After wrecking the Javelin and banging on it to get it to be a roller again I had an idea of how bad the damage was and what I would need to repair it. Both rear frame rails were damaged/bent and of course the entire trunk structure (trunk lid, bumper, taillight panel, taillights, rear lower valence) and the drivers rear quarter were toast. I knew I needed either a complete new shell or at least the back half of one. I started scouring craigslist and a couple of cars came up but they either weren’t close or weren’t cheap. I finally realized I should call Rich at A&L in Sacramento. I didn’t think he had any Javelins but it turns out he did have a ’73 but he had just sold it to someone. He contacted the buyer for me and the guy (Don) had bought the car for parts but didn’t really need the shell. Problem is I wanted the parts I needed quick and he wasn’t going to be able to take the things he wanted off that quickly. After talking to Don we worked out a deal where we’d cut the car in half and I’d get the back half and he’d keep the front.
The first day we scheduled to meet to cut the car it was pouring so we called it off. Then I had the Chumpcar race. Turns out Don cut the car without me and then I finally went to pick it up on Thursday Dec. 13th. The car was in a storage facility and had already been cut in half. But it wouldn’t separate. After a couple of minutes Don realized he had forgot to cut the exhaust. Out came the sawzall and we took care of the exhaust. It was pretty easy to get onto my trailer with the electric winch. Then I dragged the whole mess to Jeff’s place and dropped it off… where I proceeded to get my truck stuck in the mud!!! Jeff had warned me but I got the truck/trailer into his field and got backed into position and dumped the Javelin off. Then when I went to leave I couldn’t get out. I guess the weight of the Javelin on the trailer was helping with traction but once that was gone I was just spinning. Had to wait until Jeff got home and fired up the tractor and pulled me out 🙂
Now I need to take the race car to the body shop, hear what the have to say and then bring them the back half to use as parts (if they say it’s fixable). Hopefully I’ll get it to a body shop soon but the holidays are coming so it likely won’t be before the end of the year…
Field of Dreams