I am sad to report that my 71BGT, that I bought in 1982 or thereabouts, has
probably met its end. Although it had a fairly severe case of rust during
all those years, I kept it alive and in mechanically good shape. Less than
two months ago, I turned it over to my teenage son to use, hoping to bring
some youth into the hobby.
This afternoon, he was leaving school when a girl pulled out of the parking
lot and smashed into the front right of the car. She did get a ticket for
failure to yield right of way. The front fender, bumper, hood, grill,
radiator, engine fan, tire, and tire rim were all seriously damaged.
Ironically, all the body parts named were all fairly new and still in black
primer, part of my dream to restore the car. Its the other body parts that
have the rust.
It wasn't that long ago we had a discussion on the insurance repercussions
but the list archives are still down. So now I have to wait anxiously
knowing the other driver's insurance company is going to claim the car is
totalled and is not worth much. I just put $1000 into the overhaul of the
o/d transmission last year and there are quite a few other parts I would
sure like to harvest from the wreck sitting in my front driveway.
So any more suggestions on negotiating, words to the wise, tips on
establishing the car's true value. Quite honestly I think it was worth
$2000-$2500 although I would have a problem finding someone that would pay
me that based on the rust. Like I said, the car was mechanically perfect,
down to the oil leak. The collectorcartraderonline.com web site shows that
71BGTs on their site range from a low of $2800 to a high of $5200. Will
that carry weight with the insurance company? And how about salvage value
of the car? I really hate to see the carbs or the o/d transmission go.
I know this is a repetition request but the archives are down and they have
been that way for several days or so.
David Councill
67 BGT
former 71 BGT
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