This is Part 2 – read Part 1 – All I Can Do.
Some of you may wonder why we went so far to save this totaled 1994 Ford Bronco. The answer is plain and simple – we went just as far to save it’s life as it did to save my life.
At first glance, my Bronco doesn’t look like it was damaged that badly. Thankfully, the majority of the impact was taken by the frame of my truck – that is why the grill and headlights are still intact. The grill and headlights were hanging over the concrete barrier because they did not hit concrete, the frame did.
As the ambulance took me away to the hospital, The firefighters on the scene told my husband that if my Bronco had been lifted, it would have most likely gone over the concrete barrier and would have ended upside down on the highway 50+ feet below. The impact to the frame was so severe that the motor and transmission were ripped loose from their brand new mounts! The body moved forward almost 2 inches where the radiator fan imbedded into the radiator.
When the frame of my Bronco hit concrete and stopped suddenly, the body, motor and transmission kept moving forward several inches. ALL of the body bolts were severely bent and almost broken off. They went from a straight line into the shape of an S. The body bolts had to be cut with a torch to be removed. Picture in your mind, the body of this truck tried to leave the frame. Notice how the wheels are not centered in the fender wells. They are so close to the back of the fender because the body is literally shifted forward. My husband grew up in his dad’s body shop. He spent a lot of time as a child around wrecked vehicles. Upon disassembling this vehicle, he said this is the worst accident he has ever seen someone walk away from without at least a few broken bones.
Here is Norm disassembling my nearly destroyed Bronco next to the donor Bronco.
Most of the damaged parts are removed here.
The donor Bronco with the body removed.
The donor Bronco body on it’s way to the crusher.
The good portion of my Bronco removed from the bad, bent frame.
The new frame with my good engine under my Bronco’s body.
My Bronco’s body just before being lowered onto the new frame.
My Bronco’s body mounted to the new frame, ready for the front end to be assembled.
The completed Bronco running and driving. Now all it needs is a paint job! We never painted this vehicle because I got pregnant right after the accident with Noah. We knew we were going to need a bigger vehicle, so we didn’t bother painting it. We ended up selling it in September 2012 to one of our customers who fell in love with it. It’s still on the road serving faithfully as it always did before. Hopefully, it won’t ever have to save a life again.
Thank you for reading my story. I’m happy that God put me here to be able to tell it. Have you ever had an experience that you lived through that you can’t believe you did?
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