Thread: Project Sebring GT Spyder

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They say that disaster can strike in an instant and when you least expect it. I can testify to that.

Just about the time I was finishing up the gas tank and before I had it mounted, I was getting ready to attend a car show in another state. I had my 46 coupe under the carport (it normally lives in my shop) to load it for the trip and was trying to get my lawn mowed before a thunder storm came through. Suddenly the poop hit the fan as they say. As I sat on my mower, I saw a strong wind hit the trees in my neighbor's yard and I turned in time to see the shingles being ripped from my house in huge chunks. The swinging doors on my shop broke the chains that hold them open and were banging back and forth. I also saw the roof being ripped off my neighbors equipment shed and the power poles behind it torn down. I had just witnessed a small tornado and it quite literally went right over my head. I never actually saw it, but my neighbor who lost the shed told me later that he did. I don't think the funnel ever made it to the ground or maybe my house acted as a shield, but my guardian angel was most definitely looking out for me. I hate to think what kind of shape I could be in. As it was, I didn't get a scratch until I tried to close the doors on my shop and got slapped pretty hard by one.

It wasn't raining and there was almost no wind before all this happened. Just some rain clouds off in the distance like we get all the time. I wasn't the only one as several homes in town suffered roof damage and many power lines were pulled down. The "official" report said straight line winds, but I have to believe my neighbor. I also find it hard to believe that straight winds would have removed shingles from both sides of my house.

It vacuumed over a third of the shingles from my roof and pulled a large swath of siding off. The shingles that were flying around acted like super coarse sandpaper and damaged the paint on my truck, 46 coupe and my motorcycle. Most of the damage was just surface scratches, but one place on the coupe was ground all the way to bare metal. The wind pushed my 750 lb Goldwing about 3 feet backwards into my 46, but didn't cause any damage. The doors on my shop were warped and had to be tied shut. Our power was out for almost 2 days. Luckily I was able to get a roofer out pretty quick and get tarps on the roof so there was only minor water damage. My shop was full of mess that was blown in. Shingles, siding and leaves.

Of course, all this shut down work on the car for several weeks. The various insurance companies have paid and some of the repairs have been completed. The roof is back on, but the siding is still waiting. The shop doors took about 2 days for me to straighten well enough to close. My truck has been repainted and I actually sold the Goldwing with the scratches. The new owner said he would take care of them. The bruises on my arm where door got me have faded.

The 46 will eventually get a complete repaint, but insurance only paid for spot repairs. The paint is 20 years old and shows some age, so I'll pay the extra for a make over. That will have to wait for the Healey to be finished, since I have some other work to do on it too.

From where I sit now, I'm thankful that the damage was just to things that could be repaired. As far as I know, no one in town was injured. Compared to the utter devastation I've seen with other storms, it could have been much, much worse.

Now let's get back to building a car.