kptkid

to it was ranning and the back of the 86 2.8 slid out and the car spun around and ended up the passenger door on a tree.
the door is smashed in but the roof of the car is fine and the front and back are not marked as it was a small tree but the floor under the door is pushed up alittle. and it is pushed in. Now is that the frame and is that unfixable??? I would really not want to have to send it to the junk yard but the floor is pushed up a little bit does that mean its toatled?

:lala:

MdFormula350

hard to say any pics of the damage, a new door is pretty easy to install but the unibody / floor pan is alittle harder to fix.

Dan88IrocZ

If the floor is pushed up, I'd say your frame is bent.

Strip her for parts, make a few bucks on ebay and buy a v8 3rd gen

kptkid

car pics 1

kptkid

car pic 2

Tonyrodz

IMO--if you have full coverage insurance, they would definitely total it.
you really have to get under there(pull rug up and look under the car)to see what exactly it needs. If you're lucky it isn't that bad where maybe you can bang the hell out if and get it somewhat decent(dodoubt it tho )
have you tried to get some kind of an estimate? just let them know that you'd be paying for it out of your pocket.
Good luck.

kptkid

car pic 3

kptkid

car pic 4.5

f-crazy

iTrader: (-1)

that can be fixed dude...you hook a winch to the section thats bent in the most..tighten the winch to the metal just starts coming out..then fire up your acetylene torch and heat up the entire area..by the time u shut off the torch and pick up a hammer itll be ready to tighten the winch as you go back in evolution 256,000 years and beat the crease down as you tighten the winch..

it wont be 100% perfect but really damn close> like hi 90's

get a set of subframes and your good to go..

i think u need a door lol

kptkid

car pic 5.69384

86Z

iTrader: (4)

i wouldnt even try fixing that, too much work, get the insurance payment (assuming you have collision), strip it for something, and buy another with a v8, and drive more carefully in the rain, sorry dude, good luck

mynamesdivad

nathan u *** i got glass in my foot from ur window when i took the pictures.

demonchild

the thing with the unibody frame is that all those annoying sounds that you hated before will only be amplified, even if the car is fixed 99%. also the body will never be perfectly straight again. however, if you strip the car you may be able to buy yourself another thirdgen for little out of your pocket. by the way. it was a nice car...

mynamesdivad

just jump on the shiznatch till it bends back into place

demonchild

ya that will get you somewhere...

mynamesdivad

Ya im his neighboor it was a nice car.... too bad he only got to drive it for a week.

SinthetikIroc

iTrader: (1)

he'll prob only get like a grand maybe for it. if i ever smash my iroc. ill only get 1500 bucks :-/

Tonyrodz

Or you can do what I did once my 89 Formula was totaled--I bought an 86 T/A w/a good body bad motor and crappy interior and swapped everything over--harness and all!!

mynamesdivad

im going to bed...

Tonyrodz

Now...

kptkid

i like this car and i have no money
i would love to be able to fix it but i wouldnt know where to start???? and if it comes to getting another car how would i find a nice one to build in florida???

kptkid

i like this car and i have no money
i would love to be able to fix it but i wouldnt know where to start???? and if it comes to getting another car how would i find a nice one to build in florida???

swerve-driver

If you are low on money, how the heck are you going to pay to fix your smashed car?
Cut your losses, take the insurance check and buy a different car.

And also, you should be happy you didn't get hurt. It looks like you hit pretty hard. Imagine how tough it would be to wrench on a car with a broken neck.

Be happy and move on-

Best of luck-
S-D

87WS6

iTrader: (1)

Dude in my cross country search for a Trans-AM I found alot of them in Florida. Check Ebay and www.autotrader.com. It's easy to find another third gen. You can be back on the road in no time.

Good luck.

mastergwaha

i like the idea of transferring everything out to a similar car!! i did that with an 89 gta to an 89 formula! interior says trans am though lol!

transam305

only thing i got to say is OUCH! well anyway good luck gettin to fixed man sorry to hear about your problem.

85TPI400

Id agree that the car is killed and pretty much unfixable . I also say find another one and swap parts.
Good luck!

mynamesdivad

dont listen to them just TRY and fix it dude no harm in trying right? nathan let me do it i will fix it

85SportCoupeto89RS

It can be fixed with 20 lb sledge hammer, and a junk yard door But since you have no greens $$$ I would get the insurance money, buy another 3rd gen with gfx. And if you have enough left, you might be able to buy the car back.

kptkid

alright guys, well i just finished a engine swap from a 2.8 to a 3.4 and got it back from the paint shop last thursday and it looked really nice. LOL im 16 and built this car and the damn back end is soo light it just slipped out on me and i was only going 25MPH. all that other damage in the door is probley from trying to move the car back out of the tree. Also i dont have full corverage. i have the cheppest insurace on it since i bought it without a engine and i was building it and this weekend i was going to have it inspected to get full coverage on it. I dont know what the insurance company would do and if i were to get another camaro i would have to take the crap out of this one and then it wouldnt be worth anything on EBAY or anywhere. So there is no worth in trying to fix it or make it so i can get a new door on it to where on the outside it dont look to bad because the car drives like nothing happend to it.

kptkid

what insurace money??????

Z28Clone

did u get a police report? if not... put full coverage on it, wait a week or two (so the insurance co wont notice) then wait til it rains again. then park the car in the same place infront of the tree and call the police. insurance will give u a check....It may work.....Insurance fraud?...Nah.... LOL

Trans_AM_88

haha good idea lol. doesnt the car have to pass inspection before it's insured tho?

Dan88IrocZ

Well it's hard to believe you were only going 25 MPG. I have BF Goodrich Drag Radials and in heavy rains, if anyone should have trouble taking turns, it would be me and I haven't had any scares.

Your 16, it's not going to kill you to get a job (if you don't have one already). Picking up a decent 3rd gen isn't all that expensive bro.

Don't even waste your time trying to fix your car, it's rocked, it'll never be right, and if for some freakish reason you got hit on that same side of the car, you won't have anywhere NEAR the original structural strength on that side of the car.

mynamesdivad

You dont got the money for a new anything so try it at least do what he said about crashing into the tree a while later and calling the polize and try and fix... no point in not trying. if u cant get it street legal turn it into a racer and makes some $$ and buy a corvette.

kptkid

how about david you dont post here anymore. and the guy that said about the insurace, how would i get full coverage on it without it getting inspected??

i never called the police when it happend. the reason it looks like it want going 25 mph is because when i had to move the car from the tree it pushed the door in more. i was behind a car that wasnt goign fast and because it was raining i was going slower than normal..

just wish i could keep this car.

mynamesdivad

fine

SinthetikIroc

iTrader: (1)

is this your first car? when i crashed my first car when i was 16 i wanted to fix it. even tho i tore the frame into like 3 peices :-/

kptkid

yea lol. it is.


But still the door jambs dont look bad at all. in fact they still look identical to the drvers side door. the only problem is the floor and maybe if i can bend it back down and shape it to allow a door to close maybe it woud be better?

Shagwell

just to let you know, that big hump in front of the passenger's seat is factory, for the cat, the rest will take some work. I'd beat it out, then spend the $200 and have a frame shop pull it square

Mark W. Winning

If your not sure what to do, take it to a good body shop and ask.

IMHO, I would not mess with it. Pull all your goodies off it and get another 3rd gen. They are easy enough to find.

Sqeaks and rattles are the least of your problems. Will the body panels ever line backup? Will the front end keep tires on it? Would you want to get hit int he spot again?

Mark

TransAm12sec

lol that hump has always been there for clearence for the cat.

Fixing that damage will time a lot of time and money.

87trans

WoW! Looks like that hump that was always there is a little bigger. Imagine the size of a cat you could fit in there now.

kptkid

ok well since i got nothing better to im going to mess with it. lol, i was looking at it and it doesnt seem to be too bad. its just the floor, the places where the door goes are fine and i want to try. So, in order to bend the metal without breaking anything else i would have to get it really hot right? well to do that i would need a torch. well all i got is one of those little blue propane tanks that you put a tip on and melt soder with to do plumming. well do you think thats strong enough to get it hot to where it needs to be. or what should i do?? I think if i can find a way to move the bar on the bottom edge where the floor comes to and end back stright maybe i could get a door to close there and never use it. or maybe i could get it to a point where i can get a door on there and have a body shop finsh strightning the rest better????

any of this possible??? if so where should i start??? I just want to make it so I can drive it to work or school or something.

swerve-driver

If you really want to have at it, get your self a good come-a-long, some 3/8" log chain, a mig welder and a stout tree.

Weld some metal tabs onto the floor and rockers (so you can attach the chain) where you need to pull and start in with the pulling using the come along in between the car and the tree. You may need to chain the car to another tree to keep from moving the whole car.

Heating the floor pans with a propane torch would be futile- you'd be there all day. If you have to heat the floor or other sheetmetal to get it to bend, use an oxy-acetylene torch

But, I still say the car is fukt. Not trying to be mean, just honest.

I mean, what are you gonna do when your chick wants a ride in your car? She'd be like, "Damn, this is lame!".

Best of Luck-
S-D

Dan88IrocZ

Man, do you realize how much strength your frame is gonna lose?

Please, for the sake of anyone that is going to be riding in your passenger seat....

Nobody will argue, when you heat metal to bend it back to original form, it can lose up to 50% of its structural strength (or even more)!!!! If you honestly plan on straightening this car out....have it professionally done, and put some SFC's on there. Make your passenger wear a helmet and full body suit, because if you ever get hit on that side again it's going to crumble like a beer can.

I'm speaking from experience, I have 4 years of experience, bending race car frames back into place when possible, and they lose so much strength it's a waste of money to do.

swerve-driver

Dan-
I agree whole-heartedly.

I was thinking it might be cool to take the door off and replace it with one of the accordian-style doggie gates people use in their house to keep the dog out of the kitchen or whatever.

That would be pretty sweet.

Or maybe a piece of that "Police Line - Do Not Cross" tape tied across the opening.

Safety First.
S-D

tpiroc

Well, one of the many problems with fixing it is that you're car is tweaked. Kinda like a bad back... Poor thing has a crooked spine now.

EDIT: I guess I should say probably tweaked.

The_Maniac

iTrader: (2)

I only read half this. I know some of the unibody structure (as I was involved in a floor pan replacement and my Camaro was repaired after an incident with a telephone pole).

I would agree, the Camaro in question is a LOT of work. Being a small engine and nothing most of us consider "fancy" that almost justifies junk it. First I'd check how straight the other side of the car is, consult a body shop. The frame is minimal on the car (the floor pan is mostly the frame and the rocker panels along the sides add structure). You would have to pound out the floor and probably cut and replace the rocker panel (at bare minimum).
If it helps, here's a pic of my Camaro after we cut out half the floor pan (there is no fram running underneath, but the rockerpanel is there for support):



As for never being striaght again, that's crap. That is in the hands and experience of who is doing the work. Everyone said that about my Camaro and to be honest, mine is as straight as could be, the alignment and driveablity is tight (no pulling). So it can be done....

Here's some pics of what mine was:

kptkid

thanks for the info, I found a Berlineta for $600 and its a 84 with the 305 carb. it runs nice, the interior isnt perfect, and the dash doesnt work but other than that its nice. what do you think about that.???

what is a berlinetta??? IVe seen the car but it has no GFX but it has the V8. so its the only V8 without the GFX ive seen.