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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MSRTom" data-source="post: 993542" data-attributes="member: 10772">The “recent unpleasantness”: I can’t describe the terror you feel when you see the front end of a loaded 18-wheeler coming your way, but to paraphrase Boondock Saints: “Panic… desperation…” In late September 2005, the out of control truck fishtailed into the  woods after smacking me in the front driver’s fender. This sent me  spinning 360Â° into the guardrail, which caused some significant damage  to the passenger side front. Airbags deployed, and I hope I never have  to go through that again. I crossed my arms and put my hands on my  shoulders before the impact, instead of locking my elbows perpendicular  to the steering wheel. I had big purple bruises on my shoulders, airbag  burns, and this nice gash in between my knuckles opened up again.  Otherwise I was unscathed, so to speak. The doors were jammed shut, car was dead in its tracks (the battery was  crushed and exploded). I managed to climb out the window. After we made  sure the truck driver was alright, the Highway Patrolman crossed over  the front of the car and told me “Kiss her goodbye, son.” That moment,  out of either youthful defiance, foolish hope or brash overconfidence, I  decided that she would be rebuilt. I would not let another 94 Cobra rot  in a salvage yard. And since then, our destinies shall forever be  entwined. Recovery:To say that progress was slow would be an understatement. Going to  college, making $9/hour at a grocery store wasn’t going to get it done.  The insurance payout (totaled, duh), was nice, but this had been my  daily driver. I picked up a 94 V6 Vert (separate project thread to  come), and started tearing the Cobra down. I saved what I could, and  scrapped the rest. I’ve got to recover some hard drives to find more  damage shots, but here is a post-teardown pic taken right before she  went to the body shop. This shows the extent of the front end damage.<img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-a3j_VW3O3Mg/T5k_ineMMKI/AAAAAAAAAGk/f76bXwD_vOo/s512/3-30-07 088 (Copy).jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />Fast forward to May 2007. I'm just out of college, been working at my first real job for 2-3 months. What better way to spend my first few paychecks? (Don't say pay back your student loans.. trust me, I know...) Loading her up to go to the body shop, that's my little bro steering. He's not so little anymore (14 in that pic, now he's 19. He grew up a lot in those 5 years).<img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ax5B6faiStE/T5k_ZznUoKI/AAAAAAAAAGU/6-11KNZQfrY/s512/3-30-07 089 (Copy).jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /> <img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FEhORzAkIPU/T5k_msT3NlI/AAAAAAAAAG0/MpLkTvquDA8/s512/3-30-07 090 (Copy).jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /> <img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QqzQn7QaoAw/T5k_fa8E_WI/AAAAAAAAAGc/q-tbYX7MZmc/s512/3-30-07 091 (Copy).jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /> <img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-V_WiQJ5YBtM/T5k_lmsHqsI/AAAAAAAAAGs/zoSk_ClNQ2c/s512/3-30-07 092 (Copy).jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /> <img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-sdrsFOso9do/T5k_wJg4gLI/AAAAAAAAAG8/SJxKPWzeEsU/s512/3-30-07 093 (Copy).jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /> At the body shop, old ruined stuff cut off, front clip from MPS from 94 GT lapped on, just like factory. Black 94 GT, your sacrifice will not be in vain: <img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-tAKftVbjb38/T5bGEeyWXpI/AAAAAAAAAEw/6ZJ-XqRB4Vs/s512/100_0862.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ml0EMX0C6Dk/T5bGNVzsiJI/AAAAAAAAAFA/iDgk7lvR8Co/s512/100_0868.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /> <img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-c_2vQt4yduI/T5bFs-34ShI/AAAAAAAAAEY/4V-6EzEAhkU/s512/100_0865.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /> <img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-0WpuUdNv270/T5bGMt78BVI/AAAAAAAAAE4/1r8-x3qDI-Y/s512/100_0867.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /> <img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5jHsyUlN2G4/T5bF8GBTViI/AAAAAAAAAEg/MxNLkfoIs-Y/s512/100_0866.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /> <img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-oyg7Hkn12Is/T5bGC7FMMRI/AAAAAAAAAEo/pEuZbDmZLaQ/s512/100_0863.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /> </blockquote>