Hello everyone,
I have been a reader for years now and have used this forums knowledge to save countless $$ and keep my 123's on the road. I wanted to thank everyone for the help and also to show some pics of the recent wreck of my first diesel. I know I for one am always curious as to how these cars would hold up in an accident.

The story:

My brother was driving alone on Kingshighway in St. Louis late night. As he was going through an intersection, a full size GMC van tried to make a left in front of him and smashed right into him. Apparently, he was standing next to the car dazed when the crews arrived to take him to the hospital. He actually told the emt he was o.k. not realizing he had broken several ribs, had a partially collapsed lung, messed up his hand, broken his nose and cut his chin. He was realeased after a night in the hospital. Thankfully, he is much better now despite some aches and pains. It took over a week before we were able to get the police report to find out what happened! The other driver was found to be at fault thanks to a wittness driving behind my brother. And it turns out he did have at least some kind of insurance. It looks like it will be a while before we get it all sorted out.

Note: My brothers speed was estimated to be around 35 mph and the other vehicles unknown. He apparently was wearing his seatbelt but the cracked windshield suggests that maybe hit it? We aren't sure what happened there. I really think the car did a great job protecting him. The center console was bulged out and the dash was distorted but the interior pretty much kept its dimension. The doors were able to open but will not close again. And we belive the other driver was taken to the emergency room and released as well.


Here are some pictures several days later:
The car was a 1977 240D with a 300D engine.
(sorry if they are small, I was having trouble posting with the originals)

Attached Thumbnails

   

__________________
Ben

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82' 240D 4-speed
85' 300D (cali)
85' 300D (cali) waiting for B2 repair
87' 190D Turbo
87' 300D
2000 VW Passat Wagon 1.8t
99' RAM 2500 5-speed 24V Cummins

Was the transmission a manual or a automatic?????Hope your brother has a very fast recovery. I have some interest in his car. Will you pass on to him my email address h16671836@yahoo.com thank you Jim

__________________
James A. Harris

Jim's in there like a vulture.

Good to hear your bro is OK. That's one thing I like about these cars is that they can take a beating for you.

i just e-mailed direct to him to not be a public vulture.

__________________
currently
[1981 300 td tdidi 165500 dark brown/palamino-Brownie-mine-3k miles of ownership
1983 240d 162+++ Anthricite grey w/ henna red interior and hella lights-wifes car-Red

the above two cars are for sale
and can be seen on the cars for sale thread here. pix also available.


240d-144+ Manilla Yellow w/ palmino interior-greasecar kit-Blondie-the college kids car

23" gt 21 speed still on original tires-still got the nubs
21" khs tandem

Sorry guys. The car is already spoken for. I'll keep you guys informed if plans change.

__________________
Ben

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82' 240D 4-speed
85' 300D (cali)
85' 300D (cali) waiting for B2 repair
87' 190D Turbo
87' 300D
2000 VW Passat Wagon 1.8t
99' RAM 2500 5-speed 24V Cummins

Thanks for the pictures. Looks like a hard hit to me. Some other crash pictures have been posted here that had similar type of damage, passenger compartment nearly intact.

Hope your brother is ok, a knock to the head is very, very serious thing.

Did the car have any noticeable rust in it?