So the last owner of this decided it would be agreat idea to pull the car up onto the trailer with the front bumper support where the hood latch sits and the top of the front bumper is secured.

Here is the horror


My question is how in the hell am I going to get that back to semi original positioning? The hood won't latch, and if i just take the latch out and use the hood pins, there is about an inch of space between the hood and the lip of the bumper.

Is this something I should attempt or leave alone until I can get into a body shop?

 

only if you are real handy would I attempt this.
It looks nasty,and there could be **** up underneath that you may miss.(may have pulled **** together or what have you).
I'd be opting for a collision shop.

 

Yeah, that's what I was thinking too. There is a big wire loom that runs inside of it, the piece is somewhat shaped like a n with the wires running safely tucked inside.

I would attempt it myself, but i don't want to tear the metal any as it looks and seems to just be some mild steel, and wouldn't take kindly to being bent multiple times.

 

even if you got a piece from a wrecker,the tow truck could have cinched the sides together.(like pulling each side of your shirt to button it up).
I bought a car that had "minor" damage to the driver's front.it pushed the light in a bit and everything looked ok.I tore all the stuff off,replaced it,then had it looked at by a shop.
they said the "bump"(into a light) made the whole front go out by an inch.so the car dogtracked.It drove FINE but they pulled the frame out anyways...(I Still have that car!).
That is why I say get it looked at by a body man.

 

Well the good news is that...if a collision shop doesn't find anything else wrong, this is easy to replace. You can contact Ray @ Malloy Mazda who owns a 3-rotor FD and hooks up all the FD owners and get OEM metal to replace that section most likely for a few hundred bucks.

You can also put up a "WTB" in the For Sale section of the site and someone will probably cut and ship that section to you for <$200. Just have it welded in.

As long as there is not collision damage underneath, that is an easy fix all things considered equal.

 

I took the bumper off to check out if there was any more damage, and then called the dude to ask wtf he was thinking. His explanation..."Couldn't find the tow hooks under the body kit" well OK, that makes complete sense, mess up the framework instead of some fiberglass. Fucktard.

Anyways, when I took the front bumper off that was the only damage. Couldn't take the front fenders off, they are molded into the side skirts which in turn are molded into the rear fenders.

 

Yikes. Well if you are up for it, you can buy the new sheet metal at any Mazda dealer. Then drill out the spot welds and weld in a new piece. Overall it's not that complicated of a repair but would be a big learning curve if this is the first time you've attempted a repair like this. It should only be a few hours at a body shop to fix if you supply the new sheet metal.

 

Alright, I will see if I can find a part number or something, and talk with a few body shops. I don't have a welder handy anymore otherwise I wouldn't mind trying it out. However my wonderful car is now on hold as we start to build our new 34x34 garage, hopefully be done by July 1st.

 

best idea!