So I have an 85 firebird, 2.8 auto. I got in an accident a while ago and decided I'm gonna fix it. I took off the fenders and hood and front clip and the bumper(steel part just kinda fell off in the accident thank god) I looked around the bumper part and everything is straight. I have an 86 with a good body but I can't get the drivers fender off. the lower mounting bolt that attaches to the body is like stuck, i ground the head off can't get it off tried torches and everything still won't come off. Also another issue. I just took the front end off in one piece on the 85. Whats teh best way to reinstall everything, have that prob where its easy to take a part another to put it back together. Any pictures or walkthroughs or whatever you can offer me would be great. I did search and couldn't really find exactly what I"m looking for.
I'll post pics tomorrow

Dakota

 

your best bet is going to be to take the front end apart and put it back on the other car one piece at a time. as for the stuck fender...I dont know why it would still be holding if you cut the head off the bolt.

 

If the old fender is shot, just cut that thing off. You probably have just enough of the bolt in there at an angle that it doesn't want to come out. It's not uncommon for that portion of the fender to get damaged as these cars are very low to the ground. Particularly if you have ground fx. Damage like that can be covered up for years and you never see it.

Make sure you go over the entire car back to the rear. Front end hits can often transfer the energy back to the rear of the car. They're built like that so that the energy is transfered to the car, not the driver.

You may find that there are small alignment issues in the rear, particularly around the doors. Is this a t-top car?

Also, take good measurements on your front doghouse. That may be why you're having trouble getting your fender off as well. If your front end was tweaked and is at an angle now, even slight, it may be binding up your fender.

At the least you may have alignment issues when you put the new metal on.

I would say put the steel bumper on first, then the new fenders, then the front fascia, and finally get the hood on. Then you will have to shim everything to align it.

In general, it can be a PITA. Particularly since your car is almost certainly out of spec now.

Mathius