, I won't be offended If you ask for pics
Thanks for reading
Rightio, so lets take a look at the last two nights progress on the roof shall we?
After carving the basic shape, I decided that I wanted to have the middle portion of the roof indented just a little to compliment the slight bonnet bulge. It was a fair bit of work, but I eventually got it to about the right height level. (Where the hacksaw blade is)
Only to realise it didn't line up with said bulge. So I used some left over tape to track where the drop needed to be.
And after quite a bit of work I was starting to get pretty happy with how it looked.
Now, to warn any potential body kit builders, from the last photo I posted before this post, to the last picture on this one sums up about 4 hours of work. Carving this stuff is easy but it's also time consuming as hell, and mistakes that leave deep gouges are easy to make. Just saiyan'.
I spoke to my dad about entering the rainbow Z in the gymkhana and he told me not to do it. He said rather than testing it like that I'd be better off having the engine fully rebuilt and compression tested. He even rang the man who did the engine work on his drag car* and my brothers old work ute** to discuss it. Unlike most mechanics this guy didn't run and hide upon hearing 300zx and said he would be more than happy to rebuild and tune it. He's going to get back to us on a cost figure.
* Stroked to hell, alcohol injected, supercharged, dedicated drag racing V8 Chrysler ute
** The F6 ute was making upwards of 650RWHP when he sold it
It's OK, I won't be offended If you ask for pics
Thanks for reading
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- 3,694
- South Australia
Because I did the base in fibreglass I could remove it right now if I need or want to. You could make bases for each piece and reattach them with tape every time you wanted to work on the kit. You'd need to set aside a full weekend to fibreglass up the base for each part though I reckon.
Which reminds me, the base doesn't have to (and retrospectively speaking) shouldn't be a direct copy of the underlying part. For complicated bits like a roof or front bumper, you'd be better off blanking off the surrounding area with cardboard or timber and creating a base off of that. It's hard to explain but for example, I shouldn't have fibreglassed over the soft top. Instead, i should've put some board over the roof and over the roll bar and moulded off of that, thus meaning I wouldn't have to make this layer over the shape of the soft top. It's been an issue that's stopped me cutting the roof down as low to the roll bar as I would've liked. With a bumper it would mean without cutting into your base you couldn't have any parts of it set back further than the original bumper was. This also means you'd need to take off the bumper every time you wanted to see how it looked on the car.
Yea... It's just a bit of a nightmare trying to wrap your head around this.
Edit 8/6/14: I'm just going to slip this in here incase anyone comes in here and wonders "bro, y u no update thread in ages?" Simply put i've hit a bit of a tough spot personally, I don't feel quite ready to talk about it but it's pulled a handbrake on my projects and goals. Rest assured i'll still frequently look over and post around GTP and the members rides section. However, "Hayden's Cars" will remain un-updated until the wheels start turning again.
Thanks to everybody that has ever posted (negatively or positively) in this thread. The knowledge, patience and kindness you all display is a testament to how good the internet can be. I'm sorry to sneak out the backdoor like this but i'm not one to make a fuss. All going well, I'll be back to updating this thread sooner rather than latter and revery little thing I do to my cars in the meantime will be photographed ready for this thread's return. Here's a typically terrible pic (i took a while ago but for some reason never shared)to remember the stars of this show by until then.
GTPlanet, see ya'll down the road.
Which reminds me, the base doesn't have to (and retrospectively speaking) shouldn't be a direct copy of the underlying part. For complicated bits like a roof or front bumper, you'd be better off blanking off the surrounding area with cardboard or timber and creating a base off of that. It's hard to explain but for example, I shouldn't have fibreglassed over the soft top. Instead, i should've put some board over the roof and over the roll bar and moulded off of that, thus meaning I wouldn't have to make this layer over the shape of the soft top. It's been an issue that's stopped me cutting the roof down as low to the roll bar as I would've liked. With a bumper it would mean without cutting into your base you couldn't have any parts of it set back further than the original bumper was. This also means you'd need to take off the bumper every time you wanted to see how it looked on the car.
Yea... It's just a bit of a nightmare trying to wrap your head around this.
Edit 8/6/14: I'm just going to slip this in here incase anyone comes in here and wonders "bro, y u no update thread in ages?" Simply put i've hit a bit of a tough spot personally, I don't feel quite ready to talk about it but it's pulled a handbrake on my projects and goals. Rest assured i'll still frequently look over and post around GTP and the members rides section. However, "Hayden's Cars" will remain un-updated until the wheels start turning again.
Thanks to everybody that has ever posted (negatively or positively) in this thread. The knowledge, patience and kindness you all display is a testament to how good the internet can be. I'm sorry to sneak out the backdoor like this but i'm not one to make a fuss. All going well, I'll be back to updating this thread sooner rather than latter and revery little thing I do to my cars in the meantime will be photographed ready for this thread's return. Here's a typically terrible pic (i took a while ago but for some reason never shared)to remember the stars of this show by until then.
GTPlanet, see ya'll down the road.
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- 2,972
- Bathurst
- geti01
Yea I have a rough idea what you're trying to say. Ill look into it and see what I can work out. Good news is that dad works at the dealership and his boss used to do a heap of work on R33's, so its going in next week sometime and the work is going to begin on it getting it back ready for the road (or track ). 
Might have a thread up soon too.
F6 looks cool. Been a fan of them for a while, damn shame they cost 3 arms and a leg brand new.
). Might have a thread up soon too.F6 looks cool. Been a fan of them for a while, damn shame they cost 3 arms and a leg brand new.
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- 3,694
- South Australia
Ok, it's been a while so I think I'm finally ready to talk about what happened. Warning, this is a very long post.
On the 6th June this year, while driving to Melbourne in the 86 to spend a long weekend with some friends I was involved in an accident. The road was wet and mossy, I approached a sharp right hand corner at about 35 km/h and by the time I realised what was happening the brakes were locked and the car was unstoppable.
The car left the road, scraped a tree, went about 20 meters down a very steep hill and finally impacted a tree. I was, put bluntly :censored:ing terrified. I got out of the car, walked up the hill to the road and stood there in shock for about 5 minutes. I then rang the police, who asked "Is anyone injured? Is there debris on the road? Where you drinking or using drugs?" to which I answered no to all. They then said "well we aren't coming. If you come to realise you need an ambulance, do not hesitate to call again." I then sat down for a moment to settle my head, messaged my mates to tell them I couldn't make it and rang my parents to tell them what happened. It was one of the hardest and scariest things I've ever done. My parents, I should explain, also employ me and I spend 48 hours a week driving trucks in the family business. Telling my dad and boss that I was 400km's away, on the side of the road, with no way home after crashing a sports car on the great ocean road will go down as 5 of the worst minutes of my life.
But I digress, after assuring my parents that I was fine I went on the internet, found a tow truck driver and gave him a call. After I'd explained what happened and where I was he said "no worries, sit tight, I'll be there in half an hour." So that's what I did. On a guard rail, in the middle of a forest while it poured with rain. You're probably asking why I didn't go sit in the car, but honestly, I couldn't bring myself to even look at it. Half an hour passed, then another half, then another. I eventually decided to ring him up and find out what was taking so long. "Oh, sorry mate I went looking for you where you said, but there's definitely no crashed car on that road within 20k's of here." I asked "20k's? I told you I was 40k's away?" and he said "Oh, I though you said 14... That's out of my district mate, you'll have to try somebody else." I went back on the internet, found another tow truck driver and gave him a ring. After making certain he knew exactly where I was I returned to sitting and waiting on the guard rail. By this time hundreds of people had driven passed, seen me there and continued on their way. A motorbike rider however, realised the oddity of a young guy standing on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere and pulled over to see what I was doing. After exchanging pleasantries he asked what I was doing there, I gestured down the hill, he walked over, looked down and asked me simply "did ya 🤬 yourself?"
After talking to the biker for a while he mentioned that he'd slowed down when he saw moss on the road and thought something was seriously wrong when he saw me standing there. He couldn't believe nobody else had stopped and after making sure I didn't need a lift, he jumped back on his bike and went on his way. About 2, cold, wet and miserable hours (made less so by browsing GTPlanet I should mention) later the tow truck arrived. The man who got out and greeted me, Kenny, turned out to be a very caring and nice old man. Once the car was pulled up the hill and onto his truck he asked me, so where were you headed too? I told him Melbourne and he immediately said, "Oh, well If we're quick I suppose we could get you on a tourist bus back there... Do you still want to go to Melbourne?" I decided this was a good option, and he drove to the twelve apostles tourist destination, where I got the only available seat on one of the last buses to leave for the day. For the first time since the accident I actually looked at the car, it's nose badly crushed in and passenger side heavily damaged. I gritted my teeth and tried not to think about it, grabbed my belongings, said a very sincere thank you to Kenny and went on my way.
Considering the circumstances the rest of the weekend went pretty well. I still met up with my friends and we did all the things we had planned, but for me it was a dark time. My cars are a huge part of who I am. I've always prided myself on looking after them, being a good driver and not reinforcing any negative stereotypes about young car guys. I can't really think of a way to finish that thought. After the final farewells, I got a late night bus ticket to as close to home as possible and finally arrived at 2am on Monday morning.
The next few weeks were filled with talking to the insurance company as the car was taken to various repair shops and assessed. Finally, on the third week I got the call "the car has been determined as repairable, but it is not economically viable to do so. We understand that when you signed up for our insurance you opted in to our replacement vehicle program. Before we go any further we'd like to know what colour you want your replacement Toyota 86 to be."
So that was pretty much that. I told them I'd take any colour that wasn't blue (I wanted to be able to remember them as two different cars) and after 2 months of false leads, weird reasoning and some complete nonsense (saying we're waiting for a special truck, then telling me the next day it's still on the boat?) they finally located a car and had it transported to the dealer. I picked it up that weekend and the salesman smiled as he handed me the keys and said, "just don't crash this one, will you."
This is the first time I've actually spoken about the accident to anybody outside my closest few friends and family. It strikes me that what happened was purely down to my inexperience as a driver. Yes, I drive 48 hours a week, but that is almost all on country highways or in town. The accident happened on a road I'd never driven before, of a type I rarely drive, in very bad weather. I wasn't driving fast or doing anything stupid. I wasn't distracted, asleep or intoxicated. I just plain 🤬 up, and I hold myself entirely responsible for what happened.
I've learnt my lesson. I've also paid a price. With the insurance excess and increase in future premiums this accident has cost me well north of $5000. It forced me to a state where I was afraid to spend any money at all for over three months, expecting my car and bill to arrive at any moment. I cut myself off from friends, stopped doing events with the Skyline and left the Zed in the shed, gathering dust as I used the work ute to get to and from where I absolutely needed to go. It also threw me about emotionally quite badly, but this threads about cars so lets continue.
In short, the whole experience absolutely sucked. Sucked. Sucked. Sucked. Sucked. Writing this post to you guys, who I have so much respect for, has been one of the most humbling things I've ever done. I've been trying to do it for two weeks, it's taken nearly 2 hours to write and has still come out as a bit of a mess. If you've made it this far without rolling your eyes and going to look at Heldenzeit's Miata, than I really do thank you.
Tomorrow I have some good news, but I don't think I could type another sentence If I tried. Thanks again.
On the 6th June this year, while driving to Melbourne in the 86 to spend a long weekend with some friends I was involved in an accident. The road was wet and mossy, I approached a sharp right hand corner at about 35 km/h and by the time I realised what was happening the brakes were locked and the car was unstoppable.
The car left the road, scraped a tree, went about 20 meters down a very steep hill and finally impacted a tree. I was, put bluntly :censored:ing terrified. I got out of the car, walked up the hill to the road and stood there in shock for about 5 minutes. I then rang the police, who asked "Is anyone injured? Is there debris on the road? Where you drinking or using drugs?" to which I answered no to all. They then said "well we aren't coming. If you come to realise you need an ambulance, do not hesitate to call again." I then sat down for a moment to settle my head, messaged my mates to tell them I couldn't make it and rang my parents to tell them what happened. It was one of the hardest and scariest things I've ever done. My parents, I should explain, also employ me and I spend 48 hours a week driving trucks in the family business. Telling my dad and boss that I was 400km's away, on the side of the road, with no way home after crashing a sports car on the great ocean road will go down as 5 of the worst minutes of my life.
But I digress, after assuring my parents that I was fine I went on the internet, found a tow truck driver and gave him a call. After I'd explained what happened and where I was he said "no worries, sit tight, I'll be there in half an hour." So that's what I did. On a guard rail, in the middle of a forest while it poured with rain. You're probably asking why I didn't go sit in the car, but honestly, I couldn't bring myself to even look at it. Half an hour passed, then another half, then another. I eventually decided to ring him up and find out what was taking so long. "Oh, sorry mate I went looking for you where you said, but there's definitely no crashed car on that road within 20k's of here." I asked "20k's? I told you I was 40k's away?" and he said "Oh, I though you said 14... That's out of my district mate, you'll have to try somebody else." I went back on the internet, found another tow truck driver and gave him a ring. After making certain he knew exactly where I was I returned to sitting and waiting on the guard rail. By this time hundreds of people had driven passed, seen me there and continued on their way. A motorbike rider however, realised the oddity of a young guy standing on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere and pulled over to see what I was doing. After exchanging pleasantries he asked what I was doing there, I gestured down the hill, he walked over, looked down and asked me simply "did ya 🤬 yourself?"
After talking to the biker for a while he mentioned that he'd slowed down when he saw moss on the road and thought something was seriously wrong when he saw me standing there. He couldn't believe nobody else had stopped and after making sure I didn't need a lift, he jumped back on his bike and went on his way. About 2, cold, wet and miserable hours (made less so by browsing GTPlanet I should mention) later the tow truck arrived. The man who got out and greeted me, Kenny, turned out to be a very caring and nice old man. Once the car was pulled up the hill and onto his truck he asked me, so where were you headed too? I told him Melbourne and he immediately said, "Oh, well If we're quick I suppose we could get you on a tourist bus back there... Do you still want to go to Melbourne?" I decided this was a good option, and he drove to the twelve apostles tourist destination, where I got the only available seat on one of the last buses to leave for the day. For the first time since the accident I actually looked at the car, it's nose badly crushed in and passenger side heavily damaged. I gritted my teeth and tried not to think about it, grabbed my belongings, said a very sincere thank you to Kenny and went on my way.
Considering the circumstances the rest of the weekend went pretty well. I still met up with my friends and we did all the things we had planned, but for me it was a dark time. My cars are a huge part of who I am. I've always prided myself on looking after them, being a good driver and not reinforcing any negative stereotypes about young car guys. I can't really think of a way to finish that thought. After the final farewells, I got a late night bus ticket to as close to home as possible and finally arrived at 2am on Monday morning.
The next few weeks were filled with talking to the insurance company as the car was taken to various repair shops and assessed. Finally, on the third week I got the call "the car has been determined as repairable, but it is not economically viable to do so. We understand that when you signed up for our insurance you opted in to our replacement vehicle program. Before we go any further we'd like to know what colour you want your replacement Toyota 86 to be."
So that was pretty much that. I told them I'd take any colour that wasn't blue (I wanted to be able to remember them as two different cars) and after 2 months of false leads, weird reasoning and some complete nonsense (saying we're waiting for a special truck, then telling me the next day it's still on the boat?) they finally located a car and had it transported to the dealer. I picked it up that weekend and the salesman smiled as he handed me the keys and said, "just don't crash this one, will you."
This is the first time I've actually spoken about the accident to anybody outside my closest few friends and family. It strikes me that what happened was purely down to my inexperience as a driver. Yes, I drive 48 hours a week, but that is almost all on country highways or in town. The accident happened on a road I'd never driven before, of a type I rarely drive, in very bad weather. I wasn't driving fast or doing anything stupid. I wasn't distracted, asleep or intoxicated. I just plain 🤬 up, and I hold myself entirely responsible for what happened.
I've learnt my lesson. I've also paid a price. With the insurance excess and increase in future premiums this accident has cost me well north of $5000. It forced me to a state where I was afraid to spend any money at all for over three months, expecting my car and bill to arrive at any moment. I cut myself off from friends, stopped doing events with the Skyline and left the Zed in the shed, gathering dust as I used the work ute to get to and from where I absolutely needed to go. It also threw me about emotionally quite badly, but this threads about cars so lets continue.
In short, the whole experience absolutely sucked. Sucked. Sucked. Sucked. Sucked. Writing this post to you guys, who I have so much respect for, has been one of the most humbling things I've ever done. I've been trying to do it for two weeks, it's taken nearly 2 hours to write and has still come out as a bit of a mess. If you've made it this far without rolling your eyes and going to look at Heldenzeit's Miata, than I really do thank you.
Tomorrow I have some good news, but I don't think I could type another sentence If I tried. Thanks again.
- 3,455
- Brisbane
- Uriehusky
- Uriehusky
Wow. Y'know, I've sat here for 10 minutes after reading this post just letting it sink in.. Frankly I'm just glad you're okay!
Accidents happen bro, anybody who judges you for that is living in a cartoon because in the real world anything can happen. Don't beat yourself up about it.
Hayden, I have so much respect for you - keep doing what you're doing bro and don't let this poor experience dissuade you from your passion for cars - accidents happen to even the highest tier of driver.
Accidents happen bro, anybody who judges you for that is living in a cartoon because in the real world anything can happen. Don't beat yourself up about it.
Hayden, I have so much respect for you - keep doing what you're doing bro and don't let this poor experience dissuade you from your passion for cars - accidents happen to even the highest tier of driver.
Korza
Premium
- 3,786
- Christchurch, NZ
- kamikazi493
I wouldn't say that you were responsible for the accident. It was a road you didn't know in far from perfect conditions. At least you're alright and that you have a new 86. I mimic what Urie says - huge respect for you bro for what you're doing. Next time I'm in Australia I'll have to shout you a beer.
At least you don't have to fix the damage from that branch falling on it a few months ago.
At least you don't have to fix the damage from that branch falling on it a few months ago.
- 6,146
- Germany
I can just repeat what Urie and Korza have said, there's nothing you could've done about the accident, accidents happen, don't torture yourself thinking about if this could've been prevented and be just glad that you came out alive and uninjured out of all of this!
You can replace a car, but you cannot replace a human life!
I'm just going to quote something from Batman Begins, because it kinda fits: "Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourself back up again." So learn from your experiences instead of wasting your thoughts on how and if this could've been prevented, you cannot change what happened, just learn from your experience and you won't be doing the same mistake twice again
You can replace a car, but you cannot replace a human life!
I'm just going to quote something from Batman Begins, because it kinda fits: "Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourself back up again." So learn from your experiences instead of wasting your thoughts on how and if this could've been prevented, you cannot change what happened, just learn from your experience and you won't be doing the same mistake twice again
- 1,602
- Indianapolis,IN
- JrDarknes
Wow very crazy story, so glad your ok dude. I'm really surprised the cops couldn't come down there and give you a ride. Thank god for the dude in the motorbike. Motorcyclist are just the most helpful people in my experience.
But yea accidents happen and I understand exactly how you feel with my first car. I didn't want to talk to anyone for a while and I could never get black color on the same car again, so your not the only one who's gone and going through this situation. I know it's tough.
Glad you post this though, because now when it's wet I can always remember the consequences that can happen if I'm not too careful.
But yea accidents happen and I understand exactly how you feel with my first car. I didn't want to talk to anyone for a while and I could never get black color on the same car again, so your not the only one who's gone and going through this situation. I know it's tough.
Glad you post this though, because now when it's wet I can always remember the consequences that can happen if I'm not too careful.
- 3,694
- South Australia
Thanks Urie, means a lot mate. I haven't let the accident throw me off of cars one bit. As you're about to find out.
I'll take you up on that beer mate, just say where and when.I wouldn't say that you were responsible for the accident. It was a road you didn't know in far from perfect conditions. At least you're alright and that you have a new 86. I mimic what Urie says - huge respect for you bro for what you're doing. Next time I'm in Australia I'll have to shout you a beer.
At least you don't have to fix the damage from that branch falling on it a few months ago.
I really like that quote, thanks for sharing it.I can just repeat what Urie and Korza have said, there's nothing you could've done about the accident, accidents happen, don't torture yourself thinking about if this could've been prevented and be just glad that you came out alive and uninjured out of all of this!
You can replace a car, but you cannot replace a human life!
I'm just going to quote something from Batman Begins, because it kinda fits: "Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourself back up again." So learn from your experiences instead of wasting your thoughts on how and if this could've been prevented, you cannot change what happened, just learn from your experience and you won't be doing the same mistake twice again
It's nice to think that other people may learn from my accident. Thanks.
Ok, so with the accident finally off my chest, I suppose I can move on to what's happened in the last 2 weeks. I said i'd do this last week but forgot I was moving house and wouldn't have access to internet on my computer. Sorry about that. I'll keep everything really brief for your sake and mine.
1. I got my full license, which means I am no longer restricted to driving NA cars of 6 or fewer cylinders.
2. Remember when HFS said this?
Well, there's only one way to say this so um... Yea, it happened.Ah, gotcha. Good grief, for a second I thought not just that two people in the world had been insane enough to paint their ZXs in that colour, but you'd been insane enough to buy both of them too
A mate asked me if I wanted to go halves with him and try to make a profit on it. Seeing as It was really, really cheap, is in way better nick than the other one and wont take much work to get roadworthy I agreed. Not sure when we'll start working on it, but it'll happen eventually. (Yes thats a fake carbon fibre scoop on the DOOR. They were put on to cover up the dent on the drivers side.)
3. I'm currently on my 2nd of 2 weeks off work that I got with the intention of doing the engine swap between the convertible and original funny coloured car. It's been an absolutely huge project that has taken many hours and swear words. I'm happy to report with props to my mechanically minded mate Cody, we are making great progress
I'm not sure if we'll have it all done by the time i need to go back to work, but Cody said he's happy to keep working on it without me. I'm paying him for his time, and this wouldn't have been possible without him.
4. I managed to source the spoiler I wanted and I took it, along with the front and rear bumpers and boot to the best paint shop in the district. They tell me it should all be done in about 3 weeks. I'm really excited to see how it's gonna look
5. I've been flat out buying other little things that I've always wanted to do to the convertible but never did. Including red stitched boots and arm rest cover (inspired by @LeadFootLiam), A HID conversion kit, a strut brace, Nismo floor mats and some ultra bright spotlights that I'm going to put in the OEM fog light surrounds. Pictures of all these will come as they arrive and are fitted.
So now we're all on the same page. Thanks as always for reading guys
