Imagine for a moment that your car is chosen by a roving reporter to be photographed for a magazine feature. All those months of sweat and money are going to be recognized by people beyond the local show’n shine – how cool is that? But, then, disaster strikes as your showpiece is involved in a tragic accident. Ain’t it a bummer!

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened to Minnesota residents Ryan and Sarah Buck and their 1963 Nova, which is in the July, 2012 issue of Car Craft magazine.

As Ryan relates in a forum at Steve’s Nova Site, he was merging into traffic, going about 25-30 MPH, when the bank in the curve ahead leveled right off without a transition. Then, suddenly, the rear swung out clockwise. Ryan tried to correct it as he started to cross traffic, but it wasn’t enough as he prepared for the worst. He was T-boned by a truck that was going around 40-45 MPH but luckily both drivers emerged relatively unscathed, with Ryan walking away with a bruised leg and a sore chest.

The Nova was bashed 6-8 inches on the side of the firewall, buckling the dash and cowl. The driver’s seat also shifted two inches. The end result, “the whole body is twisted [and] the roof doesn’t touch any of the windows that are left . . . but don’t cry too long. I have a new car to clone the first one with. And, yes, it’s a true SS.”

Ryan claims he’s veering back and forth between cloning his old car and changing a few things, such as using headlights with LEDs in the perimeter, adding air conditioning and changing the shocks to double-adjusters, among other things. He even has a new motor for it already.

For an old car that’s set up for autocrossing, safety should be at the forefront, but it’s also a reminder that a good insurance policy should be in place. Ryan is lucky his State Farm coverage had a declared value and was settled right away. Now he owns two Novas, with parts from one going to be used for the other.

Some guys have all the luck.