by Mike –
Don Bryan is one of the most enthusiastic Apollo owners I know. He lives close by and I had a spirited ride in his Apollo GT once. He is a second generation Apollo GT owner having inherited his Apollo from his father.
He had an unfortunate mishap recently that was not his fault. He tells us about it below along with some painful photos.
Text and photos by Don Bryan
On the tow truck
Here’s what happened….
It was late October 2013 I was driving home from work on Interstate 880 after a 12 hr day. It was dark about 8:45 PM in the evening. I changed to the center lane at Coleman Ave, as I approached The Alameda going 65-70mph…?. As I came to the crest of the hill, a dark sedan? changed lanes and ran into me. I got clipped in the right rear.
It was similar to a police pit maneuver that instantly sent me in to a 180° drift/slide for several seconds. I spun right past the concrete barrier and spun on to the Alameda off ramp, a tree stopped me going backwards. The other driver did not stop.
After I worked out a value with my insurance company the restoration and repair work has begun.
I am going to probably upgrade a few things, new interior and wiring harness myself as it is outside of the scope of the repairs really. When this guy is done the car will be better than new, he will retub the right rear wheel well so the stock (and larger) tires won’t rub anymore.
The repairs are well under way. The initial pulls on the frame machine are done and the body is off the frame. The Body, then the frame will be pulled separately. I am taking pictures at least once a week. I’m still trying to get another Apollo GT there for reference.
Now that the body is off the frame, it will happen pretty fast I think.
I am so happy no one was hurt but that crazy driver should have stopped! Good luck Don, we would love to follow the progress. We have two Apollo GTs undergoing a restoration in Northern California now.
See more of Don Bryan’s Apollo GT in the slide show below
How is the restoration going on the Apollo? Don, I spoke to you after the accident. I have a 1963 Apollo purchased from Jack Woods 12 years ago that was in a front end collision. The repair work was done in Fiberglass and bondo. Other than that the car is prime for a full restoration. Please forward the contact info of your metal guy and depending on how it goes, I would like to be 2nd in line after you. Thanks, Craig 310-384-8443
The restoration is going well thanks for asking. I’ll be there tomorrow to check the status. I’ll send you an email. Right now I’m working on the little details that are outside of the insurance claim, I was running the 16″ HRE wheels I got off James Taylor and not the Borrani’s so during this time I’ll have them tuned up and re-chrome the center hub, possibly replace or re-chrome the nuts. I’m going to due some mods to the 215, new slightly bigger cam, larger carburetor and ignition upgrades. I’ll give Mike an update.
Don, When it is done can we take another drive up Big Basin Road?
Mike, Of course, it will be a different ride.
Craig Snedden came down to qualify the shop, a week later his car showed up. I need his car for my rear end restoration and he needs my car for his front end restoration so its a win/win.
The shop did move so a larger shop, 3x the size, that took some time and effort. They are still not completely settled in. The down draft booth is under construction.
In the mean time I am gathering parts that are outside the claim that need replacing, and stocking up on 63 buick special parts. New wiring harness showed up from YnZ, the quality is amazing. Working on getting the Borrani’s hub re-chromed and new rubber to mount.