i got in an accident today. i was forced off the road on a narow road in the woods, the right side went up a banking, and the body fell down on a big rock, on the edge at the back of the door. i think the frame might be bent, because the t-top on the pass side fits in a little uneven, and u have to lift the door 1 inch for it to click into place(i had to have 4 friends get in and out Dukes of Hazzard style all day today.) oh yeah, and the window doesn't close all the way. is there any way i can fix this, or did i just ruin an 87 camaro? plz tell me i dont have to junk it. HELP!

 

You can FIX ANYTHING depending upon time and money.
Determine what damage you've got & throw in the money.

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Chat Soon,
KED85
Karl
1985 Firebird 2.8 to 3.4 swap project for Smog Happy LA, CA

 

wow... sounds like you got in real big trouble. Well, bad thing is, it'll never be the same again. BUT! the good thing is, a good frame shop should be able to get it close enough to spec so the car is working well. Good luck!

 

How far was the "fall"? Did you roll over? How large was the rock? You could equate this incident to the same as being rear-ended by another car in that spot.

With luck, you just bent the hell out of the quarter panel and door. Does your roof look rippled? Is the other side of your car acting funny, too?

I'm one of the guys that "fixed anything"... and have one-of-these-days-I'll-get-them-online pics to prove it.


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards
---Think your car could be pic of the week? Visit http://www.f-body.net for details!

 

i took another look at it today, and the panel between the window and the hatch is bent at the top. but if the peg for the door latch moved up an inch, does that mean that the frame is bent, or is it just the body?

 

from your post, sounds like you see-sawed on a rock on the bottom of your car... so thats frame work. otherwise, if you got hit somewhere on the body, then of course that's body work.

 

sounds like you rippled the body skin. If you did do that then yes you warped/bent the frame/body. I will tell you know I have seen many a 3rd gen die after this happening because the work needed is very pricey. Unibodies like ours need more than the normal massaging to get them back into shape. I hope you did not twist/bend anything but sense you said you saw the ripple I am holding little hope.
If you have to lift the door that much then I would bet that you did...and the lack of proper fitment of the t top confirms... Soory man its gonno cost big time.

 

How you may cheaply solve it is to go find another car, hit/damaged the other side and weld the two together.
It can be done.
As I have had it done.
Worked out great!
You like this car alot?


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Chat Soon,
KED85
Karl
1985 Firebird 2.8 to 3.4 swap project for Smog Happy LA, CA

 

im going to a body shop today to get an estimate. this car was just supposed to get me through the summer so i could save up and buy a 84 Z28, so if it is gonna be more than 500 bucks, then odds are there is gonna be a blue 87 camaro with an auto tranny for sale as a parts car.

 

AntiVTEC, I see what you mean... the frame, not the body, landed on the rock? Uh oh...

Keep us posted, ChevyGuy!


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards
---Think your car could be pic of the week? Visit http://www.f-body.net for details!

 

WHY OH WHY COULDN'T YOU LIVE OUT WEST
I NEED YOUR TRANNY!!!!!!
Be thoughtful of your living thru this problem.
You're around to solve it.

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Chat Soon,
KED85
Karl
1985 Firebird 2.8 to 3.4 swap project for Smog Happy LA, CA

 

well, im pretty sure its the body because the dent is on the black panel right under the door. but i went to a shop today, and the guy said he wouldnt try to work it back because apparently we have really high strength steel in t-top cars. he said if he bent it back it would just pop itself back into the bent state. so i think if another shop says the same thing, im just gonna have them bend the hinges so the door closes. if i do that, then can i adjust the window so it closes into the differnt location?

 

i just thought of something. when the rock hit, it put a big dent in the metal, which pushed the panels and the door frame up. its in about 2.5 inches. if i pull the dent out, it might let the panels and the door frame settle back down(i hope). im gonna try it this weekend. i wish i had a digital camera so i could post some pics and get u guys's opinions!

[This message has been edited by ChevyGuy87 (edited June 06, 2001).]

 

I think that's BS... a T-topped car got the same sheetmetal as a car with a normal roof. The guy either doesn't know any better- Or, he doesn't want to work on your car. Shops are like that.....

Could you explain exactly where the rock hit? You said the car "landed" on the rock.. from how high? Did it land "square" on the rock, or at an angle? Did the bottom of the car hit the rock, or the side of the car? The rock could've hit somewhere and dented the car in a few places. Or, did the car slide into the rock? Did your car roll over? Did it slide up an embankment or down? We'd help more but we don't know exactly what the damage is! So, what happened? Lay it out for us like we're completely stupid...


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards
---Think your car could be pic of the week? Visit http://www.f-body.net for details!

 

i guess specifics would be good, huh. well i went and looked at the accident site today, and i actually went up on about 3 boulders with shapr edges, and no, i didnt roll over. they're about 2.5-3 ft tall. i was prbly goin 25-30 mph when i hit. the way i hit, as far as i can tell, is i just scraped the rock REALLY HARD while moving. it's a gouge about 8 inches long, 4 inches wide, and 2.5 inches deep in the rocker panel, with the worst part at the end of the pass door.it looks to me that when the rocker panel got pushed in, it moved the body panels up about 1/4 to 3/4 of an inch. there is a small, barely noticable unless you run your finger over it, bend outwards at the top of the triangular panel btw the hatch and the t-top which pushed the left side of the t-top up about 1/4 inch. (i know because i had to push the t-top down when i put it back in.) this weekend i want to pull the rocker panel out. was the guy at the body shop right to say that the panel will just pop back to its dented state? would i be able to pull metal that thick with a dent puller? do u guys think that would even work? i hope i explaind it better, tell me if u need more details.

 

ACTUALLY
plan on finding a donor car for the body and welding them together.
It'll be quicker & better for you!
BUT, at what cost?
You determine that.

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Chat Soon,
KED85
Karl
1985 Firebird 2.8 to 3.4 swap project for Smog Happy LA, CA

 

im not gonna do anything drastic like that. first im gonna try to pull the gouge out of the rocker panel. if that doesnt fix anything, then the garage down the street will move the pin the door latches on to so it will close, and ill just adjust the window so it closes good. but do u think that id be able to fix the rocker panel with a dent puller?

 

What would be much more effective would be a weld on dent puller.
Welding rods, tack welded onto the body, use a puller, to pullout.
WHAT ABOUT A HIGH SCHOOL/COLLEGE AUTO BODY SHOP???

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Chat Soon,
KED85
Karl
1985 Firebird 2.8 to 3.4 swap project for Smog Happy LA, CA

 

i didnt think of a high schoool body shop. ill give some a call smoetime if the dent puller doesnt work. im borrowing one from my dad's friend, so im not sure what type it is. i hope it will work

 

Thanks for the details! Sounds like the side of your car compressed inward. There's no real way to completely un-do that without some professional equipment. You'd need a "porta-power", which is a hydraulic expander, to push the side back out to where it should be. Or, like Karl said, the better idea is to weld another side onto the car. However, you can do basic bodywork to get the body back into "close to normal" condition.

I think your frame is fine... if anything, it's budged over a little, and I don't see that causing a big problem. Do you have tires that are the same size on all four corners? (I can't do this, I have wider tires on the back.) If so, you can "eyeball" your frame alignment.

Straighten your front wheels "perfectly". Move a couple hundred feet away from your car, and look at the driver's side from the back. See how well you can "eyeball" an alignment between the outside edges of the front and rear tires. Ideally, you'd be able to vision the sidewalls as being in a straight line to each other, without one being further out than the other (aka "crabbing"). When you get a good idea of that driver's side, go take a look at your passenger side. I'm betting they'll be the same. The damage seems "high enough" to have just hurt the body, and not the lower part of the frame that would keep your rear axle aligned. I think you would've had to been plowed into by another car to do that kind of damage.

That ripple at the top you found, the crease by the top of the door on the B-pillar, is a bit scary. That's a body seam; GM fills that area with lead. It's possible the seam ripped and cracked underneath the lead. However, I'd hope that your paint would've also cracked at the same time. Park that side of the car in the hot sun... the heat will expand the crack, and pop it through the paint. I think you're okay tho.

I never had to look at it on my car, but isn't the rocker panel removable without removing (drilling out) spot welds? If it is, a bodyman's hammer & dolly set ($15 @ Pep Boys) would be better than a dent-puller to work the metal back out. Don't just pound in the center, you'll get the oil-can (er, well, for the 21st century, "soda-can") effect. "Hammering" stretches metal. If you stretch the metal in the center, you'll be able to pop it back and forth "in and out", like a soda can. But, if you tap around the whole dent, you can minimize/equalize the stretching, and the repair will be solid. Personally I'd use the hammer to tap around the dent, and slowly spiral my way to the center of the dent. Don't bother to get it perfect!! As soon as you get the dent shallow enough, say, 1/8 of an inch shallow, use Bondo to fix it the rest of the way. Of course, if you can't remove the rocker panel, the dent-puller's your only way. Work it close, then use Bondo. If you grab a book on bodywork, probably around $10 or $20, it'll cover all this stuff. Flip thru the book before you buy it to make sure it's got what you need.

I don't believe at all that the metal will pop back in to the dented position, (aside from the soda-can effect). Like I said, I think the body shop guy didn't want to work on the car, and came up with an excuse that would sound "technical".

I really like what the garage down the street said. Do all your future business with them!

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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards
---Think your car could be pic of the week? Visit http://www.f-body.net for details!

[This message has been edited by TomP (edited June 08, 2001).]

 

Tom's idea of the "alignment" is dead on.
Easier way!

Spray the ground with water

Drive your car thru the water, onto dry pavement.

KEEP THE WHEELS STRAIGHT!

Look at the tread pattern (tire marks) after you go thru the water.
IF IT'S STRAIGHT, you are very fortunate.

Have at it with all the fun tools you can.
Try the high school body shops college, too!
At my local college, they have a body shop class. That's how I found out about that "tool". Why it's real good!
If ya put holes in something, water can get in.
What happens?
Can you say RUST?

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Chat Soon,
KED85
Karl
1985 Firebird 2.8 to 3.4 swap project for Smog Happy LA, CA