Wrecked 914 Pics

73/2.0 9forteen · 73/2.0 9forteen's Garage

Here are the pics of my wrecked 914

Hope this helps!

Thanks,
Eric Taylor

LateApex · 12-01-2002, 10:22 PM

Why must I fall into this category!?

I swear, those tires just pop right out in front of you.

J P Stein · 12-01-2002, 10:23 PM

I'm not body/frame man, but it looks like it's toast to me.
New front clip, maybe, but it'll never be right again. Smacked right in the front suspension mount.

A pic of the underside might change my mind, tho. Pull the front valence off, first.

It's cheeper to get a good roller from Brad and swap over your parts.

Zeke · 12-01-2002, 10:27 PM

That's not going to be a DIY job unless youv'e done a few. Needs a front clip. It doesn't show in the pics, but I bet there's damage all the way back to the driver's door. The car is totaled for all practical (and I mean just that, practical) reasons. It can be rebuilt, but I wouldn't do it myself. I'd look for another to transfer good parts over to. Count up the good parts and see what you can find in the way of a roller that your present car could donate to.

LateApex · 12-01-2002, 10:29 PM

I'm glad my car is doing ok. Been doing the body work on it lately. ahh, the wonders of hammers, mallots, crow bars and bondo.

J P Stein · 12-01-2002, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by LateApex
I'm glad my car is doing ok. Been doing the body work on it lately. ahh, the wonders of hammers, mallots, crow bars and bondo.

Ahhh.....was that LateApex or MissedApex?

BTW, you forgot duct tape.

Note to self:
Doan hit nuthin' with them fiberglass bumpers.

boxstr · 12-01-2002, 10:54 PM

Eric, sorry to say that doe's look like toast and I mean burnt toast.
It would be in your bank accounts best intrest to use that one as a parts car and get a good tub or roller to start over with.
I have a couple of cars that may fall into the project category,
one is a 74 2.0. I am located in Lake Oswego, Oregon.
Good Luck
Craig C. Laughlin CAMP 914

73/2.0 9forteen · 73/2.0 9forteen's Garage

Well thanks for all the input. Not really what I wanted to hear, but hey the truth hurts sometimes. The only thing that looks positive is that the suspension dosn't appear to be damaged. Here is a pic to help you out. How much do you think the repairs on this car would be?

Thanks,
Eric Taylor

Zeke · 12-01-2002, 11:19 PM

I'm gonna take a WAG and say complete out the door at a fully equipted body shop with paint and alignment, round numbers...........$5000. Mind you, that is turn key work.

LateApex · 12-01-2002, 11:28 PM

J P Stein:

Very funny.

hehe. J/K

My ears hurt from all that pounding I did. hopefully it will come out nicely. Yes, the damn fiberglass bumper suck when you hit something. They just fly off! Anyone know some tips on repairing them!?

derek_sf · 12-02-2002, 02:26 AM

my car was hit in the rear, something similar to that, but not as crumpled. a new rear clip was welded in, new (used) trunk lid, both fenders bumped out, lights, paint, etc. the bill was something like $3300.

Jim Smolka · 12-02-2002, 02:54 AM

IMHO, looks like it could be pulled. Those guys can do amazing things. I saw one that was a little worse and came out fine. Frame guy charged about $400. Again, I am not a body shop guy, but having it pulled would be easier than exchanging parts with a new donor...

Good luck.

Bruce Allert · 12-02-2002, 06:13 AM

Eric, that looks like it was a really nice car. I would check out a couple well known body shops first. Ask around town for recommendations as to who is good and then give them a call. See if they'd come to you & give and estimate. Hell, you never know, they might be able to pull it out like Jim says and that would save alot of work & money. I know of a few in Portland that I'd call.
bruce

farenheit · 12-02-2002, 06:38 AM

Yea, looks like it was

DuckRyder · 12-02-2002, 07:11 AM

Well finally something that I could be considered an expert at:

That car can be fixed. Obviously there are going to be some replacement parts needed, but the extent is going to depend on if it "pulls well" or not.

If you are willing to do the legwork to find parts and are able to do at least some of the work yourself, it won't even be that expensive. I'd suggest talking to a body shop (large enough to have a good frame rack and a quality measuring system) and seeing if they would be willing to do the pulls for you if you strip the bolt on parts. Once it is pulled, they can make recommendations on how much you need in the way of parts. You would be surprised at how well the inner structure will actually pull if done correctly.

rfoulds · rfoulds's Garage

Hard decision. you are talking about a 30 year old uni-body car. If you pull it, or even go all out and have a new front clip installed, you will NEVER get the front end alignment correct ever again. The fact that the suspension does not look damaged does not mean anything. Since your suspension hangs from uni-body, the damage you have screws up your suspension. Its a damn shame but,

you either rebuild it for a lotta bucks, at least $3k, and you will have an okay daily driver. It won't hold alignment though, and you will be faced with bad tire wear and poor handling.

you rebuild it right, at least $5k, and it will be back the way it was, but it still will have alignment problems.

you buy a clean roller, and use this as a parts car. I don't know what you powertrain is like, but if its good, that is your best option. A roller for less than a grand, and lots of hours working on it and you wil have your car back.

guards73/2.0 · guards73/2.0's Garage

People toss this "transfer parts to another car" phrase around like they were referring to a process as simple as plugging in a couple of relays or something...it's very labor intensive and not all that easy, especially on a thirty year old car. It's true that modern
frame rack technology can pull a lot of cars with a satisfactory result, I'd look into that FIRST...I'll bet it's fixable. I bought a rear-ended Volvo 760 Turbo wagon a couple of years ago, and was told to buy a rear clip, have the car cut, and "transfer the good parts over", and I did that....never again! I spent MONTHS "transfering those parts" in my spare time, and when
I showed the "before" photo to a frame shop afterwards, they said it looked like and easy pull....and I'd have avoided painting that car, and everything! I would not have had the resale stigma
of a "clipped" car, and would have saved LOTS of cash on the finished product. I'd say pull it.

DuckRyder · 12-02-2002, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by rfoulds
******If you pull it, or even go all out and have a new front clip installed, you will NEVER get the front end alignment correct ever again. ******* Since your suspension hangs from uni-body, the damage you have screws up your suspension. Its a damn shame but,

***************It won't hold alignment though, and you will be faced with bad tire wear and poor handling.*************but it still will have alignment problems. ************

That is all 100% absolutely untrue if it is Properly repaired.

rfoulds · rfoulds's Garage

Okay, then I will add the disclaimer, "in my experience..."

3 times I have been told a unibody car I was restoring could be correctly straightened and would be fine. One was a Shelby Mustang that I had a LOTTA bucks into. I paid out the big bucks, and ended up with cars that could NOT stay aligned. Each time, the shops later told me they didn't get it as straight as they thought they could. But they didn't tell me until I MADE them admit it.

I wouldn't do it again. Yes, it takes months to move stuff to a new roller. If you want it to last, AND you don't have tons o' cash to throw at it,, that is the way to go.

guards73/2.0 · guards73/2.0's Garage

You need to find a frameshop that does this properly and stands
behind the work. Voice those concerns before you commit to the job, get references of similar work on unibody stuff ( It's not like THAT'S new technology or something),and keep your car.