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Pages: 1

Oh No! I Killed One!

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Posted by: skymasteres

I was the very proud owner of three Mark VII's. Two 89's and one 91. One of the 89's is a beautiful blue color with 102k miles and I am not driving it yet because I want to convert it back to air ride suspension.

The 91 I picked up a few weeks ago as a parts car but when I got it, it was so nice I was having trouble deciding if I should use my silver 89 as a parts car for it.

Saturday night the decision was made for me. Coming home from a meeting at about 9:30pm I was in heavy traffic in the rain. While cruising at around 60mph in the third out of four lanes someone came up my left hand side, cut me off and slammed on their brakes. I put my brakes on and managed not to rear end them, but lost traction in the rear and started to spin out to the left. Really NOT wanting to hit anyone I went against good RWD instincts and went for the opening that the fellow that cut me off left to see if I couldn’t get it straightened out there.

I didn't.

I got the car a little straightened out but I still hit the concrete center divider at about a 45 degree angle traveling at 55mph. Let me just say that I love Lincolns in general and have always felt very safe in them. Just before I hit the wall the last thing that went through my mind was "gee I'm glad I have my seatbelt on", and I just went right in. I was very relaxed and hardly felt a thing. I have to admit though the noise it made was very impressive. After the impact the car rotated around counter clockwise and I was almost against the divider facing the wrong way down a four lane highway in the fast lane. The engine was still running but I could see steam so I know the radiator was perforated. Also the wheels seemed to be slightly jammed as I was now facing down hill with the car in gear and I was not rolling. I put my blinkers on and fiddled with the car a little to see what control I still had as I waited for an opportunity to get over to the shoulder. After about three minutes, three minutes seem like an ETERNITY facing the wrong way on a highway, I had enough of an opening to make a u-turn to get on the shoulder.

I then attempted to drive the car home but after about ten miles the engine began to overheat, with the serpentine belt off I was going to run out of juice waiting for it to cool while running my blinkers, so I had to call triple a and get it towed the final ten miles home.

All in all, I am really impressed that Ford got it so right when they designed this thing. With as much mass and momentum that was involved I was expecting to al least feel something when I hit that wall, but I only felt a gentle pressure against my chest where the seatbelt held me lightly against the seat. And to be able to even move the car, I mean that's just amazing.

Although I have to admit I was kind of pissed that it had to be this one as I just put a tranny in it, redid the headliner, fixed the sun roof, replaced the heater and evaporator cores, and put new wheel bearings on it.

I am both sad and depressed that I killed a Mark VII, now everyone else’s just got rarer, but somewhat relieved that I now have a parts car that is not too nice to part out.

Posted by: OldSchool1

Quote:

Originally Posted by skymasteres

...
"gee I'm glad I have my seatbelt on"
...

I'm glad you were not hurt.

Please tell as many people as you can about this.

Those annoying little belts stop us from bouncing around like a pea in a can.

55 mph into a barrier at an angle and then drove another ten miles and stopped only because of lack of antifreeze and drive belt ...

... that's a Lincoln Mark VII for you. I wonder how many Lexus owners can say that.

Posted by: skymasteres

Okay here is one of the pitcure of the car when I bought it.

And here is one of the pictures I took when I got it pulled over to the shoulder after impact (engine still running).

Posted by: One_Way

Glad you are OK!

Cars can be repaired.

Posted by: skymasteres

Thanks for the concern Old School. I am actually in the process of getting permission to put some pictures of the accident up on our detachment bullitem board right next to the seatbelt campaign poster.

But honestly even though I didn't notice any real force, I was very relaxed, I am sure the seatbelt prevented me from "supermaning" over the hood and into oncomming traffice.

Okay maybe not, but it did keep me from cracking my head on the windsheild.

Posted by: Chaoticbastard

Hey Sky..Thankfully you are OK! That looks like one hell of a wack.Not to be
Incosiderate,I have the same car and I need a unrusted trunk lid.lol If you ever want to part with it PM me.

Posted by: OldSchool1

Wow.
It hurts to see these pictures but they speak volumes on safety and engineering. It looks like everything effected did justwhat it was designed to do.
Wow.

Thanks for sharing these with us.

JD

Posted by: MARKED MAN

Cant Believe The Car Still Drove, Thats Unbeleivable!!!!!! Glad Your Ok, Did A$$ Hole That Caused All This Even Pull Over To Try To Help.

Posted by: skymasteres

No, the fellow didn't pull over and since I didn't hit him he might not have even been aware of what happened.
I was very thankfull that I could still move the thing as is was not very fun sitting in the fastlane backwards. I am still sad that I thinned out the gene pool for theses cars, but am estactic with how the car performed in the worst of situations.

As for parts my Uncle runs the Lincoln Farm and would be happy to supply you with a trunk deck Chaoticbastard. I would like first crack at this one though for parts and as I have no place to store it inside I am hessitant to part with the rear deck right away.

Not wanting to turn this into a for sale thread here is a thread with a few picks of my Uncle's place.

http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/sho...824#post118824

Posted by: kahunasteve

dude,,,,

you were yery lucky

,,,, ( in a mark and wearing your belt ) ,,,i told old school

the yard i go to rarly has mk 7s,,,, but last monday (10-24) they had four(4),,,, if you are in pa or nearby..... i can give directions,, two(2) were in fair shape had good headers ,fenders, hoods & bumpers the other s were already picked over but you could repair your car picking and chosing

regards kahuna

Posted by: JoeyLincolnMK8

oh my! that is horrible... i hate to see that happen to people!

Posted by: OldSchool1

Quote:

Originally Posted by kahunasteve

dude,,,,

you were yery lucky

,,,, ( in a mark and wearing your belt ) ,,,i told old school

regards kahuna

Sorry Steve but
bent frame = totaled Mark VII
It's a crying shame.

Posted by: kahunasteve

,,,, i just hate to throw away such a great car:,,,,Bang ,,,,

( i,ve rebuilt some that were quote unquote totaled) depends on how much you want to spend and if you can remove the intereror and drivetrain yourself,,,then a good body man can remove the sub frame and replace it (remember these cars are un-body so there,s no real frame)good luck

regards kahuna