Is there any saving this Trueno :(

[SiriusVirus]

http://imgur.com/a/Fks5F I was going 30 driving the car home from where I bought it. I hit black ice slammed a pole and blacked out. I really dont want to part it out what can I do to save this car. Can this be pulled by a skilled body shop? Im still in shock and just more sad than anything. It cranks the motor doesnt seem to be damaged its only this rail and the firewall. Thanks in advance

[jondee86]

Big job... expensive. You would most likely be better off buying
a nice, clean SR5 shell with or without engine, and swapping all the
GTS parts over. Tough break, but if you got out of it without injury
you can call yourself lucky !!

Cheers... jondee86

[meifert]

No. It will cost too much. At least you are ok. Cars can be replaced, people can't

[SiriusVirus]

Alright thanks for your opinions guys. I assume it'll be well over a grand. Motor still runs I assume. Its not getting fuel because the efi main got ripped out somehow..

[Nick94tt]

I assume it'll be well over a grand. Motor still runs I assume.

Probably beyond 5k-10k if done by a regular collision shop once you get into sourcing parts, and the labor hours of stripping chassis down for the frame rack + wiring gremlins + eventual paint - assuming there's enough there to even work with. First time I've seen a wheel intrude into the passenger compartment in a front end collision where it wasn't tossed in the window by the responders/wreckers though. Looks like the firewall wasn't too happy about life to begin with.

Lot of damage for 30mph, but that's what hitting something without brakes typically does.

Best option is probably verify the driveline and accessories are still good, and start parting out / readying for the next shell. Label everything as you pull it off and bag it with the bolts/hardware/brackets/lines - Makes selling / installing worlds easier down the line.

The factory service manuals have body measurement specs in diagrams at the back. You can use the measurement points to get a rough idea of how bent the chassis is.

I'd move along if we swapped places though. Glad to see you walked away from it once you woke up.

[yoshimitsuspeed]

I bet it would cost you over a grand if you did all the work yourself. Can't imagine how much it would cost for a professional shop to fix that right and I use the term right very loosely.

[milchmann]

Wow. That is a really bad break. $10K would be the best friends since grade school hook up based off of what I see in those pictures. The car will never be right after that either. Others have already said it, but you should consider your self very fortunate to have walked away from that.

I would add to what Nick94tt said, and get some big storage bins from wally-world to put all of those labeled zip-locks in. Also, if you do not already own one, you are probably going to want to invest in a saws-all too. That drivers side motor mount and cross member are probably not going to want to come out without cutting.

[Nick94tt]

I bet it would cost you over a grand if you did all the work yourself. Can't imagine how much it would cost for a professional shop to fix that right and I use the term right very loosely.

Agreed. For anyone that ever drops their vehicle off at a shop, a few safety checks. I once got a car back with 1 bolt holding the seat in, restraint bolts less than finger tight, 6 broken wheel studs (Yep, impact gun - with a torque stick - Argue away, but hand tools only on safety gear for me), oh, and an 8" long 1/4" deep gouge into the bead area of a Volk GTC. If you're wondering how the tire managed to stay on, it didn't. And.... The car later caught fire where they repaired wiring.

Wow. That is a really bad break. $10K would be the best friends since grade school hook up based off of what I see in those pictures.

I was trying to be gentle.

On non-sentimental "throwaway" cars... (In the eyes of insurance companies, repair shops, and practical budgets) just move on to a new solid platform. Unless you're in the mood to tube the entire front end and cage it out. (And can do this properly...)

Insurance company put over $20k into one of my cars (the one above), and it's solid. Just took me going over every fastener on the vehicle. YMMV.

[SiriusVirus]

Went to a body shop with pictures the guy told me his shop wasnt equipped for it. He told me of a guy who specializes in "Destroyed frames" and he has seen worse, called the guy a "magician". I almost made the bodyshop guy tear up looking at the pics. I still want to cry over it . This guy custom does frame rails and welds them in. Based on pics he quoted me 2k at the least so I figure 3k I dont want them doing hood or fenders so that will cut price a lot. I mean Gas Monkey garage repaired a beer can ferrari. Its not by any means gonna be a drift car or a track car my older brother bought it as a fun summer car to just cruise and show off. Im in Chicago so theres tons of options. I tried driving my civic and Im still jarred from that accident. ER told me its gonna take a while for me to feel "normal" again Im really lucky it had a harness and racing seats Im sure I would be way worse.

[jinx]

Wait.... u purchased this car and wrecked it on the drive home? That sux, hard. Bad luck it happened. Good luck u unhurt
Shouldn't be hard to find a good replacement shell
I'll hate to catch any of that "SiriusVirus". Good luck...... u could use some more

[Nick94tt]

Went to a body shop with pictures the guy told me his shop wasnt equipped for it. He told me of a guy who specializes in "Destroyed frames" and he has seen worse, called the guy a "magician". I almost made the bodyshop guy tear up looking at the pics. I still want to cry over it . This guy custom does frame rails and welds them in. Based on pics he quoted me 2k at the least so I figure 3k

Accurate quotes don't often happen without frame measurements/verification of a solid platform. Though, that may be just for replacing the chassis rail - You'll still likely be covering the wheel/tire, all the wiring, and all the body panels / broken engine accessories / paint. I'm unsure as to why you're sticking with the car. Did you pay more than 8k-10k for it? Not having full coverage hurts.

I'd be less worried about the above fix if the person doing the work has a history of certified roll cages / tube front ends in current motorsports service. The big point here - It's only metal, but will all the mounting points and suspension geometry be correct and hold?

I mean Gas Monkey garage repaired a beer can ferrari.

Didn't they have a quarter million + dollar budget and have nationally recognized experts do all the work at full labor costs?

Its not by any means gonna be a drift car or a track car

Might actually be better off that way. You'd have an excuse to tube the front end, gut the car, and cage it out. Then it'd be solid if done correctly.

ER told me its gonna take a while for me to feel "normal" again Im really lucky it had a harness and racing seats Im sure I would be way worse.

Depends on the person. If you can accept the fact that it happened and move on, you'll get back to normal faster.

Can't say I'd ever run a harness in an uncaged car.

Glad your melon's ok. (I have a friend that got knocked out by a JL sub flying up out of the hatch of a crx and braining him - doesn't always matter what you're wearing, lol)

[redroku87]

This is exactly why I won't drive mine on the daily. That and 5 grand in paint and body work- and my car was straight as an arrow.

Honestly best of luck, if you have anything that you are selling PM me and I'll rip myself off to help you with this bad boy.

[aukword1]

gotta go with redroku87 on this...unless you can do the work yourself you're gonna end up spending a shitload and even though it will never be the same...

[redroku87]

Hate to sound like a dick but dibs on the engine.

Seriously.
It will never feel right when you drive it.
Stuff like this is the reason I think that daily driving an AE86 you care about is asking for bad.

[Nick94tt]

Stuff like this is the reason I think that daily driving an AE86 you care about is asking for bad.

Truth.

Full coverage is fine for stock and lightly tinkered with assuming you bought the car at the right price, but agreed value on anything beyond what is covered otherwise. I think I'm at something like $34/month for full coverage with no deductible and free glass.

[JyuRoku]

Full coverage is fine for stock and lightly tinkered with assuming you bought the car at the right price, but agreed value on anything beyond what is covered otherwise. I think I'm at something like $34/month for full coverage with no deductible and free glass.

Is "Agreed Value" Where you basically tell the insurance company what the car is worth and they come up with the monthly payment? I will be bringing my GT-Apex back to the states and was hoping I would have an option do that. Here in Japan, they wont give me full coverage.

[Nick94tt]

Is "Agreed Value" Where you basically tell the insurance company what the car is worth and they come up with the monthly payment? I will be bringing my GT-Apex back to the states and was hoping I would have an option do that. Here in Japan, they wont give me full coverage.

Essentially. The requirements and regulations will vary by company. You may need to have an appraisal done / locked garage / no track day coverage / no work commutes / etc. They're typically lower mileage policies with fairly strict terms. It'd be worth emailing/calling a few companies now to see if they'll cover you when you bring it back to the states. If you e-mail, sending a few photos along may not hurt. (To illustrate it's not an every day beater)

Also - It doesn't mean you can write a half million dollar policy on a Yugo and run it into a tree for a Christmas bonus. (Nor will they issue a half million dollar policy in the first place...)

Haggerty and Grundy are commonly used. I know several of the main brands also offer them - You just may have trouble getting a representative to admit that / need to have several cars insured there first. If that doesn't work, look into getting an appraisal along with an additional rider for your current full coverage for at least as much as you have in it in parts. They may not believe you spent $30k on a car with a black book of $800 without receipts and independent verification.

[JyuRoku]

yea I would just be shooting for $15,000. I spent roughly $7k in Japan (pretty average) and I figure to ship another to me, it would be another $3k on top of that. I would honestly probably get a USDM LHD model and start over. I could run 110mm stacks then! haha

[Nick94tt]

yea I would just be shooting for $15,000. I spent roughly $7k in Japan (pretty average) and I figure to ship another to me, it would be another $3k on top of that. I would honestly probably get a USDM LHD model and start over. I could run 110mm stacks then! haha

Definitely try getting in touch with a few companies first. They'll be the ones with the answers. ^_^ Start a thread up with the results. Curious to see the results. (And we're jacking SV's thread... )