Very Sweet 1985 Trans Am - Rear-ended
 

Hi there. My 1985 T/A recently got rear-ended, which is a major bummer, since it was in such good condition. I have attached pictures that show the exterior, interior, and engine bay. It's a shame what happened, as I finally just got the car where I wanted it. It has tons of power, sounds and looks awesome.

The broad strokes:

* located in Phoenix, Arizona
* tires are in great shape. rims are too, but there is some pitting on the aluminum -- 7/0
* virtually no rust. the only rust in along the a pillar on the inside of the door - 9/10
* no cracks in the dashboard - 10/10
* no cracks in the console - 9/10
* no rips in any of the upholstery - 8/10

* every component forward of the transmission is new
* ZZ4 roller cam setup with 20K miles on it
* 3 core aluminum radiator plus dual 400CFM electric fans
* stock t5 5 speed manual transmission
* $18,000 in documented repairs and upgrades (attached is a spreadsheet)
* the car scored "excellent" in all categories during the valuation report minus the dings in the body
* the car runs and drives just fine -- the damage is completely cosmetic

They are offering me a salvage buy-back, and am debating on whether to buy it back from them or not. It depends if there is any interest in someone out there that would want it either whole or parted out.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.thi...bca49fbc97.jpg

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.thi...e29f3e52fa.jpg

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.thi...ba73d162d1.jpg

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.thi...1f49e5842d.jpg

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Re: Very Sweet 1985 Trans Am - Rear-ended
 

It looks like a fairly easy fix as long as there is no hidden damage. Why not fix it?

Re: Very Sweet 1985 Trans Am - Rear-ended
 

The picture of the damage can be deceiving -- though I'm not purposefully trying to deceive. It's the only shot I have of the damage. Suffice it to say, the insurance company totaled it for a reason. I was hit hard enough (~20mph) to push the whole rear end about an inch forward. The glass and hatch hinges are pushed up, and there is rumpling in all the rear quarter panels and top sheet metal. The gas tank is bent, and the force was so strong that the quarter panels actually pushed the doors in a bit and put them out of alignment. The photo evidence is deceiving because the impact was so straight on, all the effects are rippled forward perfectly.

Now, that one inch doesn't affect most of the car's parts, nor it's drive-ability. The gas tank is still intact, and it's not perforated or anything. It would just take way more money to fix the frame and sheet metal than I currently have the time and ability to accomplish.

Like I said, this whole thing is a bummer. I was thinking there may be someone out there that may be interested in picking this up, because despite the damage, there are so many great things about it.

I am even considering just keeping it and stripping it all down to nothing and bringing it to the track someday, but before I start destroying the integrity of the car, I figured I'd float it out there first.

Thanks!