My wrecked Speedster

Well, I've had my VS for three months, and already someone wrecked into it. I was cruising at 65 on the highway. They were doing about 100, never saw me, and slammed right into my back. As if the situation needed to get any better, they were arrested for driving with a suspended license, and I have doubts about their insurance.

I need some serious advice on how to get my baby fixed, and I know everyone on this site will have good advice. Please take a look at the thumbnails and the pictures in my folder and let me know what you think I should do. There are some nasty fiberglass tears, the engine lid no longer shuts, and the doors don't shut right...along with countless other cracks and blemishes. Will I need a new body, or can the fiberglass be repaired back to new? I'm sure that my insurance agent will have his own thoughts, but I wanted some advice from the pros. Also, I am in Houston and would appreciate any tips on a good repair shop for this kind of car.

Thanks in advance for all the help.
Brian

Wow a highway speed wreck and you're OK!? I would try and have my insurer total it out, although if it's just cosmetic....that won't fly. I'm glad you're OK and I hope there's some way that SOB can be made to pay for it.

OMG Brian! Glad you are OK. Be certain of that, as soft tissue damage does not necessarily show up immediately. Be sure to have an adaquate medical evaluation. I have two close friends who were clobbered, one driving a Ford F-150 and one in a Caddy and both are suffering ongoing problems. Be Careful!

I can't help you with the car problems, but I wonder if the chassis suffered in the impact in addition the cosmetics that you show in your photos. If it has I suspect repairing what you can see isn't going to cut it; it will never drive right with superficial repair.

I agree with Luke, push hard for a total loss if you can.
Hoss

Brian,

Make sure the insurance guy is familar with classic/custom cars. Also, get the car on lift and look for frame damage. I was recently hit from behind in my SUV, didn't look like much damage until we put it up on a lift. Support frames, hitch, spare, etc. were a mess. The insurance estimator didn't include this damage on his initial report because he didn't see it.

Sorry about your situation Brian; was it you the guy whose dad also had an accident with his car and later had it fixed? That's a bummer but luckily for all of us fiberglass is a very forgiving material in the sense that it can almost always be fixed due to its nature. Any good 'Vette shop should be able to fix it to just like new condition; all I know is that it won't be cheap but rest assured you don't need to replace the body. Good luck.

Kirk can send your body guy a rear clip for replacement. Make sure your body guy checks the frame alignment. It is repairable and that is the beauty about fibreglass, it flexes a bit unlike metal. Ordinary cars get more hidden damage due to the "crumble zones" designed into them. See about finding an outfit that works on Corvettes or boats (yes, boats) since they can easily do the fiberglass repairs. Good luck!

Brian,
As long as there is no frame damage, the fiberglass can be repaired from any damage. Just make sure the frame is good first.

Steve's redid corvettes for about 10 years. Had more than one that the car came into the shop in several loads of large and small pieces. Corvettes, like speedsters, are made of larger pieces bonded together. Bond lines can be taken apart and new panels installed with smaller broken sections simply repaired.

I would suggest this car have a "rear clip" installed. Depending on how VS joins the body, you may get all the way to the doors in one piece or even further forward. This will provide an excellent factory quality repair. Tony's advice above for corvette and BOAT repair is excellent.

I would strongly suggest against pushing for a total. The insurance company will determine a (hurtful) actual cash value for your car that is likely alot less than you would be willing to settle for. They will also use this to determine whether or not to fix your car at all. Regardless, your job is to show your car has exceptional value. This will effect the point that they total the car (usually 80% of value - think wholesale) and how much they give you for the car if they do total it. Use receipts, auctions, this site etc., to prove the car's best value.

Glad you are OK. Did you think about pulling the other party from their car and POUNDING them? angela

Glad to see you're OK, when I saw photos it made my stomache turn. I missed seeing the photo of a little "Texas Justice" for the other A-holes. From the looks of the damage to engine bay and doors I would think the body shell was torn loose and shifted forward on the frame/pan. Extensive labor to remove the shell and repair it off the frame. Is it drivable and if so, is there any side-to-side or front-to-back wheel wobble? Does the body still sit level? I recall years ago if a VW pan got twisted in a wreck it was totaled. If your's is pan based check it real close...Good Luck, hope those b--tards get locked up with a group of low-rider gang members that were Jame Dean fans.

Wow,happy your OK. He was going 100 and didn't see you? What is happening down there? Totally repairable. First thing to check is the rear swing area of the car. Get it lifted and measured for straightness using the proper dimensions that you can get from VS or the up in one of the tabs up top. Looks like it is damaged but not wrecked. Hey you can now get the whole car painted! :) If the doors won't close there is something there that needs to be investigated. But I have seen wrecked Vettes come out like new. You can think about the rebuild as well, tube frame reinforcements etc...

Brian
I will agree with all the above.Make sure frame,suspension and other componets are still OK. Needless to say thank god nothing happend to you.

Brian,

I viewed your damaged Speedster. Regardless of the estimated speed your car was impacted; the body damage would not be very difficult to either repair or replacement of rear tail section (I'd probabley opt for repair if is were mine). Any Chevy Corvett Body Shop providing Fiberglass repair can address your damage. With the body configeration offering very little other then the flat rounded body shape the glass repair would be reasonably easy.

I would however be concerned to the Rear Portion where the Transaxel & Engine are positioned/mounted. The vehicle needs to be placed upon a lift and inspected for Chassis(Pan or Frame)/suspension damage. Independant Rear Suspension vehicles can "Compensate" for Tweaked/Bent/Sprung chassis or associated damage.

The damage "Looks" worse then it would actually be to repair, not to mention how you obvsiouly feel regarding your Speedster being damaged.

My Real Concern would be under the body.

Good Luck,

Jack

Brian,

Like everyone else asks. I sure hope that you're not terribly hurt and BE SURE to have everything looked at. The injuries may not turn up for a while, but one day your hand may feel like it just got an electric shock and next thing you know it'll be traced to a nerve in your shoulder whch was hurt in the accident.

As for your car, definately have it appraised at a Corvette specialist. Most likely the rear clip will be cut at the bottom of the rearward door jam and repaired on a platform. Re-alignment wont be a problem since the body holes will probably be intact, just elongated or torn. but still usable to set it up correctly. If any "frame" damaged occurred it was isolated to the outer pan edging which can be repaired or just replaced. The VW pan is WAY strong as compared to fiberglass, so I'll bet that it's either OK or repairable. Since the engine wasn't torn up, the frame horns are intact along with the spine. I betcha . . .

All my very best. Look after yourself!

TC

Thanks for all the well-wishes...a shining example of this community at it's best. After further examination, I think most of the damage is cosmetic...significant but cosmetic. A good Corvette body shop should be able to handle it. Kirk at Vintage gave me a list of things to check out, so I was well prepared to talk to the insurance company.

The main reason that I posted this is to remind everybody how careful we have to be out there. Whether they are going 30 or 100, other drivers just don't look for cars this small. When I get her back I am definantly going to install a brake light on the rear cowl. I know it takes away from the classic look, but I sure wish I had one on this morning.

Brian

Brian , Sorry to hear about your damage. Did it happen on I-10? Your car really doesn't look bad. The glass is easy to repair. A Vette shop will use resins that will not have alot of shrinkage. Its wise prior to painting to let the glassed repaired area to sit out in the sun for a few days for a full cure. Look at the picture below. This plate may be bent which will cause the problems you described. Bring a copy of the kit manual with you to the body shop. It will help the body guys out. Good luck.
Joe

You'll get your baby fixed Brian; thank God for Kirk and his replacement parts; it's really good to have him around especially for VS owners. Looking at it on the bright side now is a good time to upgrade those things that you think need improvement, such as the paint. Perfect time for a flawless paint job to do justice to the car's beautiful lines. Now that you're doing a pro fiberglass repair it's also a good time for sealing the engine compartment underneath (around the tailights and at the rear of the car) for better cooling. Now is the perfect time for real good quality tailight and license plate light assemblies. Your car will end up looking better than before...think about it! Wish you the best.

Thanks for the diagram Joe. I'll have them check that. Furthermore, I'm going to print out this entire thread and go over it with them. Again, this site at it's best.

Brian

Brian,
There is a great body shop in Katy that did the car that was on the cover of road and track, the worlds fastest car. They do custom work and could give you a good idea of the damage and what it would cost to repair it. Living in Houston is scary as lots of body shops are crap here...I had been rear ended in my supercharged MR2 and the shop I went to first 'low balled " it..so I took it to the dealer and used that estimate to look for other so I knew the ball park...
Glad to hear that you aren't hurt..if i can help, just ask..

Michael

Thanks Michael. I'm currently researching body shops, and would love to know the name of the place in Katy.

Brian

Check and make sure you also don't pic up some engine leaks it could have shifted the jugs or worse cracked the case.

I was rear ended in 1993 walked around for two weeks with two cracked vertibra and a rupterd disk. and only had a slight tingle in the neck.

If you do have problems go with the steroid direct site injections not the pills they are very bad for your heart.

The site injections are painful and you will have to stay on your back mandatorily for two to four weeks. Disk injuries heal very slow. Not resting would only prolong the healing .

I had a mess. In 93

Brian,
I want to join everybody in wishing you a "Speedy" recovery and I'm glad you're okay. A thought on the third light; you might be able to tuck one inside your grille. I think someone else has already suggested that in the forum before, but I'm going to do it to my car as a result of your wake-up call. I'll post pictures.
Glad you're okay.

Brian;
email sent about the local body shop..

michael

David, thanks for the pic. That's exactly what I need. Where can I pick one up?

David,
DITTO, where did you find it?

Troy

Me, too!

Guys, I paid way too much for this light. It was some birthday money (and I was about 60 at the time). Came from hotrodsandcustomstuff.com. They are a street rod fabricator in Escondido, CA, about half an hour north of San Diego.

Any good street rod or custom car magazine has these lights. Newer ones are even LEDs for a realy bright light. They come in all sizes.

Take a look at the back end of a new Beetle. They must be in junk yards by now. Enjoy the fab.

JC Whitney has them. Go to their website and search for third brakelight. They usually have several lengths and styles.
I think PepBoys may have them also.

Greg B

I installed one. It looks just like the one in the picture. I got mine in a hot rod shop.

Here's the name of the company that makes it. They come in red or yellow.Pacer Performance Products, Los Angeles California. Part number 20-704 Red

Eddie

Any Truck Stop

Sorry about the acident. I pushed my insurance company [Allstate]
very hard after my 2003 vintage burned, very little engine damage
but the rear quarter panel to about half way up the rear tires
was destroyed. They paid me what I paid, am looking for a used cabrolet from the Vancouver firm. I would push, you had a new vehicle and you paid your premiums whe have a wrecked vehicale
even when repaired.

Might as well convert to bee-hives while you are at it.

Thanks for all the posts! Update on my Speedy: I got it to a very reputable custom body shop last week. Fortunately for me, it turns out that about 90% of the damage is cosmetic. The Speedy should be as good as new (or better) in about a month...good-bye sloppy VS gel coat paint job!

Brian

That's great news Brian! See I told you!! Now you'll have the paint job you always wanted...

Out of curiosity, what was the financial damage?

I'm next up for repair / repaint...

Ted,

The total bill, including significant fiberglass repair, new tail lights, new reverse light, trim, badges, paint and labor comes to about $4,500 (so far). I haven't seen the breakdown yet, but I'll let you know when I do.

Stand in line, Ted. Have you SEEN the damage I've done?
... uh, 'cept mine was voluntary ...

Brian,

I assume they're repainting the whole car too?

My thought of $5K or so doesn't seem to be out of line. I have much more minor damage (front end), but have a lot of nicks that have accumulated over the years to be dealt with.

That includes the body and the doors. I'll have to chip in a little extra to cover the hood and the engine deck lid.

Brian

Brian;
where did you take it? I am anxious to see how the paint job turned out..

Michael