spo79

Hey guys, Im relativly new to the boards. I've recently picked up an 83 z28 that I'd like to make look pretty. There's body work needing done, and since I live in a small town the nearest body shop that I can get an estimate at is close to an hour away :/. So I'll describe the damage as best I can <I know its hard to judge without a picture> and hopefully you all can give me a rough estimate on the cost to repair this.

The car was in some sort of accident where it must have been rear-ended. The rear of the car got bend downwards, causing the fiberglass trimming on the back end to crack on either side. The rear-quarter panels are buckled out on eather side right above the rear tirewells. Underneath looks pretty straight, but slight bending there also.

Any rough estimate on what a body shop would charge here? I'm a college student on a limited budget <who isn't>, so is the project just going to cost to much $$, or am I looking at something doable?

Thx in advance.

88 WS6 TransAm GTA

iTrader: (1)

From the damage you described, its really not worth it to have it fixed. The frame will need to be pulled, and the rear 1/4 panels replaced. Your looking at AT LEAST $2000. Your better off parting it out, and buying one with a straight body.

Welcome to TGO btw!

camaro6spd

2000, ha more like 5000 just for the frame and 1/4 panels, you m ight be able to get it done for 2000 but you need to get frames pulled buy shops that have the right equipment and trained PROFESSIONALS, who know what they are doing, otherwise it will never be the same. So i would say forget it and get another one....how much did u pay for the car..?

91bluemetalicRS

I write estimates all day long and I can tell you if your rear frame rails are bent you are looking at paying a shop 2 hr set up time plus about 3 hrs to straighten frame rails, if that is the only part of the frame that is bent. If your kick up areas are bent figure about 1 hour per side. Going off your description the qtr panels might straighten with rough pulls on the frame, then again might not. Is the roof buckled? If the roof is buckled I would not even mess with fixing the car because you could buy another one for cheaper than it will be to fix this one. If you do fix it I think you could pick up a rear bumper/absorber used for probably about 250-400 depending on your available resources. I would guess without pictures of the car its probably not worth fixing since you can buy a straight bodied car for pretty cheap these days. Post pictures if you can I am curious to see how badly damaged she is.

By the way welcome to the boards!!!!

spo79

No, the roof is not caved in. The damage seems to be confined to the rear quarter panels, and im sure some of the underbody is bent pretty good to.

Thx for all the input, and feel free to continue and comment.

91bluemetalicRS

that is a good sign your roof isn't buckled at least the frame damage should stop at rear frame rails. Are you fixing this your self and having a body shop pull on frame or is the body shop doing all the work?

spo79

Well, I bought the car for 2 reasons. 1 because I Love Camaro's!!. Secondly because I would like it to be a learning experience. So lets look at both scenarios.

First, lets say I have the bodyshop do all of the work.

Secondly, lets say I just have the bodyshop straighten the frame for me, and I do the other work? Furthermore, what kind of work would I be looking at here. Is it a matter of cutting out the bent metal and replacing/welding the new straight material in? I'm a Computer Science major, so car repair isnt exactly my thing ;p. But Im anxious to learn, and am willing to learn, so thats a start =).

Thx for all your help.

91bluemetalicRS

if body shop does all work you can figure quite a bit of money to bring her back to life. If you do the work you should be able to find parts for pretty cheap and labor=F R E E!!!! for a shop to fix frame you need to find out your frame labor rate in your area. A body shop will tell you what it is. usually between 30-60 per hour depending on where you live. to fix your frame multiply the hourly rate x roughly 5 hrs total (includes set up time and pull time for frame rails only). should be a few hundred bucks. again the pull should straighten you qtr pannels out, it may still need paint. I think i posted a price earlier for a rear bumper. I think if you do the job yourself and you do a lot of research on the part prices you could fix it up for less than 2k, hard to say with out pictures.

it seems like you are dead set on fixing it up so invest in a good shop manual like the helms one. it shows you how to take off body parts and get a body shop book, they are helpfull. good luck

spo79

Out of curiousity I went and visited the person I bought the Camaro from yesterday. He informed me that the body damage was caused by a Tow package he had attached to the rear of the vehicle. He was in reverse, and backed into a curb. The curb caught the tow package and bent the car downward. Why on earth someone would have a tow package on a camaro is beyond me .

Anyway, to the unexperienced eye the underbody doesnt look in to bad of shape. I'm going to go to the nearest big city next weekend and see If i can find any books on Camaro auto body that you suggested. I'll play it from there =).

Thx tons for all your help, feel free to keep commenting, and If I get started i'll be sure to keep you updated =).

Thank you again.