Xelmon rolls his van down the mountain.

Keep it clean, children may be present.

Moderators: Sluggo, Amskeptic

User avatar
tristessa
Trusted Air-Cooled Maniac
Location: Uwish Uknew, Oregon
Status: Offline

Xelmon rolls his van down the mountain.

Post by tristessa » Fri Aug 17, 2012 1:42 pm

Thread moved, edited and re-titled for reasons obvious to those involved.

Sluggo
Remember, only YOU can prevent narcissism!

User avatar
Gypsie
rusty aircooled mekanich
Location: Treadin' Lightly under the Clear Blue!
Status: Offline

Re: September 29th Wherever Camp

Post by Gypsie » Sun Sep 30, 2012 11:03 pm

Went camping. That's all you need to know about the events leading up to the demise of Xelmon's sweet Chevy Van.
Sluggo.

Lined up along the road.

Image

Twas a great family affair.
Image


Great fun with great friends.


Alas, there was a bit of tragedy.


About halfway down the mountain, there were a few telltale marks on the road.

Image



Down in the ravine was none other than our very own Xelmon

Image


Down the rabbit hole...

Image

Image


But, never fear, friends. All escaped without harm

Image

Just a little shaken up.
Image


We're all just glad he didn't continue rolling the rest of the 50 or so feet down the ravine and his little off road adventure didn't put any dents or holes in him... (not a one....It's a freakin' miracle)...

Image
So it all started when I wanted to get better gas mileage....

User avatar
Xelmon
Sedna of VW lovers
Location: LA or Portland, OR
Status: Offline

Re: September 29th Wherever Camp

Post by Xelmon » Mon Oct 01, 2012 12:30 am

Le roi est mort...

More to come tomorrow, as the tow truck had to be hunted down.
Otherwise I am fine, albeit sore now in a few spots. Will go in to get checked out manana.

mentalQtip
Addicted!
Location: Portland, Oregon
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: September 29th Wherever Camp

Post by mentalQtip » Mon Oct 01, 2012 1:22 am

Oh, man. I'm sorry. Glad you are ok tho. Wanna hear/read what happened. How bad is your van?
Gotta hear. Again. So, so, so sorry.

Joseph

User avatar
Kubelwagen
Addicted!
Location: Portland, OR
Status: Offline

Re: September 29th Wherever Camp

Post by Kubelwagen » Mon Oct 01, 2012 6:54 am

What happened! Any chance of getting the van back?

Glad you're OK Xelmon!
Patience the 81 Adventurewagen

User avatar
Mike Boell
Old School!
Status: Offline

Re: September 29th Wherever Camp

Post by Mike Boell » Mon Oct 01, 2012 7:51 am

I thought all GM vehicles were equipped with OnStar?

Adam,
You scared the hell out of me when I pulled up on you sitting on the road side.
I am so glad you're OK and was able to walk away. I am also so sorry for the loss of the van but that is all secondary in the big picture.
I'm sure you will be very sore for the days to come. If there is anything I can do please let me know.
Hang in there.
Mike
Mike Boell
1975 FI Westy
Oregon City

SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES - NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING BUT THEY BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN THEY'RE PUSHED DOWN THE STAIRS.

User avatar
tristessa
Trusted Air-Cooled Maniac
Location: Uwish Uknew, Oregon
Status: Offline

Re: September 29th Wherever Camp

Post by tristessa » Mon Oct 01, 2012 8:45 am

Adam, glad to hear straight from the horses' mouth that you're OK .. I got a heads-up call from Mike and a bit more info from Gypsie when I called him, both of who said you were OK but I was still worried .. didn't sleep for shit.

Sucks about the van but you're OK and that's the most important thing. Whatever happens insurance/towing-wise, do your best to make sure you can keep it -- even if it's totalled there's too many good valuable parts on that rig for it to be just junked...

Also ..
http://portland.craigslist.org/grg/cto/3293641401.html
http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/cto/3297742031.html
Remember, only YOU can prevent narcissism!

User avatar
Sylvester
Bad Old Puddy Tat.
Location: Sylvester, Georgia
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: September 29th Wherever Camp

Post by Sylvester » Mon Oct 01, 2012 9:18 am

Gypsie wrote:Down in the ravine was none other than our very own Xelmon

Image

Good Lord that is horrible! Xelmon, good to hear you are ok, that would have been a wild trip!
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue, I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace. Where never lark, or even eagle flew. And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod, The high untrespassed sanctity of space, Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

User avatar
Xelmon
Sedna of VW lovers
Location: LA or Portland, OR
Status: Offline

Re: September 29th Wherever Camp

Post by Xelmon » Mon Oct 01, 2012 12:56 pm

First off, guys, thank you for all of your kind (and worried) words. I am still ok, albeit sore now in a few spots, and I'll be going to get myself checked out in a short bit.

What happened?

As I was going down into the U-turn I was going a bit fast, 15mph according to the GPS. I braked at the apex (the halfway point in the corner) and next thing I know the rear end is sliding. I did my best to counter-steer, and I tried to break.
The gravel gave under the front tires and due to the bad camber on the road I slid down. I had just enough time to go *GASP*, and then I flew into the valley.

Thump... THUMP

There was a certain silence for a few seconds (probably stress) then I realized the engine was still going. Shut that off, windshield was missing by then, and I crawled out. Waved down a motorcyclist to get a tow truck (he never made the call) and then I rushed back down to disconnect the battery.

I started to unpack, and I was pretty sure an hour has passed before the crew coming down stopped and saw me.

The Tow

The guy took every road except the one we were on. By the time he got out there it was easily 8:30PM. So, he said "Alright, I'll get the two guys out here and we'll do it tomorrow morning."
And so we did.

Here are the shots from this morning. 2 trucks and 3 guys did all the work to flip it over, and gently roll it up the hill.

And here is the van, in the morning, laying on it's side.

Image


The fellows measuring up how the rigging going to be set up.

Image


And it's flipped! 3 cables were used, 1 to flip it, 2 to pull it up (weight and counterweight cables)

Image


Even with the counterweighting, the tow truck was lifting.

Image


Here it comes... Video part 1

Image


Almost over the edge.

Image


And we have finally gone horizontal again. Video part 2


Final motions to line her up with the flat bed.

Image


And up she goes.

Image


In travel shot... The Chevy almost looks sad. :(

Image


At the tow yard. I didn't get a chance to read Tris-es comment, I knew damn well that plenty of rare parts are on that rig.

Image


Home again...

Image


Damage assessment:

Outside
Driver door is %(&*ed.
Passenger door now sticks, the gaping isn't correct.
The side and rear doors open and close fine.
The frame looks straight.

Inside
The floor seems to be flat up until the rear of the dog house.
Dog house is tweaked about 1/2".
Dash is tweaked, not sure how much.
The engine looks good, the fan has one blade bent @ a 90* angle half-way in.
No glass broke, windshield did a dead fish flop away from me.


So, here are the pictures.

Image


Of course it was the left side that got the hit. Pretty good hit too.

Image


Image


Image


What's next...?

Of course no insurance claim will be filed... No sense to get it.
Beyond that, not sure. The way it's looking it is a very borderline case. The frame looks good, however I am starting to have second thoughts about that since I caught the dirt with my left tires.
- Option 1 (fastest) is stripping it of all the good/useful parts, and getting rid of the hull. This way I get a bunch of parts too, worth a good penny.
- Option 1a is keeping said parts and grabbing a new rig. After all, they are dirt cheap compared to VW's.
- Option 2 is a thorough check of the chassis, and grafting a new front end onto it... This of course is a shitton of work and money. It may not be even worth it, as from the way I look at it the front area till the doors, left 3/4 and top 3/4 would have to grafted on... That's a lot of metal to line up.

So, that's that. Now I'm going to eat breakfast.

I will likely drop the Lab today, just to chill a bit and say Hi.

User avatar
Mike Boell
Old School!
Status: Offline

Re: September 29th Wherever Camp

Post by Mike Boell » Mon Oct 01, 2012 1:14 pm

8:30 P.M. ?
I told the driver 9.9 miles and stay on FS road XXXX. It was still light out and the road was well marked.
Unbelievable.
So sorry.
Mike Boell
1975 FI Westy
Oregon City

SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES - NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING BUT THEY BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN THEY'RE PUSHED DOWN THE STAIRS.

User avatar
Xelmon
Sedna of VW lovers
Location: LA or Portland, OR
Status: Offline

Re: September 29th Wherever Camp

Post by Xelmon » Mon Oct 01, 2012 1:18 pm

Yeah, guy was a crusty old dude, did apologize today as he thought that the road XXXX ended at a certain spot. He found that it didn't, and apologized.

User avatar
vistacruzer
IAC Addict!
Location: portland
Status: Offline

Re: September 29th Wherever Camp

Post by vistacruzer » Mon Oct 01, 2012 1:33 pm

Thanks to god your ok. and thanks for the pictures
71 bench 1915
70 wide lowered body rag top 2056 type4 DTM nothing stock if I could touch it.
Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional.

User avatar
Sylvester
Bad Old Puddy Tat.
Location: Sylvester, Georgia
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: September 29th Wherever Camp

Post by Sylvester » Mon Oct 01, 2012 1:33 pm

Xelmon wrote:Yeah, guy was a crusty old dude, did apologize today as he thought that the road XXXX ended at a certain spot. He found that it didn't, and apologized.
Man that looks pretty steep! What was it like when you went over? Panic, or not enough time to think? That dent in the top came pretty close to your noggin!
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue, I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace. Where never lark, or even eagle flew. And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod, The high untrespassed sanctity of space, Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

User avatar
Xelmon
Sedna of VW lovers
Location: LA or Portland, OR
Status: Offline

Re: September 29th Wherever Camp

Post by Xelmon » Mon Oct 01, 2012 1:38 pm

@ Vista: Gypsie emphasized that I should take pics.

@ Sylv: The van just kept going and all I could do was that gasp. Beyond that I'm pretty sure I had a guardian angle sitting on my shoulder.

User avatar
tristessa
Trusted Air-Cooled Maniac
Location: Uwish Uknew, Oregon
Status: Offline

Re: September 29th Wherever Camp

Post by tristessa » Mon Oct 01, 2012 2:20 pm

Xelmon wrote:Option 1a is keeping said parts and grabbing a new rig. After all, they are dirt cheap compared to VW's.
I'd go for that plan with this one if you can come up with the scratch for it right quickly. It's a 108"-wheelbase window van. Sell off the engine, trans, rear end and mags from that one and you could possibly break even on the purchase.
Remember, only YOU can prevent narcissism!

Post Reply