Damaged My Roadster, Help!

[Justtag]

Was enjoying some speed through the lovely Mulholland canyon and skidded into the wall. The damage doesn't seem to be too major, but with a car like this I'm unsure. The lower A-arm and body seem to have taken the worst of it. The front nose support is compressed but doesn't look terrible.

Any ideas on how extensive repairs might be? Will I need to replace the entire nose support? It appears to be welded to the chassis.

Appreciate any opinions on this. I'm not the builder, nor am I experienced with suspension and body repair. Looking for good shops in area from Woodland Hills to Thousand Oaks, CA.

thanks - Justin

I'm not having luck uploading attachments to the forum so here is a link to a photo album: https://imgur.com/a/jcpge

[GoDadGo]

Justtag,

The control arm and suspension bits will be the easy part of the repair, but I think the body will need to come off to get at the frame damage.
Also, I think that the body can be repaired; however, you really need one of the experts "Not Me" to assess the damage.
Good Luck, Glad You Weren't Hurt & Please Keep Us Posted Regarding Your Repairs!

Steve

[videodude]

Put up the Bat Light. Batman will know what to do.

Video

[Chris @ Forma]

Justin,

I know it doesn't feel like it, but I think you dodged a bullet. From your written description I imagined far worse. It won't be inexpensive to fix if you are having the work done be a professional restomod shop, good shops are never inexpensive. If this is something you intend to tackle yourself. The body and paint part of it is going to be the most expensive. Fortunately from you pictures it looks like very modest frame damage I can't tell but it looks to me the we would have the following in it if you brought it to us:

Body removal (if require) 6-8 hrs.
Fabricate new front body tubes and brackets 5-10 hrs.
Welding, finishing, & chassis paint 2.5-5 hrs.
Body repair, glass, fill 5-8 hrs.
paint prep./paint ??? I can't tell where the paint break would need to be, mostly because I am not sure of your color/paint and how difficult or even possible it would be to blend the paint. It is likely that you'll need to paint from the strip around to under the door. Usually you can hide a paint blend line below the door. Paint will get really expensive if you need to re-shoot color on the left side and clear the whole car.
Re-assembly 6 hrs.

Hope this is helpful.

Chris

[rich grsc]

If you take it to a shop and have them do everything, I don't think $10,000 is going to cover it.

[Bren]

From my experience with body shops that have to deal with fiberglass, I agree with rich.

[David Hodgkins]

Call Jeff Miller. He can fix the whole thing.

My GUESS is you'll be in for 5K or less, IF you know the paint code and there is no frame damage..

[slpro1207]

Justin, I would not take it to anywhere but to da bat. aka Jeff Miller. The pictures don’t look that bad and he will do the best job. Roll it up on a uhaul auto trailer and drive the hour and a half.

[Papa]

Justin,

I'm not an professional builder or auto-body specialist, but grew up around both in my dad's shop. A lot has changed over the years, so pricing is something that I won't even attempt. I just wanted to add to what others have already provided regarding what looks like repairable damage. With an impact like yours, you'll want to consider the replacement of not just the LCA, but you'll also want to pay close attention to the hub, spindle, and any other critical component in the front suspension. The last thing you want in a car like these is to have a component fail at speed from damage that wasn't visible. If it were me, I'd consider replacing the full left suspension and the right shock (keep the pair matched) as part of the repair.

Dave

[Justtag]

Really appreciate all this great info guys. Looks like I've got some bills ahead. I will reach out to Jeff to see what he thinks. The poll I made has me at 80% screwed!!

[slpro1207]

If it works out with Jeff I am picking my car up there sometime in the next couple of weeks. I’m in your area and my trailer will be empty going down there. Let me know if you need to get your car down there.

[GoDadGo]

Really appreciate all this great info guys. Looks like I've got some bills ahead. I will reach out to Jeff to see what he thinks. The poll I made has me at 80% screwed!!

80%? Not!

You're 100% Alive & The Car Is Reparable!
This To Shall Pass, It Didn't Come To Stay!

Hang In There!

[j.miller]

# Jeff Miller AKA ...daBat.....bat phone 951-676-0191.....wow! right off the top of my head....today should be a good day....but it's early

[Ray]

I got clipped by a motor home while parked at a car show. Jeff did a great job and fast too!

Ray

[Justtag]

If it works out with Jeff I am picking my car up there sometime in the next couple of weeks. I’m in your area and my trailer will be empty going down there. Let me know if you need to get your car down there.

Wow what a generous offer. Thanks for that and the helpful advice. I'll let you know.

[Justtag]

80%? Not!

You're 100% Alive & The Car Is Reparable!
This To Shall Pass, It Didn't Come To Stay!

Hang In There!

100% TRUE! It could have been much worse.

[slpro1207]

Wow what a generous offer. Thanks for that and the helpful advice. I'll let you know.

PM sent

[UpstateCobraGuy]

Take a deep breath, its not that bad. You can fix most of it yourself and learn a bit in the process. Factory five can sell you the front nose support (A-frame) for around $100. I redid a wrecked Mark II with 10x's the damage and it was fine. Factory Five frames are tough and stand up to a ton of abuse. I would replace upper and lower control arms and since FFR sell them in pairs, replace both sides. Upgrade your shocks and look into doing the SAI mod since you have it all apart. Again, all things that can be done in your own garage.... Good luck!