I just replaced the fenders and nose on my 89 and i'm having a hell of a time getting the driver side panels to align even close to correct and I'm not very picky about these things...it's pretty ugly.

I knew the radiator support was tweaked a bit by the previous owner, but i'm starting to realize it's actually far from good and it might be worthwhile to replace the whole support and do the job right the first time.

Can someone guesstimate what this should cost? I'm guessing it can't be much more then 4 hours labor for a professional but that's really just a shot in the dark.

 

Coming from an estimator at a body shop (sitting next to me) painted and all around $800

 

Much appreciated!

Now i just gotta buddy up with a body guy so i can get it cheaper

Thanks again

 

If u plan on getting the core support from gm good luck. Most of it was discontinued. But there may be some pieces floating around. If not u may be able to get it after market.

 

Or just go to one of the 1,275,945,726 thirdgens in a junkyard, drill out the spot welds and weld it in to your car. Total cost maybe 50 bucks + labor. Hell if you look long enough you might be able to find one already the right color for your car.

 

well i saw Crash and Rust had them for $50 or so but i'm not sure how much work that would need to fit nice.

and yes, there are a few billion f-bodys in the yards i could tear into if need be.

The body guy is a friend and he's going to give me an estimate this weekend....he might even know of a donor car. I'll be sure to let you guys know how it works out.

 

the panels are cheap, but to line them up is where the $$ is. i was going to replace minedue to an accident from a previous owner. gonna be 500 labor to make a new one fit perfect..... for the 30$$ part i passed. you cant see the damage with everything installed anyway.

have fun.

 

Take it to a bodyshop to have a bodyman look at it. If you're not picky, you can have it straightened on the frame machine. I am a bodyman and I usually get paid about 3-4 hours to straighten core supports. It usually only takes 1 hour. shops usually charge about 14 hours for that to be changed. that includes everything except for recharging the A/C. If you have sidesway, it will have to go on a frame rack no mater what. Maybe you could take a come-a-long and tie it to a tree for free. can't say without seeing it. P.S. I'm a bodyman. check out: http://members.cardomain.com/black84transam

 

i used a polaris ranger and a toe strap to straighten mine out and it actualy cam out well...

i had my buddy give the atv light amounts of gas till it pulled it out to ware i wanted it couldnt of been easyer.:lala:

now i just have to soem how buy all the new parts to go on the car

 

Well the guy came by and pretty much showed me how far to tear it down and what to ask for if i'm calling junkies. He's going to show me where the spot welds are, how to pull the old support off and show me how to get the new one in.

Apparently the plan is to just zip screw in the support a bit, get the fenders and nose on...align everything up nice and then put a few welds in. Disassemble and finish tack welding the new support in.

He's a body guy by trade, but it's nice to see even when he's helping out a buddy on the side that he wants to do it right. Doesn't seem like it's going to cost me much but i'm going to guess we'll figure that afterwards. If it looks real nice, i won't mind dropping a little coin as much.

for the record i did consider a porta-power, trees, BFH's, and even large trees...but I've never done body work like this and the whole idea is to get better right?

If i get my digital camera working again, i'll post some progress pics somewhere