To keep or not to keep

[Mieux97]

Well...as you all know...I wrecked my t/a in november and paid the repair bill in full($3000 front end). I told the shop not to hurry on repair as it provides free storage, but being that the car has been gettin all the elements outside...I may as well get it back sooner. Should I keep it and add mods or should I sell it and get a new bird?

[third_shift|studios]

whats the point of selling it? are you not going to repair it for the 3k?

[Kaotic_ws6]

Well...as you all know...I wrecked my t/a in november and paid the repair bill in full($3000 front end). I told the shop not to hurry on repair as it provides free storage, but being that the car has been gettin all the elements outside...I may as well get it back sooner. Should I keep it and add mods or should I sell it and get a new bird?

well if the body shop does a great job then keep it.. idk why you would want to give it up for another one?

[mr_r0bert0]

i say keep it and just mod your bird now.. why buy a new one

[RedVertTA]

You're not going to be able to sell a wrecked car, and you sure as hell won't find one for $3000. Phoenixes never die, they just rise from the ashes, the same will be with yours, FIX IT!

[Mieux97]

Ya'll make a good point....the shop better do a great job

[RedVertTA]

Ya'll make a good point....the shop better do a great job

Glad to hear it.

[SINISTER-TA]

I would sell it and use the money to put down on a new SS Camaro.

[RedVertTA]

I'm not as excited about the new camaro as you. I like it, but I prefer the 4th gens, and I'm not just saying that becasue I own one. Our cars are more aerodynamic, and lighter, with more potential for a build. Besides theirs a big difference between paying $3000 for a fix and $30,000 for a new car, even if he does sell his car, and with that difference in cost he'd have enough for a full engine build, suspension and rear.

[RyanJM]

I do collision repair and all I can say is drive it when it's fixed and then you'll know the answer to your question. I have had cars fixed that I have kept and some I sold off cause they just didn't feel right anymore.

[RedVertTA]

I do collision repair and all I can say is drive it when it's fixed and then you'll know the answer to your question. I have had cars fixed that I have kept and some I sold off cause they just didn't feel right anymore.

Can't you just realign the frame?

[Kaotic_ws6]

Can't you just realign the frame?

yea but once you wreck a car, its NEVER the same again, every car is diff he will just have to see.

[RedVertTA]

I get the impression you think I was talking about Mieux97's TA, I wasn't, I was asking RyanJM why he couldn't realign the frame on the cars he worked on.

yea but once you wreck a car, its NEVER the same again, every car is diff he will just have to see.

That is a completely unfounded statement, not every wreck will cause permanent damage of any kind other than a soiled vehicle title.

Besides, bent frames can be fixed. Short only of having the frame severed at a point of contact or severe warp, (in which case the car could never be rebuilt and test driven in the first place), there is almost always a way to bend a frame back into shape. Methods like setting up a jig with tension cables and use of a heat torch at bend points to allow them to loosen can force a frame back into place. It can be done, I've seen cars hit the wall at 130 mph and catch fire and later return to race the strip again, and win.

[Kaotic_ws6]

I get the impression you think I was talking about Mieux97's TA, I wasn't, I was asking RyanJM why he couldn't realign the frame on the cars he worked on.



That is a completely unfounded statement, not every wreck will cause permanent damage of any kind other than a soiled vehicle title.

Besides, bent frames can be fixed. Short only of having the frame severed at a point of contact or severe warp, (in which case the car could never be rebuilt and test driven in the first place), there is almost always a way to bend a frame back into shape. Methods like setting up a jig with tension cables and use of a heat torch at bend points to allow them to loosen can force a frame back into place. It can be done, I've seen cars hit the wall at 130 mph and catch fire and later return to race the strip again, and win.

yea your right, i guess its all in your head after you wreck it haha

[RyanJM]

Can't you just realign the frame?

I have worked in shops with huge drive on Chief frame racks and computer alignment and yes you can pull most cars straight with a few tons of pull and a torch and hammer. Hell you can section a car if it gets hit hard and get a reconstructed title for it.
But you need a shop with people who take the time to properly set up the sensors and make sure every part is pulled back within factory spec that was misaligned from the hit.
Maybe it was in my head or maybe someone didn't put in enough time to get it perfect. I don't have those cars to go re-check myself now so I can't say for sure.
I can say that I have measured some cars that weren't done right. I had checked a car someone had fixed elsewhere and kept complaining to there insurance the car felt different and when whe measured it some of front measurement points were out of spec. Been a while since I have done that.
I stick with cosmetic and paint jobs now. Fast easy money without much thought. Dents are the only things that take time. Bumper rips and scrapes are fast and easy. I do several a day. Now that the big dealers are going under I do most of my work at small buy here pay here lots.

[RedVertTA]

I have worked in shops with huge drive on Chief frame racks and computer alignment and yes you can pull most cars straight with a few tons of pull and a torch and hammer. Hell you can section a car if it gets hit hard and get a reconstructed title for it.
But you need a shop with people who take the time to properly set up the sensors and make sure every part is pulled back within factory spec that was misaligned from the hit.
Maybe it was in my head or maybe someone didn't put in enough time to get it perfect. I don't have those cars to go re-check myself now so I can't say for sure.
I can say that I have measured some cars that weren't done right. I had checked a car someone had fixed elsewhere and kept complaining to there insurance the car felt different and when whe measured it some of front measurement points were out of spec. Been a while since I have done that.
I stick with cosmetic and paint jobs now. Fast easy money without much thought. Dents are the only things that take time. Bumper rips and scrapes are fast and easy. I do several a day. Now that the big dealers are going under I do most of my work at small buy here pay here lots.

Obviously you've had experience with this, I'm curious would you say its more difficult to realign one of our unibody cars or a 2 piece car with separate chassis and body like the 1st gen fbodys? And about how much would one of these fixes cost?

By sectioning do you mean rejoining a frame at severed points? I didn't know that was possible.

[RyanJM]

Sectioning cut the back 1/3 or so off a mazda 6 4door and welded the rear section in from the other car. A truck or and older full frame cars You car cut the frame and remove a cestion and weld in a new section on those as long as you reinforce it good. Bad welding leads to cracks in a very short time. Unibody isn't all that hard just time conusuming. Like if you get in a front end collision and damage the upper strut mount area or for the fact one side gets hit fard you can drill out some pinch welds and do a little cutting and replace whule sections from the firewall foward in several hours of course.
Your looking at alot of cash because frame work is the most costly part of a repair. Not sure what there getting around here know but it's alot because I know when I stopped by a shop to talk to someone the hourly on body time had gone up since I had last worked in a real shop.

[INMY01TA]

You wrecked, keep it. Would you love your child any less if it were disfigured in an accident?

[RedVertTA]

You wrecked, keep it. Would you love your child any less if it were disfigured in an accident?

That's deep right there.

[INMY01TA]

That's deep right there.

Mine was in a small wreck once. I was in the same position. It's not perfect now but I deal with it. Nobody else sees the imperfections in it I do.