The GTV

[Rick Meredith]

Dude.. don't make any snap decisions. That car is one of the coolest around. Don't do something you'll regret later. 

[j-dub]

A Sad Ending to a very cool weekend.

Seeing the carnage happen in front of me was very surreal.

To add to the above, cruising together on the highway in a pack was absolutely one of the highlights of the trip. The cars all did great and doing what they were meant to do, not just look pretty. Watching what happened that day felt like a dream sequence and I knew it was not real, unfortunately that was not the case.

moving on to a project that doesn't own me, that I'm not emotionally attached to, has been sounding pretty good for a while now.

Whatever you decide to do I will be happy to help. We all know building a car is a big portion of the fun, when one chapter ends a new one begins.

Jeremy

[Bryan67]

Damn dude. That sucks for sure. I`ve had the same thing happen to me so I know. At least you are ok. 

[pancho villa]

Hang in their Zack life is full of challenges.

[2manytoys]

Zach, I just wanted to add how sad I am to see what happened. I have been there, and it SUCKS! Hang tough kid. There is light, it is just that the tunnel is so damn dark now you may not be able to see it.

Patrick

[AssHull]

Some additional pictures from the weekend. Getting to see and cruise all four of these cars together was one of my favorite moments of the weekend.

[bugnut68]

Wow, just found the news on this... man, that is a serious bummer, Zach.  The car saw lots of changes/improvements since I last saw it, which was the 2008 Bug-In (33, I think it was).  That's the hard part of being part of these cars, the personal attachment/investment is perhaps stronger than even the dollars that go into them.  I feel for you, bro.

[Zach Gomulka]

That drive from Riverside to Fullerton with my 3 best buds was the most fun I've ever had. Glad you got pics of that! Shit eating grin for 40+ miles

Thanks for the kind words everyone. It's a tough time, and a tough decision. Bottom line is that the car would have to be repaired to a very high standard, and that's just not financially feasible for me.

The parts are probably worth more than the car, but I will NOT part it out.

[70slooker]

damn man, thats some bad news! but i know what your going through, i fixed my car and your right its not the same, and i sold it very shortly after that, i really hope someone steps up to help zach out! sorry man that sucks!

[empicolector]

oh no its a very bad news dude
repair it please
its an empi historic car you couldn't leave it like that

[Fastbrit]

Zach, put it away in a garage for a few months – take up Dave's offer if necessary – but don't rush into selling it. Sit on things for a while, go and get drunk, go and get laid, go and forget eveything for a period and then (and only then) take a fresh look at the car. You've already said it can be repaired and you're the best person to oversee the job. Even if it takes a few years, you owe it to yourself and to the car to see it through.
Uncle Keith has spoken.

[empicolector]

Zach, put it away in a garage for a few months – take up Dave's offer if necessary – but don't rush into selling it. Sit on things for a while, go and get drunk, go and get laid, go and forget eveything for a period and then (and only then) take a fresh look at the car. You've already said it can be repaired and you're the best person to oversee the job. Even if it takes a few years, you owe it to yourself and to the car to see it through.
Uncle Keith has spoken.

+1

[j-f]

Listen to your Uncle 

When you put so much effort and time in a car because it is the only one you ever wanted, let it go will hurt even more than the crash itself.
Imagine how you will feel giving the key to somebody and see it go on a flatbed...
And how you will feel seeing it few times later up and running, or worst, slammed on crappy repro wheels...

Don't take quick decisions.

 

[Jon]

I'm very sorry for you Zach! That really sucks, thats one of my favorite cars on here! I know that I would have given it a try to get it straightened out, but after seeing the pictures I understand how you think. That was a nasty hit!! Did the florpans survive okay? I still would advise you to hang on to it, and fix it down the road. The good thing is that no ones hurt!!

[LuftsickTero]

go and get drunk, go and get laid

X2

Even that it may lost some of it's former appeal with new paintwork etc it's still the same car. I don't there is an overflow of restored GTVs neither. Keep the car and get it fixed when the timing is better.

[IP359]

Zach, put it away in a garage for a few months – take up Dave's offer if necessary – but don't rush into selling it. Sit on things for a while, go and get drunk, go and get laid, go and forget eveything for a period and then (and only then) take a fresh look at the car. You've already said it can be repaired and you're the best person to oversee the job. Even if it takes a few years, you owe it to yourself and to the car to see it through.
Uncle Keith has spoken.

+ 1
It is the best thing to do even if it's not easy to wait again to drive it
So do it (and don't drink too much lol)
Keep going
IP
PS : Dave is a real nice and professionnal guy. So think about his offer

[Rick Meredith]

Zach, put it away in a garage for a few months – take up Dave's offer if necessary – but don't rush into selling it. Sit on things for a while, go and get drunk, go and get laid, go and forget eveything for a period and then (and only then) take a fresh look at the car. You've already said it can be repaired and you're the best person to oversee the job. Even if it takes a few years, you owe it to yourself and to the car to see it through.
Uncle Keith has spoken.

Here Here Uncle Keith!

I had to sit on my '67 for several months before I could make a decision on it.

And we all know how long it has taken me to get moving on it.  

Some cars are just cars, others are really special. The GTV is more than a car. It's always been one of my favorites.

If you choose to fix it, I'm sure you will get a ton of help from sources you haven't even thought of.

[Rick Meredith]

PS... Read my signature and repeat! 

[Wout]

Give it some time, but don't sell it just like uncle Keith said!

Everything is possible if you want it really hard! 

'bon courage'!

gr
Wout

[bugnut68]

PS... Read my signature and repeat! 

Sage words, Rick... couldn't agree more.  Even if I didn't have a VW to work on, it's the people that make it so very worthwhile.  There's people I literally see once a year at Sacramento, and it's always a pleasure.  If I could ever make it back down for Bug-In in SoCal again, there would be an even bigger crowd for me to catch up with...lol.

[Speed-Randy]

Zach, remember my daughters Ghia? It won't be the same, it will be better. That car is her baby and she couldn't, and still can't stop smiling since I finished it. That can be fixed, won't be easy, but think of all those rusty POS buses that people are putting back together. There are a lot of good sheet metal guys that can do that fairly easily. Once the guys got on that Ghia it only took a couple days to have it all pulled out, only replaced the apron and rear engine peice, and believe it or not, the decklid fits better now than when I did it the first time. I know how you feel right now,and nothing feels better than triumphing over adversity like this.

[j-dub]

[danny gabbard]

Like I have emailed ya, Sorry about your car. Go have a shot or two of some jack, Hell kill a 1.75 or two and kickback! then climb under the bitch with a tape measure and start cross measuring and checking lengths and see if it bannana shaped the car. Then if its worth fixing start collecting parts and fix it! If nothing else ya might gain some new talents fixing it! Like I have said my whole life, Dont wreck anything ya cant fix!! anyway if ya have any questions Call !! This was not meant to be a smart ass reply in any way.

[j-f]

Takes Roland's 68 Cal look as example, the car was cut from everywhere!
It's now one of the finest late looker on the scene.





Metal can always be put back into shape.

[Dan Mazur]

Zach, put it away in a garage for a few months – take up Dave's offer if necessary – but don't rush into selling it. Sit on things for a while, go and get drunk, go and get laid, go and forget eveything for a period and then (and only then) take a fresh look at the car. You've already said it can be repaired and you're the best person to oversee the job. Even if it takes a few years, you owe it to yourself and to the car to see it through.
Uncle Keith has spoken.

I agree with Keith.

All that time and hard work.  If you can keep it someplace, store it for a day when your mind is clear.  It can be fixed another day, don't let your emotions force a decision you could regret.

Just my $0.2. 

I'm glad nobody was hurt.

[Neil Davies]

Zach, glad you're ok, even though the car looks bad.

I had a similar smash in my '60, when I was at university about 14 years ago. It didn't take the A-post, but the rest of the body damage was similar. I didn't fix it (lost it to the insurance company) but a friend who worked in a body-shop prior to uni said that it was fixable, given time. You live in the driest part of the US so I'm sure a decent donor shell could be found - square up what you've got and then chop away the mangled bits. See this as another chapter in the cars history. Even if you sell the car and it gets repaired, it'll always be known as "Zach's GTV", so you may as well keep it!

[Zach Gomulka]

Ok fellas, here's where I'm at. It's been a tough week. I'm surprised my boss didn't fire my ass, my head has been spinning for days now.
Like I said before, there's no possible way I could afford a full restoration, money or time wise. I've got a lot of other important things in life coming up (no, not kids!) that are going to need my complete, undivided attention. I also have zero desire for a restored car. I love that the car was a bit scruffy around the edges. It had character. It had charm. And hanging on to it for years, when I could use the equity for something else my girlfriend would find more appropriate, has little appeal to me.
I've also had a love/hate relationship with this car the last few years. The reasons I love it I've stated and are obvious. Like I've said before, I don't own that car, it owns me. It goes further than that even. I'm that cars bitch! I can't do what I want to do with the car, I have to do what is correct for it. It leaves me little to no creative input, and as you can tell by AssHull's car, I've got a lot of ideas swimming around in my head. I do want a car I with too much power, too much noise, and no heat. Something impractical!  Something I can do burnouts in and not waste skinny 165's that are $200 each! It's insane to spend that money on tires, but that's what that car deserves. I want something that I can get creative with. I really feel like there is more of "me" in AssHull's car than there is my own.
But then I had an idea... What if I found a Texas Yellow donor car, pushed back the inner structure of my car, swapped the hood, fenders, door, and even the quarter panels over, touched up the paint where needed/welded, find decals and call it good? Of course I know there's a lot more to it than that, and it's still going to be expensive. But at least it's not full restoration expensive. And it retains much of its appeal to me. I know the guy for the job, he is fucking expensive but he does damn good work, and he's in my area. He's also a VW guy,  knows my car and the history that surrounds it.
So that's where I'm at. I'm going to drive back and get the car sometime soon. You all can help me out by finding that original paint 1972 Texas Yellow donor car!

[Coxy]

!

But then I had an idea... What if I found a Texas Yellow donor car, pushed back the inner structure of my car, swapped the hood, fenders, door, and even the quarter panels over, touched up the paint where needed/welded, find decals and call it good? Of course I know there's a lot more to it than that, and it's still going to be expensive. But at least it's not full restoration expensive. And it retains much of its appeal to me. I know the guy for the job, he is fucking expensive but he does damn good work, and he's in my area. He's also a VW guy,  knows my car and the history that surrounds it.
So that's where I'm at. I'm going to drive back and get the car sometime soon. You all can help me out by finding that original paint 1972 Texas Yellow donor car!

Excellent plan. That's what I'd be doing if I owned it   

[Zach Gomulka]

Thank you everyone for the PM's, text messages, emails and phone calls offering support and advise during this difficult time. Even if it wasn't what I wanted to hear at the time I'm lucky to have you all in my life, even if you're half a world away.

And Jeremy and Slinger for keeping me from slitting my wrists

[Zach Gomulka]

!

But then I had an idea... What if I found a Texas Yellow donor car, pushed back the inner structure of my car, swapped the hood, fenders, door, and even the quarter panels over, touched up the paint where needed/welded, find decals and call it good? Of course I know there's a lot more to it than that, and it's still going to be expensive. But at least it's not full restoration expensive. And it retains much of its appeal to me. I know the guy for the job, he is fucking expensive but he does damn good work, and he's in my area. He's also a VW guy,  knows my car and the history that surrounds it.
So that's where I'm at. I'm going to drive back and get the car sometime soon. You all can help me out by finding that original paint 1972 Texas Yellow donor car!

Excellent plan. That's what I'd be doing if I owned it   

Don't know why I didn't think of it sooner!