I recently purchased an 88 Camaro Sport Coupe that ws involved in an accident. It was hit hard on the drivers side by the fender and door. I took it over the the body shop to assess the damage.

Well, I got the estimate. It's BAD. Here's the breakdown:
-Right and Left Front Suspension Knuckle
-$319.40 EACH from the dealer.
-$192.00 labor.

-Left and Right Front Suspension Struts.
-$67.25 EACH from dealer.
-$132.00 labor.

-Front End alignment.
-$50.00

So after parts, labor, and tax that's a grand total of $1,217.56! That doesn't even include fixing the drivers fender and door that is smashed too. So I think I am going to throw in the towel on this poor car. It's a shame because it still has potential. But it's more than I am willing to kick out for a $200 car.

Unless. . . .What do front suspension knuckles go for at junkyards these days?

 

$ 319 each WOW... You can get new drop spindles for $250 a pair. You might find them at the loacl pic and pull cheep Under $50. Also you can get new KYB shocks for $120 all around. Its not hard working on the car.

 

Hey Horse, do the swap yourself. You can get used spindles (AKA knuckles) for about $50 or less, new KYB struts for $43 ea (www.tirerack.com), and then the alignment and you're all set.

Also, if it was hit hard on the driver's side, why is the mechanic telling you that you need right side stuff? I could see it if the car hit a curb or something.

There must be more to this than I can tell...

 

The front end is WAY out of wack. Both front tires are turning OUTWARD about 2 inches on each side. It had to be a rough hit. No frame damage though. The kid I bought it off of said that he was making a right on red and the lady that was making a left nailed him.

So used knuckes go for about $50 each and I can get KYB struts for $43 a pop? That's more like it. How hard is this to install? Only work I have ever did on front ends was greasing ball joints and installing brakes. What needs to be done? Thanks.

 

Check out my rebuild page. I'm right in the middle of putting my front end back together.


http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/taramille...tos.yahoo.com/

It's really not that hard but you will probably need to rent some tools to do the job, and a manual will help if this is your first time. "Assembly is reverse of removal"

E-mail me with any questions. Oh yeah, where are you again?

Ed

 

ED-I was checking out your page. It looks great. I'm right outside of Phila, PA. So, are you replacing your stock front end setup with an aftermarket setup? Looking to unload that stock stuff CHEAP? :hail:

 

It's a stock setup with all ES bushings and Moog steering parts, KYBs, Eibachs, 1LE brakes, BMR LCAs and P/H rod, and Earl's SS braided lines. I'll do relo brackets and subframes when Spohn gets back to making them...wife put the kibash on the spending spree I've been on. Sorry man, unless you'd like my old center link and tie rods, I don't really have anything left over.

 

yeah HurtHorseZ28, i vote do it yourself


its easy
its fun
you'll gain experience
you'll save ALOT of money

 

You guys are going to get me in trouble. I already have a project and am going to get reamed out if I create another one!!!

But I would really like to fix this car and get it on the road because other than the damage listed, is in excellent shape. It had just went through inspection prior to being hit and had new brakes all around and a new cat back exhaust put on it.

So give me a time frame here. If I get used knuckles (aka spindles) from the junkyard and buy myself some new KYB struts, how long is this job going to take? I have a mechanic who is a friend of my Uncle's and he will be able to help me out with the work and save me some money on labor.

 

IMO, if you have all the parts ready to go and the tools you will need, you should be able to do it in a day..about a 6-8 hour day including beer breaks. All the work on my site (IE tearing the front suspension out) only took me 3 hours, so I'd say figure 6 for removal and install, and 2 hours for misc BS along the way. Mind you, I soaked all the bolts 2 days prior with Kroil (www.kanolabs.com) and I didn't have much rust to deal with. Mine couldn't have gone any smoother.

 

Ok, the struts are ordered and I will be calling the junkyard tomorrow about the knuckles/spindles. I'll also buy the book for my car too.

A few questions. I am just going to be replacing the spindles and struts.

-What tools do I need to rent/buy for the job?
-If I find my tie rods to be fine, so should I get said "pickle fork" to remove and reuse them?
-Do I need to compress the spring to install new struts and replace the spindle?

Only experience I have is with shocks and not struts, so I am not sure what is different. Thanks for all the help!!!

 

Thats all you need? Spindles, struts, and alignment?? Thats it? What about the tie rods, control arms, and other little necessities?

BTW welcome to ThirdGen.Org!

 

I agree with ChevyLuva3, if both spindles are bent, I would expect to see tie rods and more easily damaged parts in the estimate also. I would get a second opinion on the spindles, and both of them being damaged doesn't seem likely to me either. Do it yourself and save a lot of bucks. Be very careful that the Springs don't come flying out and kill someone if you don't support the control arm correctly. Use the safety measures mentioned in other posts on this board.

 

If it's that bad I'd be worried that the frames don't line up anymore. Do a good check on the trans tunnel, that's where a lot of it shows up. Short of taking it to a body shop to have it jigged, I don't know what else to say. Sounds like it could bite you in the end.

 

I never heard of a hard hit not messing with the f-body unibody before. i hit a car going 55-60 and the car was going about 30-40 and my car was totaled, i knew it was becuase my groundeffects where they meet the fender from the under the door were cracked (frame collapsed) and then the shock towers went in toward the firewall.
So i would only repair the car after you make it very sure that your working with a nice solid and straight frame (unibody).
My experience is that it doesn't take much to tweak the frame.

 

Well, the job is done. Took me approx. 6 hours yesterday. Tie rods were in excellent shape as were the control arms and springs. I had prepped the strut bolts with penetrant for three days prior to this. Having an neighbor with air tools helps too!

I had already had the car checked out at a body shop and there was NO frame damage. It didn't look bent when I bought it, but I had it put up on the rack and checked anyway. Hard to believe, I know. I know it is also hard to believe that both spindles were bent, but they were. The car was hit on the drivers side and it ran the passenger front wheel into a curb. Kind of like a compression effect. So that is how both spindles were bent. Both tires HAD been turned outward approx. 2 inches! The car squeeled like hell driving down the road!

The job was a pretty easy, cut and dry job, just time consuming. Put the junkyard spindles on there and it straightened things right up. The car still needs an alignment, but I took it for a test drive, took my hads off the wheel (in a safe area) and it went straight. Didn't pull or nothing.

So the estimate from the body shop for this work was $1,217.56. Total cost to me was:

-$100--Two front spindles.
-$95--Two front struts from tirerack.com.
-$50--I still need an allignment.

So I just did $1,217.56 worth of work for about $250. Not bad eh?

Oh yeah, and to sweeten this up even more, the car also needed a drivers door and fender. Went to a local U-Pull-It during half price day last Saturday and scored a door AND fender SAME COLOR for $44. Yep, it's a power door too. Only problem is that I had better get that "IROC Z" sticker off there before someone tries to race my V6! haha. Oh, and if I take my old door and fender back, I get a $13 core fee refunded. SWEET, HUH?

 

Good for you man, it just took some time but now your wallet is still heavy compared to the prices others would charge. Sounds like u have a hell of a deal car. I am glad to hear about people bringing thirdgen's back to life, very good job.

 

Behold the joys of wrenchin' on your own car...BRAVO!!!