Nothing like wrapping up a project just in time for the end of the season

Mud, dirt, pine needles. Mostly from the recovery. I had to be dragged up on it's roof, since the glass busted in the back, it acted like a scoop. So there is a fair amount of debris in there. Cage did hold up well. Only deformation I see is on the drivers side rocker/sill bar, and it's relatively minor. you can definitely see where the roof collapsed in places but was stopped by the cage. Could probably be a better fit next time. I'm a big fan of the FIA bar that goes from the base of of the A pillar to the top of the windshield. Doesn't make it an easier to get in the car, but shore makes it easier to get out when you are on your roof.

Wow, those back-to-back posts on 10/14 and 10/18 are probably a complete microcosm of the motorsports world in less than 200 words.

I'm really sorry to hear about your wipeout and impending winter project, but of course it's outweighed by the fact that you're here posting about it.

Good luck, man.

+1 on the glad you're okay comments.

Do I smell a future LeMons project?

I had an offer to purchase the car within a day, with the intention that it'd be a lemons car. Drivetrain appears to be ok, so I doubt I'll do that, as I'll need the parts. It all sort of depends once I start to hammer out the details.

Once I figured out how to get the hood open, I was able to pull the plugs and clear the cylinders of oil. Fired right up, albeit with some white smoke. Smoke cleared eventually. Radiator support is bent, but radiator survived. Driver side sill definitely got pushed up a bit. Drivers side of the fuel tank it pushed up, but doesn't appear to be leaking. Passenger rear suspension arm is bent in good shape. Surprisingly in good shape.

A few months later and things are looking up. One of my fellow hillclimbers had an 02 wrx caged shell available. So the 99 got stripped of everything usable and thrown on the 02. We've decided to name him scrappy. Not as light as an early impreza, but I couldn't pass up the deal. It will actually drop me a class hill climbing. If I can go a season or two with out wrecking it, a turbo motor will be in it's future.

I hate to say it, but that will buff right out.

Seriously, glad you made it through that unscathed. Hopefully you get everything swapped over to the new shell that you are reusing and get back in the saddle again soon.

It IS swapped over. Just have some misc details to wrap up, like attaching the bumper, connecting the lights, wipers etc. Runs, drives and stops just fine at the moment.

I am impressed by your quick turnaround. Nice work.

Make sure that the folks that did your last cage make your new one..

Don't be too impressed with me, I didn't do any of it. Fellow club mates that own and operate Kales Custom did everything. Can't say enough good things about them. I bought the shell from them, which already had a cage. Got a budget together and told them to do as much as they could get done for what I had to offer. Basically I don't have a garage, and my driveway was covered in 2 feet of snow, but now it's mud. To be honest I'm not sure how much they worked on it, but once they get cranking, the really fly. They made some additions to the cage, stripped the old car down to the shell, removed all the usable parts. The new shell was already stripped, they transferred the subframes, suspension, brakes, motor, transmission, installed the dash, hooked up enough wiring to make it run. Plumbed and bled the brakes. Fabricated a new radiator mount(the shell we were using had a custom setup previously). Installed the steering. Dropped the wreck off Friday March 4th, and picked up the new car on the 18th. All the while doing other shop business in a very busy two weeks. Even if I had a dry shop and lift, I'd only be a hundredth of the way through this. To say they exceeded my expectations is an understatement. If you need any sort of race prep, and you are in northern new england, you should check this place out. They are very busy so keep that in mind. If you go to the Mt. Washington hill climb this summer, you'll likely see their handy work on many of the cars there.

And the best part is, my son no longer has to look at the wreck, and ask me, "Daddy's race car? Daddy broke it?". At least not for a little while anyway.

An impressive tale of Woe, to tale of Whoa!, to tale of GO!

Took the car on it's shakedown run at a local autocross in preparation for the Burke Mtn Hillclimb this weekend. All went well. No large issues, just need to adjust the seating position, and a couple misc wiring issues to make it perfect. Usable as is.

Excellent! Good to see you back in action, dude. Wishing you the best!

I think it won't rub out.

Well, coming full circle. Time to run the event that put me on my roof. I'm nervous now. Can't imagine I'll sleep much the few nights before the event. I'm sure I'll take it easy in that spot too.

Good luck, and don't let the hill beat you this time!

Got faith in you. Best of luck!

Good luck!

sachilles wrote: Well, coming full circle. Time to run the event that put me on my roof. I'm nervous now. Can't imagine I'll sleep much the few nights before the event. I'm sure I'll take it easy in that spot too.

Kick its ass, seabass!

imirk wrote:

sachilles wrote: Well, coming full circle. Time to run the event that put me on my roof. I'm nervous now. Can't imagine I'll sleep much the few nights before the event. I'm sure I'll take it easy in that spot too.

Kick its ass, seabass!

^^^ That!

That is nuts- I just saw this thread for the first time. Glad to see that you were able to take a tough situation and turn it around- and good luck on this year’s event. Fingers crossed for you.

I can only imagine how you must have felt after coming to a rest at the bottom of that hill.

Jake wrote: I can only imagine how you must have felt after coming to a rest at the bottom of that hill.

I bet you can't

These were my thoughts: When I started to go over, I had the presence of mind to grab the e-brake handle so my arm wouldn't flop around. I nearly came to a stop, on my roof, then the nose of the car turned and I started accelerating down hill. Fortunately the tree stopped me....other wise I might have slid out to the parking lot. So when the tree stopped me, my thought was "am I stable". Didn't want the car to move or hurt any of the hill workers that jumped down to help me. My next thought was how am I going to undo this belt, and not fall. Once out, I had to figure out how I was getting up the hill in racing shoes.....they aren't made for hiking slick slopes. Then I wondered how the hell the wrecker was going to get me out....but they did (photos here extraction photos. ) Next I wondered what my wife would think. Then I wondered what I should have for lunch.

It was quite an educational experience for me. Never wrecked before that. It's amazing how quick you mind can go when you are in the moment.

two questions. was that don taylor that pulled it out.. and did he hook up to the roll bar to pull it? just wondering.

Hey sachhilles, who drives the Red Nissan I see in the pics? I've got one almost exactly like it, and I"m always browsing for stuff to do to it.