Accident repair of my 70 Z

[GTZ V8]

The body shop has had my car for 7 months today and still another month they say. The only thing that saved this car from the scrap pile was having an appraisal to show the value. The long story short was we were sitting at a red light for almost 45 seconds or better and we heard screaching tires and bam, he told the cop I only looked down for a second...I bet he was texting:finger:. The hardest part was trying to find a useable donor without any rust for parts and after a 3 month search a suitable donor was located thanks to our very own hls30.com, much appreciated . The pictures show the before and how it is today, another week and should be ready for some paint .

[EhlersRS]

Gary,

Glad you weren't hurt in the wreck and glad your car was saved from the scrap pile!

Robert S.

[palosfv3]

I'm curious about the repair cost vs car value issue . To complete a rear body section on a Z with the transfer of mechanicals and such I would guess the repair cost to be somewhere in the low to mid teens ( $11k to $14k )at the least and value upper teens to low twenties . I surprised the insurance didnt try to just pay out on the value .

[TQ24TZ]

I'm curious about the repair cost vs car value issue . To complete a rear body section on a Z with the transfer of mechanicals and such I would guess the repair cost to be somewhere in the low to mid teens ( $11k to $14k )at the least and value upper teens to low twenties . I surprised the insurance didnt try to just pay out on the value .

I second that how much did you have the car appraised for? I am not sure I would have just bought another car and transfered part would have been cheaper...plus not having to worry about alighnment...Please keep us updated on what the car drives like and such...

[hr369]

Most body shops out there would have pulled that out and just put a new quarter panel on. I'm surprised they went to this extreme. They

must have a frame guy thats really good at putting on clips.

[GTZ V8]

I thought the same thing about just replacing the quarter panel but the floor pan and frame rail was bent to bad . They tried to pull it out but didn't have any luck. The body is square according to what the frame machine laser align computer read out shows. so hopefully it will be okay. This car was always garage kept since the day it was new and still had the original paint and interior with no rips or tears, the dash is still perfect with no cracks...only 112K original miles. The car appraised at 24K and the estimate to repair is at 11K so it is cheaper for the insurance co. to fix.

In the pictures you can see how the floor pan is wrinkled.

[jonathanrussell]

Hi. Amazing repair job. I see you are in GA. I am in Marietta, GA. I have a 240z in storage that had a front impact sometime in its life that was not repaired very well. I have been looking for a shop that can measure the unibody and straighten if necessary. Looks like you have one. Would you mind sharing the name of the shop?

Thanks...

[SteveJ]

Johnathan, contact Eddie Radatz. He has been working on Z cars for a long time in Kennesaw and probably is familiar with body shops closer to you.

[GTZ V8]

Hi. Amazing repair job. I see you are in GA. I am in Marietta, GA. I have a 240z in storage that had a front impact sometime in its life that was not repaired very well. I have been looking for a shop that can measure the unibody and straighten if necessary. Looks like you have one. Would you mind sharing the name of the shop?

Thanks...

The shop is Hernandez Auto Collision Center in Hinesville, Ga. 912-369-6398, talk to Kristine. They have the front half of the chassis you need in perfect shape, even if you don't have them repair your car, I'm sure they would be willing to let you have the left over chassis fairly cheap and it would fit on a small trailer or a full size pickup if you wanted to transport yourself.

Gary

[jonathanrussell]

Thanks Steve. I met Eddie once about 10 years ago but it has been a long time and he definitely wouldn't remember me. Since I do all of my own work (other than engine machine shop work and the sort of frame work I am inquiring about), I would feel bad about going by to pick his brain, knowing that I realistically wouldn't be buying his services. I need to join the GA Z Club and get to know you guys who are active and who have advice about and experiences with local shops that know L series engines and the S30 unibody. Thanks for the suggestion.

[jonathanrussell]

Thanks for the info Gary. Wish I had the space for the front clip- not yet ready to tackle that project. I will keep the contact info, however. Again, thank you.

[ollie]

Wow, only $11K? That looks like a lot of work for not a lot of money, and that car is absolutely one worth saving, hope you're back on the road soon.