Testament to Unique's engineering

[Tony Radford]

There's a thread running over on Club Cobra started by a Unique owner who wiped out in his car, got airborne and took out a utility pole. The car was totaled (looks real bad in the photo). He had his daughter in the car with him and they both walked away. He gives kudos to Unique for a seriously robust frame design. Unbelievable!

[Slither]

Yikes! It's great that they were not hurt, but too bad to lose a Unique.

This is also bad for insurance...

[RonJ]

Unfortunatly that was me! I was waiting until I got the car back home and could take a few more pics before posting the news here. The body naturally is shot. I can see the frame is bent on the RF. Once I get it home I'll send a few pics. I was thinking about upgrading from 16" wheels to 17" s but this isn't the way I wanted to do it!

I'm not going to claim it on insurance. I'll have to eat the cost. It'll take me a few years to get the $$ to do it but I'll get her back on the road hopefully with the same frame so we won't loose a Unique vin #!

My thanks to the Weavers though! they build one heck of a stout vehicle!!

[RonJ]

I imagne after I get things torn apart I'll be calling on the Weavers to see about getting her fixed. Here's a pic from the impound lot where they towed it to.

Cobra wreck side 003.jpg

[jmillington]

Holy Toledo!
I'm glad you'all are OK, and to Unique and the Weavers!

[Charlie]

RonJ,
Glad to hear you both are ok. What happned?, if you don't mind me asking. Again glad your both ok.
I see your from Staunton. I went to school there years ago,Staunton Military Academy. It's gone now but seeing you were from the town it brought back memories.

Charlie

[brfutbrian]

glad everyone walked away. you were lucky. that frame took one big hit. crossmember looks like its all the way to the motor and it took a hit.sorry for your loss. later, brian.

[Slither]

Ron,

Staunton is a great place! I miss seeing Mildred Rowe when we pass through there. She ran a tight ship!

Glad you two are OK after that ride!

[Naumoff]

Glad you and your daughter are OK.
We used to camp at Shenandoah Acres. Nice area.

[RonJ]

I see lots of you guys have been to the area! It is a beautiful place. Mrs. Rowe was a great lady and her restaurant still lives on. In fact they have expanded and bought another one in Mt. Crawford.

I remember the SMA. Glad you enjoyed being there.

Since you all are familiar with the area how about a rebuild party once I get back on my feet..lol..

I was on a back country road when a groundhog darted out in front of me I yanked the wheel one direction to avoid it, Missed it then brought it back the other way and started to slide sideways probably due to loose gravel in the road. I gave it a little gas to bring the back end back around but no luck. Kept sliding off the road up an embankment and into a telephone pole on the other side of the embankment then dropped about 15' or so to the ground. Not a fun ride at all1 Next time I'll hit the goundhog and deal with those damages instead.

I'm going to try and bring the car home today and will post more pics after I get them.

[Naumoff]

I have a strict policy of "animals are fair game on the road". Even the cute ones. Just ran over a bunny this morning on the way to work. I guess he couldn't hear the diesel coming.

[scott h]

first of all- relieved to hear you and your daughter are O.K. i know making a claim will bump up your rates but wouldn't that be less than your out of pocket cost to repair. if our insurances will not cover or drop us after an accident might as well make the claim or just carry liability

[Slither]

Since you all are familiar with the area how about a rebuild party once I get back on my feet..lol..

You treat at Mrs. Rowe's and you've got a deal!!

[RonJ]

Here are a few pics after I got it home yesterday. It is toast. When I took the RF wheel off the hub adapter came off in pieces and you can look closely in one of the pics and see where the crank pulley and right side of the heads are chipped.

Slither, I'll have Mrs. Rowes cater the event! ha..ha..

[davebetts]

So glad you both walked away. It's been said before - a truely well built automobile.

[ralphscott]

So glad you and your daughter walked away. Clearly this should answer the question of how tough these little cars are. Please keep us appraised on the progress towards getting back on the road. The car looks like a total loss but I guess you really can't tell till you get it broken down and talk with Alan.

Everyday is Precious!

Ralph

[arrowdriver]

That wreck is a scary sight. Looking at the steering wheel it is clear that you hurt a bit afterwards but since no one was seriously hurt you were real lucky. Whether or not you claim it on your insurance is your call but if it were me I would. I hadn't had an insurance claim for 40 years but this past year had three of them, first for a plane I used to share with a partner (you can guess why he is not a partner anymore) who bounced it on landing and hit the prop on the runway, claim was $17,000.00, then my motorhome got sideswiped by an SUV, he was charged with an unsafe lane change, claim was about $6000 though my insurance company was compensated by his, and a few months later my wife's car was rearended totalling it for another claim of $24,000. None of this affected my renewal costs, though as noted the airplane partner is not part of the picture anymore and the others were not our fault. Gladly my Cobra is just fine, so far anyhow....

[Justin Upchurch]

Ron,

I had a coolant line come off at the dragstrip and tagged (maybe a bit more than a little tag) the wall (ok, maybe it was both walls, must be fair and balanced). I didn't do any damage to the frame or suspension, just the radiator and support. Alan sent a new nose and inner fender for the car, grafted it on and good to go ( Repainted entire car). Because this happened at the track I had to pay out of pocket. The toal expense was between 7 and 10K, I really don't want to; and never will add up the total. If I could have turned it in on insurance I would have. We pay a fair amount of money for insurance to cover the occasional loss, which is why we have the coverage. Minus a few parts it looks like you will need another DPK or close to it. Your rates will never go up unough to make up that difference.
If you feel bad about turning the accident in on your insrance, just send me a check to help make up for your guilt, I'm a bt lighter in the wallet after my wallbanger.

Although I would never list these cars as "safe" in the way a modern vehicle is today, I do think Unique makes one heck of a car.

[RonJ]

I really haven't had a chance to tear into it yet to see what is salvagable. I'm taking a group of Boy Scouts camping this weekend so it going to be a while before I can get into her.
With a cursoy glance it seems the interior and rear suspension is fine, other than the steering wheel. I'm really hoping the engine and drive train will be salvagable. Currently it is stuck in gear. Once I get it torn down a bit I'll have a better handle on their condition. I'm sure I'll be having many conversations with Allen once I get enough money up to start the rebuild. I've always been a firm believer that you don't finance toys so as the cash comes in The rebuild will be underway. On the bright side my son is 10 yrs old now and the rebuild will mean some good times for the two of us together and hopefully he will learn some things that will serve him well for the rest of his life. Oh, I'm sure I'll have to work extra hard to get the wife's approval for all of this too and that may well be the hardest part. She's really not happy since somehow my wedding ring got ripped off during the wreck. Hopefully that'll show up when I pull out the interior.

[arrowdriver]

Have you counted your fingers? Usually if a ring gets ripped off the finger goes with it.

I do agree with you that one doesn't finance toys, though I do insure them. On that note, I wonder what others pay for full coverage of their Cobras? Mine is just under $400 per year.