Hello guys. Haven't been around much. Haven't been in the scene or have driven my car much in the last 5 years.



About 2 weeks ago I started my car in almost a year since I stored it. I took it around the block and on the 3rd turn started to fishtail. I ended up side swiping a neighbors front driveway curb, blew out my right front tire, and lodged the front end over the neighbors flower garden. I couldn't get the car off the flowerbed and needed another neighbors jeep to tow me off it. We pushed the car back to my garage where I jacked it up to access the damage.

Looks like I cracked the O2 sensor, crushed the oil filter, and cracked the clutch slave cylinder housing;





I also mashed up the passenger side skirt in a few spots;




Since then, I have replaced the O2 sensor, replaced the oil filter, resurfaced the front right rim and remounted the tire. The car starts and the engine runs but it looks like the master slave cylinder housing is cracked. It's dripping fluid underneath it and there is no pressure on the clutch pedal. Do you guys think I need to replace both the clutch cylinder and the housing? Also, if I remove the skirt do you think it would be wise for me to try and fiberglass it myself (short strand fiberglass filler) or would you suggest taking it to a bodyshop? Anyone know where I can get these parts or any good bodyshops that do fiberglass repairs? I'd like to get the car on the road. It starts a runs, but I need to make these repairs as soon as possible. Thanks for any help / suggestions.

 

You should be able to manage the bodywork/fiberglass with no problem! (wear rubber gloves!)
David

 

You think so? I've been asking around for a decent bodyshop that does fiberglass work and nobody can suggest anything. Seems a lot of shops don't wanna dabble in the fiberglass work. I'm willing to try, but I'm afraid it might be noticeable, especially trying to match the paint and clearcoat.

Some buddies suggest I take it off and take it into a shop to get it looked at.

 

A proper "driver" aint christened until it has some collision repairs that aren't quite 100%.

She's out of "storage" for sure now.

Start un-bolting the broke stuff, and replace with not-broke stuff. Patch-up the bruises, and get the body shop to mix up some paint that matches as close as they can. Hit it with the spray gun.

Then DRIVE.

 

You can always go to a boating supply and they should be able to advise you how to deal with the patching materials.
An electric sander will help A LOT!
Get it patched and smooth and a good spray bomb (if you know the exact colour) should have it looking good (best if the piece is off the car). Any bodyshop can squirt the paint and/or clear coat on for you but you should be able to take your time and do very nearly as good a job for very little cash. Wet sanding the dried paint then with a fine grit (around 1500) should get it as good as most shops would manage on a smallish area like that.
STEP ONE... remove the part.
David

 

Good plan.

Btw, I just noticed tonight that the bushing at the linkage to the master clutch cylinder rod (inside the car under the driver dash) and the clutch pedal wore away and broke off, so it looks like I may have lost clutch control going around the corner

Obviously a weak spot in the clutch linkage, that silly little white nylon plastic bushing. Gotta fix and reinforce that!

 

Thanks David. Yeah, gonna take it off and look at it closer. Looks like I've got 3 small spots. I'm guessing a good body shop would hit me for an easy $200-$300 for repair and paint. Possibly more. I hate getting soaked!

 

I just picked up a new clutch slave cylinder from Part Source today for $65. Dorman CS37821 for V8 TPI manual transmissions. I spent almost an hour under the car on my back with limited space trying to remove a small metal pin that holds the hydraulic line from the reservoir to the slave cylinder (see picture).

Does anyone know if I need a special tool to remove this bloody thing? It's hollow in the middle and can poke a small nail through it from one side to the other. I've tried to push / pop it out, even lightly tapped it with a small pick and hammer and can't get this annoying pin off of the broken slave cylinder

I don't wanna start hacking and cutting into it. There's gotta be a simple solution to get it off......

*stuck*

 

The skirt can be fixed easily with fibreglass filler. However I would just get a used one from the yard or kijiji etc. They are extremely common and cheap.

I know how you feel. With my car being lowered 2" I recently hit a raised manhole cover doing around 70km/h, swiped my k-member dented in my ypipe, pushed in my oil pan slightly and bent the bolts on the passenger side manifold enough to cause a massive exhaust leak on the y-pipe to manifold flange. One of those things you can't believe you did. I was kicking myself in the *** for a week straight in disbelief.

 

Hey, welcome back, sorry to hear about your off-road adventure. Not sure if I am stating something you already know, but the pin is called a split pin or a roll pin. A quick look on google shows lots of options on how to remove them, though I'm not sure which might work for you. As far as the fibreglass stuff goes, replace if you can, repair if you can't. As far as I understand, the shops shy away from fiberglass because it's just time consuming and a PITA what with the resin, gloves, etc. You should be able to at least get the hard part done and have a shop re-spray the paint. If you don't trust your hands to feel the imperfections in the work, use a guidecoat as you sand to check for issues. Good luck.

 

Thats not a bad fix on the skirt. Use some Tiger Hair or what ever short strand glass you what but take it off so you can handle it much better and easier to work with too. clean up the damage areas and if there is a crack flowing away from the damage point v it out to the end of the crack so you can make sure your filler gets a good hold and will help it not to break out more. apply your filler and i would add some to the inside too. then sand it and feather it make sure you have not got a high spot or low spot. Like 89 junkyardgta use your hands to check. Use a high build primer on it and block it out and then paint. done

 

I never messed with a slave on these cars,but what I'd try is to take off both the slave and master cylinder. Get it on a bench and use a small drift or punch to knock it out. Should take less than an hour.

 

91rs-t-tops has done a super job of guiding you through the process. Do what he says!
(... or buy a good used one at the right price)
David

 

Thanks guys. I'm going to try the repair myself like 91rs suggested. Got some time today and removed all the screws underneath and above, but can't seem to get the ends (front and back) of the skirt to come away from the body. Am I missing something here? A friend suggested there may be adhesive at the ends (which I thought as well). Don't wanna yank them off and cause more damage.

Anyone had this issue before? Any suggestions? Thanks.

 

Pull bottom out then push it upwards that's how mine came out kinda snapped Into place

 

Thanks 91rs. I tried that but I didn't want to yank too hard. Not sure if it works like that.

I also posted this question in the "body" section and a couple fellas suggested I check for a screw from inside way at the bottom. That would mean removing some interior panels.

Hmmmm. Gotta check it out when I get some more time. I put her away for now. I'll let you know what I find. Take 'er easy buddy!

 

There are screws under the rocker emblems, and a speed nut you have to remove from the inside after removing trim panel beside rear seat.

 

Wow, thanks for sharing that with us, and pictures also. Good luck on your repairs.