damn i love that car!!! do want TT GT. putting Soul up for sale on Craiglist naow to see what i can get for it. need to do 190 bombs down RT 9 asap.
Damn just got home and saw the pictures, holy shit.
It’s def. worth the read, I read almost all of it and the storyline is hilarious.
No. No, not you. You cant make incoherent sentences. Youre a SUPER MODERATOR!! *Will I disappear under cover of darkness for pointing this out?
OMFG… that is one FUCKED up situation. those heritage gt’s are very rare…a TT one none the less!
damnnnn those pictures are fucking horrific
“Shadowmans” response
I have thought about making this post for nearly 5 weeks now and just thinking about it causes my stomach to turn so I need to do this so I can move on.
Now if I said nothing more by than I was in an horrific accident nearly 5 weeks ago followed by sharing the results likely enough would have been shared however;
Sadly the story has more to it and since I have been made aware now by many that they have been made aware of it I feel it important to share it openly so that folks see and understand first hand that accidents happen and often times during the most innocent of circumstances.
Let me begin by sharing that I was taken to the hospital for a brief stay and then within an hour of my release I let the gal’s owner know what had happened; this was at 1:00am in the morning to which his initial response was; “are you alright” and once I said sore but that I should be fine I was then asked how bad is she to which I said that I did not know as it happened in the blink of an eye and she was tossed down an embankment; an embankment that I crawled out of only to be greeted by an eye witness and soon after by the Highway Patrol and then the ambulance arrived. I shared that I looked down at her and she was near a tree however it was dark and the prospect of me climbing back down the hill simply was not to be. I went on to share that I had greater concern for the damage that would be caused during the extrication process; little did l know just how bad she was and in turn how lucky I was.
It was couple days later that I offered to openly share that which happened and it was deemed best to keep it between us and even more so out of respect for me he did not wish to open up Pandora’s box however with so many people now knowing of the accident IMO that moment has come and gone so it is time to allow folks to openly discuss it rather than have closet conversations and emails. I have spent nearly 5 years working with and assisting folks on this Forum sharing the good and the bad and IMO this is albeit an ugly one simply another moment in time; a moment that need not be tucked away.
For those of you that have communicated with me and shared your concern for my well being I thank you as it was a physically demanding moment in time and there continues to be an emotional weight carried that I would never wish on any one; if the accident had happened when I was in my gal it would be far easier for me to deal with.
Now I feel the need to openly share with Ray how sadden I am because it was while driving one of his gals that this happened.
So what happened?
Well I will share that the chain of events that lead up this moment in time are fundamental; I was called and asked by a friend aka Ray if I could take a look at his gal, this after she had been with another for several months to see if she was able to be made ready to be enjoyed at the Rally; without so much as a blink of an eye I said absolutely. Now IMO the stages for such a request were made when I assisted Ray with another of his gals a year earlier when we were in Texas so for me the fact that I was asked was rather cool. We never discussed a cost for me to do this at any point prior to her arrival or while she was with me because from my perspective I was simply a friend helping a friend at this point largely because I was very aware of that which he had gone through up that point. I remember chatting with Chip soon after she arrived during which he said; if there is anything that you can do to insure that Ray can have fun with his gal at the Rally it would be very cool because that past few years have had him at the Rally with gals that he could not drive to which I said that I planned to do everything in my power to make this happen.
Once she arrived I looked her over making her crisp as I was able to and sharing my opinions as requested with Ray however one of the lingering questions/concerns shared by Ray was her drivability. I told Ray that I would not drive her until I had a copy of her registration and the proof of insurance in my possession even though I had been told by him that “it’s alright to drive and she is fully insured; no worries”. Now for those that know me also know that I do not like to drive another’s gal and will never do so without copies of the registration and insurance as well as a statement allowing me to do so. Then when I do drive them it is late at night so as to have little or no traffic and as I am often referred to as a “little old lady”.
Once I had the documentation from Ray I let him know that I was going to take her for a drive; in fact I sent him a short video clip just before I left. Once on the road I stopped and filled her with a fresh load of fuel and then proceeded to drive her 30 ish miles during which I was monitoring her vacuum/boost signal as this was one of the concerns presented by Ray and with all appearing fine I then turned around and headed back. It was about 10 miles later that I stopped and opened her clamshell and did a visual inspection because in addition to the vacuum/boost issue there was a concern about clutch smell.
With everything looking fine I closed her up and proceeded back on the highway cruising in the slow lane between 60-65 mph and then approximately 3 miles later I am tossed off the highway and proceeded to (as described by the witness) to fly backwards through several tree tops as the drop off the highway was 60 plus feet and then she finally landed on all fours without the air bag deploying.
This particular section of the highway goes from asphalt to loose gravel approximately the width of a large truck and then immediately drops off into a ravine with no curbing or secondary medium to preclude this from happening whereas there are guard rails not long before and after this section. When I completed my crawl up to the highway I was asked by the witness; “what happened; did a tire blow” to which I said that I had no idea and then I was told that I commented/questioned several times how does one tell a friend that you just got in an accident with their gal. I simply could not believe that which had happened.
A few days later I went back to the accident scene and walked it during which one of the Highway Patrol officers on site that night stopped by and chatted with me. As it was when I arrived the Highway Patrol were on scene within a few hundred feet of the accident site extricating another car. He said first and foremost that he felt that I was very lucky and that because there was a witness emergency services were on the scene within a few minutes otherwise the accident could have gone unnoticed throughout the night and if I had been trapped in the gal it could have been devastating. I asked what his thoughts were and he said that he did not know as it appeared that a tire let lose or something mechanical failed this supported by the fact that the right rear tire was off the wheel. There was no citation issue because as he said; it was an accident and one that I was lucky to walk away from.
It was a couple days after the accident and Ray flew into town and went to see his gal and then came by to make sure that I was alright during which he shared pictures of his gal. When I saw the pictures of his gal I was in all but in tears because my recollection of that which happened versus what the pictures depicted were as if night and day; for example I initially told Ray that I simply opened the door and then crawled up the hill however the pictures show clearly that I was not able to open the driver side door but rather used the passenger door an act that to this day I do not remember.
Now when Ray visited me we discussed many things including what my insurance coverage was; specifically he asked if I had a “Garage Keepers” policy and having me contact my insurance company to have her/him taken care of. I told him that I did not have a “Garage Keepers” policy and I also said that I was not sure how it would get handled but that it would be worked out; Ray reminded me in a later conversation that I even went so far as to offer to help him on a personal level with other projects. It was during this conversation that I also made mention that depending on how this incident was presented to the public that it could cause harm to my reputation. In retrospect I think that I was hurting very bad, full of pain medication, still in a state of shock as such I was having a hard time coming to grips with that which had happened; then the fact that Ray was there with me with all of this compounded even more so after seeing the pictures so I likely rambled rather than thinking/communicating clearly; with clear mind I know that my reputation would never be affected by an act such as this because it was an accident and not a malicious act and yet I am beyond deeply saddened by this incident. We see accidents all the time never expecting it to us and even more so us when driving a friends gal.
Later that day I contacted my insurance company and a claim was opened and we also discussed and I requested a “Garage Keepers” policy or ? to protect one whether a friend or ? when I drive their car and was told that regardless in this particular case that the insurance company insuring the gal would need to be contacted and a claim opened then the claim would be subrogated through my insurance carrier; I was informed that vehicle insurance follows the vehicle and not the driver hence what they referred to as the permissive driver clause is in place which they said was consistent with my having Ray’s permission and having the gal’s current registration and proof of insurance in my possession before I drove her. I discussed this with Ray and his sweetie Janna after which the processes were initiated. Now there is no doubt that Ray was disappointed and likely frustrated that he had to do this and yet between us we felt that we were moving in the right direction and yet never an ill word was shared by Ray but rather only his concern that I was alright. Once Ray determined that the gal was likely totaled I then proceeded to look for a suitable replacement gal and shared this with him. Ultimately such a gal was located with Shelby.
Ray and his sweetie Janna have helped me work through this awkward situation with the support of their insurance agency. There remain a couple open issues however I remain confident that they too will be amicably resolved thus allowing this chapter in our lives to be closed.
Now having shared all of this during this process I was made aware by another person that baring an amicable resolve that within the Forum that this incident would likely be the “end of life” for the me aka the Shadowman. I listened to this and it was initially gut wrenching to hear because there was no malicious act, no inappropriate use of the gal, but rather a devastating accident that could have been much worse. Then when I consider my personal commitment to each and every person on this Forum I feel that the sharing of this accident is important. Regardless of the comments I will forever feel bad for Ray and for the loss of his gal and yet happy that I am still here and able to share with all to be careful because accidents do happen and sadly even under the most favorable of circumstances and without warning.
There is no doubt that this is my story so to some it will be considered as self serving but then I was the only one in the car with an unknown witness that stopped to assist supported by the Highway Patrol’s comments. I made certain that there was proper registration and insurance coverage before the drive commenced and then the unthinkable happened; for Ray and I this will forever be a less than stellar moment in time.
I expect comments and will do my best to answer any questions and yet more than questions and answers I simply want this story to be known so that folks can openly discuss it as I have nothing that I care to hide.
Takes care
Shadowman
I dont care how elaborate of a story he has come up with, nobody going 60 is going to fly off the road, go 100 feet through the air while spinning, and total a car. Especially considering there were tire marks on the road right near where he crashed. This guy is a scumbag and the way he calls the cars “gals” is creepy to say the least.
quite the story from him but the guys obviously a liar and i would sue him for everything
Unfortunatly it looks like this happened over a month ago so its pretty clear the owner is a moron. Im going to make the assumption that he was born into money because anybody that worked their ass off to earn the kind of money to buy that car and modify it to that level wouldnt stop till this “tuner” had nothing left.
or maybe hes just not a sue happy american and figures this isnt the worst of what will come to this “shadowman” fellow and would rather watch this guy lose everything over a long agonizing period of time. then let him die quickly, by filing bankruptcy than just recovering over the 7 year period just to begin scamming others again under a different name.
wow
I read all of it
wowwwwwwww
Wow, thats one heck of a story. Sucks that such a rare car got smashed up by that tool.
This is a sue worthy situation. Did you see how old “shadowman” is? 7 years is more than enough to make sure he doesnt return.
WOW! that car’s destroyed!
It seems unrealistic that he went airborne by going 60-65mph. seems suspicious.
The owner seems like a rational person with the way he handled that situation too. This shadowman seems like hes trying to hide something. he works out of his garage at home, which is kinda strange for somebody working on cars that caliber.
Crazy as hell situation right there.
Id be suprised if hes still working on cars 5 years from now. Its suprising in general that people with 100k+ cars trust somebody that old with their cars. The chances of him having the proper training to tune and build cars of that caliber are slim and none.
the fact that he doesnt run a legit shop is one, to start with
id bury this guy. if the guy owns a lambo then he must have some assets worth attaining. im assuming his non legit business is not incorporated so go after this guys house anything. the guy could have dont nothing wrong and really just lost control but the fact that he has done nothing to help him out and wasnt running a legit business is bullshit.
I’d be interested to see what the police report said. That would give you a pretty good idea of what really happened (measuring skid marks, etc). If the road dropped off as much as “shadowman” said it did, then it is entirely possible for a car to fly through the air like that even at 60mph… not saying that he isn’t lying, but the police report would def. give a better idea.
A lot of really nice cars and business start in home grown shops like his though. Only difference being there is usualy a mutual understanding much like there should have been here. Regardless of the business being “legit” or not a handshake is all ti should take for the understanding that if anything happens in the “tuners” possession then its his responsibility for anything that may come of it. THats not the case here, he feels for whatever dumb reason its still the owners responsibility.
As far as having the “proper training” from the EMS standpoint I guess I agree. BUT chances are this guys been working on cars his whole life, an engine is an engine… A fuel map is a fuel map… etc etc the fundementals of what it takes to build something mean and tune it properly are still the same. Yes there have been changes over the years and motors etc are becomming a bit more complex, but for someone like him, if he has been doing it his whole life its just adapting.
Not defending him at all, I think hes a fucking retard, just saying… Not owning a “legit” buisness and being old doesnt mean he’s not qualified or anyone else for that matter.
looks to me like it was some old man who has a decent understandinf of cars and is full taking advantage of rich douches who buy these cars and don’t even know how to simply turn the knob on a boost controller