Sloth Posted March 23, 2011 Author Report Posted March 23, 2011 The end of an epic journey Every thing has a beginning, a middle and an end; to think otherwise is just ignorant. Sadly the story of my AE86 ended a couple of weeks ago when it was involved in an accident (I don't want to continue reliving it over and over again, but essentially I swerved to avoid hitting a Kangaroo, but instead drove up a wall/embankment and rolled the car). I like to think that the sprinters last act was to make sure I wasn't hurt, walking away from the crash with a couple of small cuts and bruises. My 86 was a big part of my life, and while I knew it would not last forever, losing it so suddenly was a big blow to me and put me in a bit of a dark place. Luckily I had the support of family, friends and coworkers to help me move on. I'll post a couple of pictures of the carnage (though the ones I have don't really show the full extent) but I won't go into it too much (as I said I'm trying to keep moving forward and not dwell on the past). I'd like to thank everyone who has watched this build, commented, enjoyed the sprinter and given me encouragement. Even though the story came to a sad end, it's still been a great journey and given a lot of a good times and memories. Hopefully anyone reading this isn't put off by the way the story ended, but instead leaves with the motivation to get out and have fun with their own project, knowing that while there are bad times, there are also great times and we should pursue and cherish these. The next step As the sprinter was my sprinter was my daily I needed a new car to get me around. Luckily as soon as my boss found out I was carless he lent me his 2003 Forrester to drive until I got something sorted out (I've got a pretty good boss). I started looking around for something to do the job, but it was a hard task finding something to replace the 86, as everything pale in comparison. I wanted to get something that I liked, but I didn't really want to get a heavily modified car as a daily (as I thought it would probably be easier for registration and I wouldn't have to worry about dealing with someone else's problems and I learnt from the sprinter it's hard to balance having a car that can go to the track and something designed for the street) and couldn't justify spending the money on a brand new car/sportscar. I searched the local classifieds and carsales trying to find something that was sensible, that I would enjoy (and wouldn't feel depressed to drive every day). After a while I found a 1998 Audi A4 Quattro, but by the time I had organised to see it someone had already snatched it up. I was looking for a decent old Civic or something similar, but wasn't having a lot of luck. After a while I stumbled across a 1996 Integra. I called up the owner and organised to see it the next day. Within a couple of hours of him putting up the ad he had already got 3 calls. By the time I saw it the next day he had already got an offer, and said the car was mine if I paid the asking price. It was quite cheap and the paint on the roof and bonnet was a little faded, when I first saw it I thought it looked pretty cool but didn't look that great. Once I got past the fact that the paint was slightly faded I realised it was in pretty good condition (aside from a dinted passenger door), had brand new tyres, ran very well, had lots of features/extras (sub, stereo, power steering, power windows, airbag, sunroof, aircon, remote central locking and so on) and also had the fun/sporty feel. I decided that for the price ($1500) it wasn't a bad buy. Just after I agreed to buy it the owner got another 3 calls from people looking to buy it. As soon as I drove away in it I realised that it was a great car and I'd got an amazing bargin. The Sprinters Legacy Even having a great little daily, I still had that urge for a project and to get back onto the track. One of my friends suggested getting a KE70/AE70 and putting the Silvertop from the sprinter into it. After a bit of searching I managed to find one...... but that's a whole new story! To read about that you can go here: http://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/49988-sloths-ke70-track-car/ Quote
parrot Posted March 23, 2011 Report Posted March 23, 2011 Christ Sloth, you were lucky to walk away from that one. I really feel for you. What can you do but put it down to experience, salvage what parts you can for the red rocket, and enjoy the revelation of driving a modern car! Quote
Sloth Posted March 23, 2011 Author Report Posted March 23, 2011 enjoy the revelation of driving a modern car! It's been an interesting experience. It's the only car I've ever owned where everything works! I'm quite happy with the two new cars. Quote
ae824ate Posted March 24, 2011 Report Posted March 24, 2011 Wow mate. That must have hurt, even just to look at it. Glad your ok though. And best of luck with the current project. Luke. Quote
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