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robl1974 · 10-01-2005, 10:31 PM

Alright. I had this piece of s**t 1983 Z28 that the previous owner had built and installed an awesome 350ci in. The body was crap, however. So a friend, steve and I decide to do some off roading with it and we drive through this big puddle in the road and going about 45mph, and the dirt road goes over a small rise that we hit and get air from, but at the bottom of the rise on the other side are some massive ruts where someone with large tires decided to dig out. Well, we hit the rut coming down from the small jump, and when we bounce, I lose my grip on the steering wheel, and suddenly we really are going off road right through the forrest, glancing off of a few trees. I learned then why you should always wear your seatbelt as I nailed the roof (T-Tops) and bent the steering wheel with one hand, and ripped the dashboard with the other. When I finally got the car back home, both T-Tops were cracked (Chevy used real glass back then instead of the plastic junk of more recent times), the rear axle was slightly off center, the front end was bowed upward, to include the core-support, the radiator was leaking, oil pan was leaking, multiple bends and dents in the exhaust pipe,, and last but not least, I could turn the steering wheel from side to side and the car barely responded. I had cracked the front subframe right between the two upper bolts where the steering box was attached. Steve called a friend with jeep who managed to pull us out back onto the blacktop, and the Z barely made it home. I don't think we went faster that 20mph the whole way home. We had to drive through the city to get home, and all the way everyone who passed us stared. It's funny now but I still remember how embarrased I was that whole drive home. Needless to say, I parted out what I could and junked the rest. One more muscle car lost to stupidity.

10-01-2005, 10:31 PM	#19
robl1974 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 1	Re: What's the stupidest thing you've done in your car? Alright. I had this piece of s**t 1983 Z28 that the previous owner had built and installed an awesome 350ci in. The body was crap, however. So a friend, steve and I decide to do some off roading with it and we drive through this big puddle in the road and going about 45mph, and the dirt road goes over a small rise that we hit and get air from, but at the bottom of the rise on the other side are some massive ruts where someone with large tires decided to dig out. Well, we hit the rut coming down from the small jump, and when we bounce, I lose my grip on the steering wheel, and suddenly we really are going off road right through the forrest, glancing off of a few trees. I learned then why you should always wear your seatbelt as I nailed the roof (T-Tops) and bent the steering wheel with one hand, and ripped the dashboard with the other. When I finally got the car back home, both T-Tops were cracked (Chevy used real glass back then instead of the plastic junk of more recent times), the rear axle was slightly off center, the front end was bowed upward, to include the core-support, the radiator was leaking, oil pan was leaking, multiple bends and dents in the exhaust pipe,, and last but not least, I could turn the steering wheel from side to side and the car barely responded. I had cracked the front subframe right between the two upper bolts where the steering box was attached. Steve called a friend with jeep who managed to pull us out back onto the blacktop, and the Z barely made it home. I don't think we went faster that 20mph the whole way home. We had to drive through the city to get home, and all the way everyone who passed us stared. It's funny now but I still remember how embarrased I was that whole drive home. Needless to say, I parted out what I could and junked the rest. One more muscle car lost to stupidity.