Stupid deer.. Rambler wrecked

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70DartMike

70DartMike

Too many projects
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Heading down a side road this morning, a deer jumped out in front of my Rambler. With no time to think, "It'll probably be better if I just hit it," I swerved right and lost control. The car spun a couple times, then went into the ditch, then spun again and stopped in the ditch. The reason I lost control is because it hasn't rained in months here and started today. The oil in the blacktop made this road VERY slippery.

I'm fine, but mostly pissed off because this car is a survivor, with original straight sheet metal (at least it was straight). I'll be tearing it down and starting the search for better stuff.

The car is a '66 Rambler Classic 550. If anyone wants to PM me with parts, please do.

Before..



After..



 
Boy that does suck. Looks like it's fixable, any frame / suspension damage you can detect?
 
67Dart273 said:
Boy that does suck. Looks like it's fixable, any frame / suspension damage you can detect?
Click to expand...

Oh it's definitely fixable, and I'll be doing so unlike so many other 4 doors that get parted because of a little scratch.
Frame damage - none that I can tell, luckily nothing near the frame was hurt. These things have such flimsy bumper brackets that the thing just gave away.
Suspension damage - looks like just the tie rod received the most of it.
Even the inner fender survived.

The hardest part is finding the actual parts for this car.
 
Very sorry - but that's the chance we take when we drive them. Just can't plan for or avoid things like this. And if you kept them tucked away safe in the garage, the damn garage would catch fire! Glad it wasn't worse. Best of luck sourcing parts and all.
 
geo4k said:
very sorry - but that's the chance we take when we drive them. Just can't plan for or avoid things like this. And if you kept them tucked away safe in the garage, the damn garage would catch fire! Glad it wasn't worse. Best of luck sourcing parts and all.
Click to expand...

never dodge an animal , get on the brakes hard , don`t make any fast changes at speed.
 
famous bob said:
never dodge an animal , get on the brakes hard , don`t make any fast changes at speed.
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I realize that now, but in the split second of it happening, I wasn't really thinking, "Oh I better hit it, there'll be less damage."

9" drums all around, very slippery oily road, the brakes were doing me no good. It was so slippery in fact that when my friend in his '98 Cummins tried to drive up the road to pick me up, he was spinning out. He had to put it in 4x4 just to drive up a wet road.
 
Well that sucks Mike. You'll find the parts you need.
 
70DartMike said:
Oh it's definitely fixable, and I'll be doing so unlike so many other 4 doors that get parted because of a little scratch.
Frame damage - none that I can tell, luckily nothing near the frame was hurt. These things have such flimsy bumper brackets that the thing just gave away.
Suspension damage - looks like just the tie rod received the most of it.
Even the inner fender survived.

The hardest part is finding the actual parts for this car.
Click to expand...

Try Classic to Current, call if it is not listed.
 
Bummer man! My first time out with my car after rebuilding it and fresh paint. I was driving a winding road and came around one of the corners to a flock of turkeys flying across the road. I hit one of them doing about 45mph on the passengers side hood and fender. I thought for sure I damaged the car.. Thank gosh I was lucky enough that it just crapped all over it instead.

I hope insurance helps you out and you get it back on the road quickly.
 
Sorry about your Rambler i love their style, maybe a brush guard next time!(j/k)
The deer must be starting to rut in your neck of the woods.
 
Sorry to hear about your mishap. My Dad had a white car just like yours. Revved it in neutral and threw it into "D"- Fan hit the radiator and I thought I was dead! Hope this gives you a momentary chuckle. You'll find the parts, don't give up!



[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcQiYSzwN3c"]The Simpsons D'oh a deer - YouTube[/ame]
 
that sucks Mike , I had an incident saturday morning with my car on the way to Moparfest , mine is just swap in a body panel and some paint , I wish I had seen this Saturday because there is a pretty hard core little group of AMC guys that come to the show .
 
Yeah, that does suck, stupid deer indeed. I had a deer trash the whole passenger side of my Dakota, never saw it until a split second before impact.
 
Sorry to read Mike. Like Chris said too bad this didnt happen sooner we may have found stuff at Mfest for ya.
 
Thanks for the comments, and to all who PMd.

Here's a couple pics now that it's in the shop.

A friend of mine has this bumper stamping machine so we're going to give it a try with mine. He says it's really good at straightening bent ones.





 
A three year old car prolly would have been totaled!
They don't build 'em like that anymore!
 
That sucks, man...I hope you can get your parts quickly. Any AMC websites out there?
 
Bot that stinks Mike! That's a sharp looking car. My father-in-law has a 64 Rambler American so I know what you mean about hard to find parts.
 
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