front end collision-i want to repair it
12-18-07, 12:14 PM
#1
front end collision-i want to repair it
i aquired this nice ocean blue 85 GS this summer. i bought it for the engine. i pulled the engine and installed it in my 85 S. now i have this clean bodied(other than the impact) 85 GS in ocean blue metallic (one of my top three favorite colors for an FB and nearly impossible to find) that is waiting for a restoration. i have a shell from an 83 that would make a nice candidate. should i just drill the spot welds with a spot weld drill bit and remove what i can't drill with a sawzall and do the same to the 83 and swap the right front secition in? it will take precision and patience to do this but i am willing to do what it takes. it looks as if the right front section is layered. if i can get the top layer off i might be able to straighten the thinner lower layer and weld the upper layer from the 83 back in. i can just take the entire core support and upper level of the fender support and wheel well in one piece from the 83.what do you guys think? i can get more pics if need be.
12-18-07, 12:27 PM
#2
That's quite a bit of damage on the passenger frame rail. Your braver than me if you get it all fixed up. BTW I have a very nice front bumper assembly minus the lower portion and the grill if you want to buy it. Its the aluminium support and the top half of the bumper. I think mine is more blue though. Like a lighter blue. $50 you pay shipping
i hate to see poor FB's wrecked, i hope she can be resurrected
12-18-07, 07:13 PM
#7
thanks Ray! the car has a neat story behind it. it was owned by a woman who bought it originally in Texas. she got married and moved to Ohio where the car remained garaged and babied by her. one evening she came home from work, parked the car in the garage and told her husband that she didnt feel well. she ordered a pizza and laid down to sleep, never to waak up again. after 5 years of looking at the car in the garage in the same spot his wife parked the car and grieving and not wating to come off of the car, the husband sold the car to the family i bought it off of. the son wrecked the car and i got it for a good price. the family told me the story of the woman who owned the car originally and how much it meant to her. i just can't let the car that meant so much to that woman and a grieving husband rot away or be parted out.
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12-18-07, 07:25 PM
#8
Yup that ocean blue metallic is definitely a girl color.
You gotta love a car with a history and 1st gens have their shares, three of my four spent most of their lives as garage queens. The fourth, a rust bucket from Ohio, still looked pretty good after a fresh coat of brown metallic paint and it ran great, gave me a trouble free 50,000 miles.
Show us the pics!
You gotta love a car with a history and 1st gens have their shares, three of my four spent most of their lives as garage queens. The fourth, a rust bucket from Ohio, still looked pretty good after a fresh coat of brown metallic paint and it ran great, gave me a trouble free 50,000 miles.
Show us the pics!
12-18-07, 08:11 PM
#11
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Yikes! How old was the lady? Stories like that always bring out the hypochondriac in me.
On a side note, i bought my FB from southern indiana. The lady that had it bought it brand new because her father forbid her from buying a car with a "gimmicky" rotary motor. She bought it to spite him, lol! She put less than 30K on it and it sat in a garage for most of its life. I picked it up about 5 years ago and it has been given ultra TLC since i bought it.
On a side note, i bought my FB from southern indiana. The lady that had it bought it brand new because her father forbid her from buying a car with a "gimmicky" rotary motor. She bought it to spite him, lol! She put less than 30K on it and it sat in a garage for most of its life. I picked it up about 5 years ago and it has been given ultra TLC since i bought it.
12-18-07, 09:36 PM
#12
i'm not sure how old the lady was. i would guess late 30's early 40's. not even sure of her name. her husband's name is kenneth broberg. it would be nice to contact him after the restoration and tell him what the car has been through.
12-18-07, 10:03 PM
#14
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My 1st 7 was a reconditioned 82. Crashed just like that and it was fixed before I purchased it for 3k in 1988. Uh I put 100,000 miles on it... So it can be fixed.
Just need to let a shop do it because it looks bad on that one side.
Just need to let a shop do it because it looks bad on that one side.
12-18-07, 10:14 PM
#16
Here are a 2 pics of the upper unibody, in the first pic the #1 layer is part of the strut tower. In the second pic, the 1st layer is the brace spot welded to the top of the stut tower. So it looks like 2 layers, the "tube" and the fender well, aside from the strut tower.
Your'e right, it will take precision, and patience.
Your'e right, it will take precision, and patience.
12-18-07, 10:16 PM
#17
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Yea in my old beater you could still smell like something burnt from the crash. I could smell it every morning.
You don't want to know what I found inside one crashed 7. The drivers door handle was like where the shift **** was. It was at junkyard. Oh well save those fishing stories for later.
You don't want to know what I found inside one crashed 7. The drivers door handle was like where the shift **** was. It was at junkyard. Oh well save those fishing stories for later.
12-18-07, 10:19 PM
#19
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Yea in my old beater you could still smell like something burnt from the crash. I could smell it every morning.
You don't want to know what I found inside one crashed 7. The drivers door handle was like where the shift **** was. It was at junkyard. Oh well save those fishing stories for later.
You don't want to know what I found inside one crashed 7. The drivers door handle was like where the shift **** was. It was at junkyard. Oh well save those fishing stories for later.
12-18-07, 10:27 PM
#20
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Aw man I don't want to derail this guys thread. 
btw after looking at that other angle. Might want to consider finding a cheap body with no rust.
That's what I am looking for nowdays.
btw after looking at that other angle. Might want to consider finding a cheap body with no rust.
That's what I am looking for nowdays.
12-18-07, 11:35 PM
#21
Back in the 1980s-early 90s I rebuilt numerous wrecked 1st gen RX-7s, including a few with front end damage to one side, just like yours. You may have all the info and skills you need, but if you want more info on this repair, just ask.
I don't understand the statement that the "frame is not damaged", as the upper and lower frame rails are obviously trashed. What does not show in the photos is how far back the lower frame rail is buckled. Even when the damage was forward, I always did the splice at the front of the shock tower, the upper rail at the point of the little indentation on the outboard side, and the lower rail between the crossmember mounting bolts.
I always cut out a little cap in the upper rail for welding the inner structure, then welded it back on afterwards. I also cut a window in the outboard side of the lower rail, likewise to weld the inner structure, then welded it back in. With the welds ground smooth and a bit of undercoating, it is hard to detect as you can see in the last photo.
Good luck with it.
I don't understand the statement that the "frame is not damaged", as the upper and lower frame rails are obviously trashed. What does not show in the photos is how far back the lower frame rail is buckled. Even when the damage was forward, I always did the splice at the front of the shock tower, the upper rail at the point of the little indentation on the outboard side, and the lower rail between the crossmember mounting bolts.
I always cut out a little cap in the upper rail for welding the inner structure, then welded it back on afterwards. I also cut a window in the outboard side of the lower rail, likewise to weld the inner structure, then welded it back in. With the welds ground smooth and a bit of undercoating, it is hard to detect as you can see in the last photo.
Good luck with it.
12-19-07, 05:16 AM
#23
Ray, the odometer shows 150K. i wish it were 50K. the body is in remarkable shapre for the mileage and the age of teh vehicel(rust wise)
stilettoman, as far as teh frame damage is concerned, it appears that the damage is confined to the upper right corner, as it appears it was a high hit. i'll be at the shop in the next few days and i'll get some more pics, maybe a video or two and i will take all of the advice i can get from someone more experienced in the field than i. i intend on cutting straight down just aft of the right strut tower(as close to it as i can for measurement purposes) and then i will drill the welds on the core support on the left side and leave the left strut tower alone as there is no damage there. it would be like taking an "L" shaped section from each car. the 83 parts car will do nicely. do you think that i have a good plan or should i go another route?
stilettoman, as far as teh frame damage is concerned, it appears that the damage is confined to the upper right corner, as it appears it was a high hit. i'll be at the shop in the next few days and i'll get some more pics, maybe a video or two and i will take all of the advice i can get from someone more experienced in the field than i. i intend on cutting straight down just aft of the right strut tower(as close to it as i can for measurement purposes) and then i will drill the welds on the core support on the left side and leave the left strut tower alone as there is no damage there. it would be like taking an "L" shaped section from each car. the 83 parts car will do nicely. do you think that i have a good plan or should i go another route?
12-19-07, 10:09 AM
#24
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It looks like the cross tube that sits in front of the rad got bent sometime between the previous owner and yourself. What happened there? I know it won't be a problem to weld in a new one, just wondering. And a car in that kind of condition (minus the front end damage) needs to be saved. If you can fix it, fix it, don't let it go to waste.
On another note, I love that one about the girl buying a car to spite her father. That's my kind of girl.
On another note, I love that one about the girl buying a car to spite her father. That's my kind of girl.
12-19-07, 10:35 AM
#25
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It looks like the cross tube that sits in front of the rad got bent sometime between the previous owner and yourself. What happened there? I know it won't be a problem to weld in a new one, just wondering. And a car in that kind of condition (minus the front end damage) needs to be saved. If you can fix it, fix it, don't let it go to waste.
On another note, I love that one about the girl buying a car to spite her father. That's my kind of girl.
On another note, I love that one about the girl buying a car to spite her father. That's my kind of girl.