How's This For A Project!

[Smurf]

I lived in Newcastle and when I bought a front bar for my car, the owner of the place showed me a project they were working on.

Basically it was a guy who brought in a clubsport and commodore stationwagon. I think they were VX or somewthing like that. They owner of the cars was a paraplegic and had a lump sum payout. He imported a 7.2 litre Chevy engine to put in the Clubbie. The engine was almost the same as the one used in the Nations Cup Monaro, the only difference beeing it was bigger. The engine alone cost $119k apparently. He wasn't happy with the power so he wanted to add two massive turbos. An engineering firm said that they couldn't strengthen the the car to handle that sort of torque. They guy settled for supercharging. All up the car and changes were supposed to hit $300k. He had some massive AP racing brakes already on the car (cost $20k). The new gearbox had it's own digital screeen. I think they planned on getting around 1000hp at the wheels and who knows how much torque.

In addition he decided to put all the lefto over clubbie bits in the station wagon. He planned on supercharging the 5.7l too.

Commodores of any kind are certainly not my cup of tea. Imagine spending that sort of money on a car, a commodore!!!! Would be a wild ride though, good for towing a caravan (isn't that why people buy commonwhores). Given that he couldn't use his legs, I imagine that would make the driving expereience even more interesting.

Does anyone know whether he finished the project?

Cheers

[allblitz]

The engine alone cost $119k apparently. He wasn't happy with the power so he wanted to add two massive turbos. An engineering firm said that they couldn't strengthen the the car to handle that sort of torque. They guy settled for supercharging. All up the car and changes were supposed to hit $300k.

He sounds more than Paraplegic to me

[Johnny Cash]

LOL

Yeah, imagine: A flashed up commodore, or a Diablo Roadster.

[Miller the hoon]

Some one made a crewman before the came out in wa

Disable guy aswell with a full rebuild and bulk work

it pissed along and it had hand controlls

james

[scathing]

You're handicapped and can't land a job that requires you to have mobility anymore.

So I'll just throw a whole bunch of cash at a depreciating asset with the money the courts gave me to nominally support myself.

If I was throwing money around, I would have found a way tpo strengthen it. Convert the car to a tube frame by running a full titanium cage all the way through the vehicle or something....it wouldn't be street legal but as if that's stopped most of us.

[lordsnipe]

so the guy is disabled and blows all of his compo money on a hunk of metal ...

i hope he doesn't sponge off taxpayers after this little splurge.

[Flux]

maybe he didnt blow 'all' his money?

whateva floats your boat, but i could spend 300k elsewere

[Miller the hoon]

Some wheel chairs go for more than 15000 but if they are your new legs it does not seem as much

james

[Johnny Cash]

You wouldn't believe how many people get lump sum compensation payments for various injuries and spend it on a fancy car or something. Then when they need that money a few years down the track, they cry poor about the condition they're in... go figure.

[Smurf]

I think the lump sum was pretty hefty, don't think he spent all of it on the car.

The company involved told they guy they wouldn't do it because he will kill himself with such a beast. They guy responded by saying he would take his business elsewhere so they agreed to do it.

[lordsnipe]

exactly, that lump sum of cash is to set him up for the rest of his life, especially if he's unable to work ever again. it's not to blow on some piece of shit car.

some people need a reality check.

i think compensation payments for situations like this should be trickled to the person. That way they live off the money and not blow it on stupid shit.

[Johnny Cash]

exactly, that lump sum of cash is to set him up for the rest of his life, especially if he's unable to work ever again. it's not to blow on some piece of shit car.

some people need a reality check.

i think compensation payments for situations like this should be trickled to the person. That way they live off the money and not blow it on stupid shit.

I've made the same suggestion to colleagues at work. Unfortunately, parliament has made it a lump sum

payment, and that will be the case until it's changed. Perhaps the courts could establish a trust fund under

which the company/person liable to pay pays that money to the court, then the court pays the beneficiary

the set amount.

Sounds like an idea!

[R33S2]

when youve lost your legs your outlook on life is pretty bleak in some cases and the fact that you life span is some what reduced, the only thing that kept my mate going was his project car, mind you he bought a house and set himself up properly first.

[Johnny Cash]

The clients I've had who've had lump sum compensation for injuries

sustained at work / personal injury claims don't get much satisfaction

from the payout. That said, I would always advise against blowing the

lot on modifying a car, as that money is awarded to them for various

valid reasons. It's not a jackpot, and no-one of sound mind or body

would endure what these people have endured for the sake of the

compensation.

So why treat it like a lottery win?

[scathing]

i think compensation payments for situations like this should be trickled to the person. That way they live off the money and not blow it on stupid shit.

Truer words have never been spoken. Your average person just doesn't know what to do with a shitload of money, and so they just waste it. Quite a few lottery winners have ended up broke because they just threw all the money away on f**k knows what, or ended up miserable.

If I was a paraplegic, I would blow a whole wad of cash on one of those motorised wheelchairs that can drive up stairs. It uses 3 wheels (similar to some trolleys) and a similar gyro setup to a Segway to traverse stairs. And then build a home that was wheelchair friendly, for the times that I need to recharge / refuel the "cool" wheelchair.

At least then it would be directly benefit the circumstances that lead to the payout.

Maybe they should set up some state equivalent of a trust fund, and pay the claimant in installments or something. Like work out from the average lifespan of an Australian, and then divide the payments weekly or fortnightly so you pretty much get paid when you die.

Should the person pass away before it all gets paid, then it goes into their estate and the person can pass on the stipend in their will. If they outlive the payments, there's always social security and the like. You could make the entity that has to pay give a lump sump to the trust fund, who can then invest it and try to earn interest so the money lasts longer as well.

[PHATR32]

depedning on how much i got, id invest it in housing. rent out the properites and live off the rent.

steve

[Johnny Cash]

It's designed to compensate you for your injury, and part of that is loss of lifestyle, so to some extent, the money is to be directed for enjoying yourself.

But more often that not, a majority of it goes towards the fact that you're no longer able to perform the work you were able to before the accident, and that the money you receive compensates for that difference.

So if you blow it all on a fancy car, you're gonna find things a BIT hard to handle down the road, when you realize you can't get a job and won't get welfare because of your court settlement...

[allblitz]

I honestly believe the accident has not only made him paraplegic, but possibly retarded for him to do such a thing.

[scathing]

I honestly believe the accident has not only made him paraplegic, but possibly retarded for him to do such a thing.

So you're saying that the guy's brains were in his ass (he's aspires to a Commodore so that doesn't require a suspension of disbelief), and the paralysis that affected his legs also reached a half a foot higher?

I'd concur with that.

[monaroCountry]

when youve lost your legs your outlook on life is pretty bleak in some cases and the fact that you life span is some what reduced, the only thing that kept my mate going was his project car, mind you he bought a house and set himself up properly first.

True, im guessing life would be very bleak, especially if the guy was an active person in his prior life. Like R33S2 I also believe that this project might be the only thing keeping him sane.

A lot of people here are passing judgement without knowing the guys circumstances and wealth. For all we know he could be a millionaire with compensation.

The engine alone cost $119k apparently. He wasn't happy with the power so he wanted to add two massive turbos.

As for the choice of engine, I think that he could have spent his money more wisely. A genIII with twin snails could achieve that level of power reliably for less than $20k. Even the race bread LS7 (7L ZO6) engine with 500hp stock could achieve 1000hp reliably for a fraction of the cost.