$hit and run repair

[geminimotors]

Its rough out there in the streets. Figured I’d post the repairs.
So far the damage is to fender, valence, grille center & left side, tire, bumper & left brackets, radiator, and front edge of hood.
Put it back in the warehouse to asess the damage. Picked up a workable fender today. Thanks #bb66cuda!

 

[geminimotors]

Its rough out there in the streets. Figured I’d post the repairs.
So far the damage is to fender, valence, grille center & left side, tire, bumper & left brackets, radiator, and front edge of hood.
Put it back in the warehouse to asess the damage. Picked up a workable fender today. Thanks #bb66cuda! View attachment 1715737590

Removed bumper and pulled the damage a bit straighter with the tools at hand.

 

[geminimotors]

Straighter-ish. Theres a warp to the horizontal part at the front of inner fender. Radiator support looks ok so far. I hope I dont find too much more carnage.

 

[halfafish]

Well this majorly sucks but progress is good. I've been known to use the forklift puller myself.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Cool to see you're not sittin on your hands with this. It's easy to let somethin like this knock the wind out of your sails. I just now straightened out Vixen's bumper pretty dang good a couple days ago. I wrapped a chain around one of the legs of the shop, clamped the bumper in the vise with a come along in between and pulled the bumper out straight. Got it pretty good, too. Looks a whole lot better than the left side hangin all down.

 

[geminimotors]

Well this majorly sucks but progress is good. I've been known to use the forklift puller myself.

Cool to see you're not sittin on your hands with this. It's easy to let somethin like this knock the wind out of your sails. I just now straightened out Vixen's bumper pretty dang good a couple days ago. I wrapped a chain around one of the legs of the shop, clamped the bumper in the vise with a come along in between and pulled the bumper out straight. Got it pretty good, too. Looks a whole lot better than the left side hangin all down.

This is a bunch of unexpected time and money. I’m mad as hell and feel like I should channel that into repairs right now to work it out. A year and a half in the works- We should be driving and having fun this summer!

 

[RustyRatRod]

This is a bunch of unexpected time and money. I’m mad as hell and feel like I should channel that into repairs right now to work it out. A year and a half in the works- We should be driving and having fun this summer!

I get it man and I sure am sorry. But you're doing the right thing by channeling that anger into something positive like the repairs. That will just pay off in spades, rather than you brooding over it.

 

[70dart340]

Straighter-ish. Theres a warp to the horizontal part at the front of inner fender. Radiator support looks ok so far. I hope I dont find too much more carnage. View attachment 1715737597View attachment 1715737598

Be strong, little Brother. You've taken a shot to face, and gotten up off the deck to get back in the fight. Rocky has nothing on you. I'm still looking for a fender for you up here in the PNW. Prayers sent.

 

[mopowers]

Its rough out there in the streets. Figured I’d post the repairs.
So far the damage is to fender, valence, grille center & left side, tire, bumper & left brackets, radiator, and front edge of hood.
Put it back in the warehouse to asess the damage. Picked up a workable fender today. Thanks #bb66cuda! View attachment 1715737590

Nice job getting on it! Do you have comprehensive insurance?

 

[Dartswinger70]

nice that you are fixing it Insurance companies wont pay much and the powers that be want old cars gone...

 

[geminimotors]

Removed the fender & valence. So much silty dust between the aft splash shield and rocker. Nothing but solid metal up in there!
Frame section and bumper mount area are straight. The top of frame has a slight downward curve that matches tow pass side. The only new damage discovered is some smoosh to the top of inner fender and radiator support. I feel good about massaging it straight. Whew!

 

[geminimotors]

Im curious about the door-cowl gap. This predates the accident. I’ve adjusted the door outboard and this is as good as it gets. The gold door obviously isnt original, but the hinges are. I cant see any damage, but maybe the hinge pillar got pushed in? Have there ever been shims to move the hinges away from the pillar?

 

[Shade Tree Mech.]

I'm curious to what your insurance company gives you - if anything. I had a very similar situation last fall. Someone pulled out in front of my son's '65 Barracuda and smashed the front end. I'm still fighting with the insurance company (of the other party). They offered me ~$2500 to fix it. I've gone through the same exact process of fixing as much of it that I can by myself, but mine does need to have the frame pulled. Keep us posted.

 

[geminimotors]

Finally getting to it. Straightened the radiator support and inner fender. I made a bracket to fit inside the radiator support to pull evenly and used the forklift fork as a dolly to iron out the wrinkle in the inner fender. Its pretty straight, but not undetectable to a sharp eye. Sanded & primed it tonight. I think I have a good match for the EE1 blue in SprayMax rattle cans.
Norman Racing in Berkeley welded up the aluminum radiator.
Member BB66cuda supplied a fender and valence that need some rust repair.
Progress feels good!

 

[Ironracer]

Cool to see you're not sittin on your hands with this. It's easy to let somethin like this knock the wind out of your sails. I just now straightened out Vixen's bumper pretty dang good a couple days ago. I wrapped a chain around one of the legs of the shop, clamped the bumper in the vise with a come along in between and pulled the bumper out straight. Got it pretty good, too. Looks a whole lot better than the left side hangin all down.

I've used a few trees... palms, oaks.. some chain, a come along. And once or twice, for a driver truck, just tied er down and used the throttle! Last year, when I found my wife died, I ran over a stump.. jacked my 42" long tie rod on my Jeep. Pushed it in, didn't have a spotter, so after a few gentle tugs, i got kinda pissed. My bud that was staying here didn't wanna participate, so I nailed it....it got worse. Way worse.

 

[Ironracer]

View attachment 1715816528 View attachment 1715816529 View attachment 1715816531 View attachment 1715816533 Finally getting to it. Straightened the radiator support and inner fender. I made a bracket to fit inside the radiator support to pull evenly and used the forklift fork as a dolly to iron out the wrinkle in the inner fender. Its pretty straight, but not undetectable to a sharp eye. Sanded & primed it tonight. I think I have a good match for the EE1 blue in SprayMax rattle cans.
Norman Racing in Berkeley welded up the aluminum radiator.
Member BB66cuda supplied a fender and valence that need some rust repair.
Progress feels good!

View attachment 1715816530

Looking good! That sucks someone smacked up your ride...

 

[Ironracer]

Its rough out there in the streets. Figured I’d post the repairs.
So far the damage is to fender, valence, grille center & left side, tire, bumper & left brackets, radiator, and front edge of hood.
Put it back in the warehouse to asess the damage. Picked up a workable fender today. Thanks #bb66cuda! View attachment 1715737590

Ugh, that sucks. Why couldn't they hit a **** box Chevy or Honda? Dammit

 

[halfafish]

@geminimotors - tried sending you a PM, your inbox is full. Can you clean it out and give me a shout?

 

[geminimotors]

@geminimotors - tried sending you a PM, your inbox is full. Can you clean it out and give me a shout?

Done did it.

 

[geminimotors]

Done did it.

Hosed the paint on tonight. The Spraymax was very translucent- the primer showed through until I snuck up on a final thick wet coat and it looks pretty dang ok! When it cures I can reinstall the radiator and move it around under its own power.

 

[Ironracer]

Nice Man!

 

[geminimotors]

 

[70dart340]

I admire your gumption. I'm still looking for parts up here for you, but no luck so far. Great progress, I admire you.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Yes sir! That's how you get it done and stay out of a rut or worse, give up. Good for you!

 

[70dart340]

Please forgive my lack of knowledge, but what year is your car? I've been contacted by an old man in the mountains who supposedly is parting out some old Mopars.