Hi folks,

I never thought I would wish that my Syncro had leaking heads, but today 
I would trade my troubles for those of many.  My van was wrecked as I was 
talking on the telephone.

But before you jump to any conclusions, it was not a cell phone.  It was 
a rotary phone, actually.  I was in my kitchen, when I heard a "BARK" and 
a crash.  I thought perhaps a moose was going through my aluminum 
collection and irritating my dogs.  But from the window I could see that 
my van had attempted suicide by taking off down my driveway, flinging 
itself off the 18" embankment and head first into a black spruce about 
6 feet away.  So there it sat, rear wheels on the driveway, nose against 
the tree.  It didn't look damaged from the side...

But upon closer inspection, the angle of impact all but spared the 
bumper, and took out the upper grille, panel, windshield, left hinge 
post, left inner headlamp, and antenna.  

The dog tied nearest the scene was at the far end of his run looking very 
upset.  The insurance adjuster said my policy did not cover canine 
psychotherapy.  

But it does cover the repair, to the tune of $2800 or so, plus my 
deductible.  That makes this more pleasant than needing new heads, I 
suppose.  Here are some highlights from the estimate:

FRONT BUMPER	$559
UPPER GRILLE	$258.5
TOP COWL PANEL	$105
L INNER HLAMP	$114
27 HOURS LABOR	$1324
TOTAL PARTS	$1557

Even the adjuster was amazed at the cost of the bumper.  I could live 
with it as it is; only the cowl, windshield, lamps and grille were really 
trashed.  

I would appreciate any advice for dealing with collision repair folks, as 
I have never been in this situation.  Will I get to keep the replaced 
parts?  I'll try.  Meanwhile, set your parking brake, cram it into 
reverse, chock the wheels, put a dead bison on the downhill side, 
whatever it takes!  For crying out loud, I've been parking there for 
three years, and I don't know what the heck happened on Monday.

Cheers!

Chris Wyatt
'87 Syncro GL
85000 miles and a wicked sneer
Fairbanks, Alaska

P.S.  Would anyone discourage me from installing a Brazil-made clutch 
slave cylinder?  $79 or so from the FLAPS seems pretty good for Fairbanks 
prices.  Are there mail order sources for that part?  Some of the parts 
houses that advertise in the magazines would not even send me a catalog 
due to my location.  478 Ookpik Way, Fairbanks AK 99709, if you're out 
there.  

And if the fellow with the Syncro air filters is out there, please get in 
touch with me.  My road is going from ice to mud to dust in a hurry.  (I 
called you, but haven't heard back)