Thanks Tippo! I’ll get one.
REPAIRS BEGIN
So, if you have a rare bird don’t let it get messed up.
Estimates 15 November 2021
The repair shops are being weak and unenthusiastic. To be fair the litigious nature of society has made them unadventurous and conservative. And also understandable it’s harder work than they want to undertake—limited profit potential.
One of the shops tried to sell me on the idea of the hood being a structural piece citing the under hood cross bracing as “crumple zones” that were bent, thus the whole hood was a total loss. Let’s be perfectly clear, a JDM GT-Four is in no way compliant with NTSB crash safety standards from the get go. So, I find that whole line of thinking spurious. The other shop was dismissive to the point of hey if you get all the parts we’ll do the work, then failed to even take notes for a labor estimate.
I’m like to take hammer and effing tongs and bondo to that hood myself and then take it to be painted.
I will however avail myself of one shop’s assertion that they can put the heat guns on the deformed bumper and get it right. Or...I can try it myself.
I got a payout from insurance that was not a total but it would have been better not to have even made a claim, as I can cover the costs. Oh, well, live and learn. So, I have a budget.
I’m going to avoid paying anyone to do anything I can do myself. If they’re going to throw their hands up and be like “Oh the parts aren’t in my standard supply chain you have to get them,” then why not turn the screws and bolts myself?
Here’s my situation: I put in for two weeks leave from 29 November thru 12 December. I have some time. The bumper reinforcing bar is nearly here from Poland.
I’ll pull the bumper and send it in for heat reformation. I’ll do the bondo/sand/spray myself. Or, I’ll have someone with a paint booth do the spraying and reinstall it myself. Virtues of having a pickemup truck.
I’ll pull the creased reinforcing bar and install the new part.
I’ll pull the hood and clear some workspace in the garage and get a bending frame built up that I can work clamps on. I’ll force the bend back to the original arc, then get some body work tools and drill some holes in the creased and deformed front edge of the hood. I’ll work to get that shaping right. Might see about whether it’s better to have a skilled person do that. Then, bondo and sand and spray and install the front trim edge—salvaged from Pick a Part or aftermarket solution. Once it’s all set up, I’ll get it painted. It’ll look ugly AF for a while then it will look fine.
I’ll pull the deck shield from of the radiator and start disassembling the bent structural members front of the radiator, assessing what can be hammered back into shape, and what might be able to be fabbed. I have skilled friends in this regards. And then, what can be sourced.
I’ll consider whether to just get an OEM Transmission Oil Cooler (on the border of egregiously expensive at $350 new, $200 used), an aftermarket transmission oil cooler (a Mishimoto will likely be $200 after sourcing adapters and then time), or deleting the transmission oil cooler (also a completely legit option given that I’m not thrashing the transmission WRC style).
Repairs Begin 16 November 2021
I took the bumper off. It was fairly simple, a matter of several 10mm hex head bolts that I put into a baggie. The front running lights just turned counterclockwise and came out, freeing the plastic bumper. It is a Toyota part, not an aftermarket imitation. The carbon fiber look plastic bar that runs across the top of all that from fender to fender was of course a total loss--that went into the trash but I kept the screws that held it on.
Then I detached the metal strip running from fender to fender across the top of it. Curse the designer who decided four plastic screws that absolutely will strip out was a good way to attach that to the bumper. Curse him to the hell where people are skinned alive. I drilled them out. This one might be able to be recovered and reused.
Then I unscrewed the plastic deck sheet at the front of the radiator--it's not torn, merely deformed. I deem that it will reshape well with heat. It was still attached by one pin at the corner, so I just swung it out of the way to see what else is going on.
I detached the upper front fender bar running across the front of the car from fender to fender. That one is pretty beat up. Even then, I don't see why I couldn't have it repaired with a patch of some sort and straightened out.
All of this stuff out, I hopped in the car, and tested the lights--in my discomboobulation right after the accident, I'd turned then lights on, then when I turned them off, they couldn't close all the way. Thankfully, the motors did not break themselves on the top of the bumper trying to put the headlights down.
I started working on getting that front reinforcement bar off, and I got the bottom 17mm bolt off, but the top is another matter, as you can see. I wonder how that's supposed to work...
Tomorrow is another day. Slowly but surely.
REPAIRS BEGIN
So, if you have a rare bird don’t let it get messed up.
Estimates 15 November 2021
The repair shops are being weak and unenthusiastic. To be fair the litigious nature of society has made them unadventurous and conservative. And also understandable it’s harder work than they want to undertake—limited profit potential.
One of the shops tried to sell me on the idea of the hood being a structural piece citing the under hood cross bracing as “crumple zones” that were bent, thus the whole hood was a total loss. Let’s be perfectly clear, a JDM GT-Four is in no way compliant with NTSB crash safety standards from the get go. So, I find that whole line of thinking spurious. The other shop was dismissive to the point of hey if you get all the parts we’ll do the work, then failed to even take notes for a labor estimate.
I’m like to take hammer and effing tongs and bondo to that hood myself and then take it to be painted.
I will however avail myself of one shop’s assertion that they can put the heat guns on the deformed bumper and get it right. Or...I can try it myself.
I got a payout from insurance that was not a total but it would have been better not to have even made a claim, as I can cover the costs. Oh, well, live and learn. So, I have a budget.
I’m going to avoid paying anyone to do anything I can do myself. If they’re going to throw their hands up and be like “Oh the parts aren’t in my standard supply chain you have to get them,” then why not turn the screws and bolts myself?
Here’s my situation: I put in for two weeks leave from 29 November thru 12 December. I have some time. The bumper reinforcing bar is nearly here from Poland.
I’ll pull the bumper and send it in for heat reformation. I’ll do the bondo/sand/spray myself. Or, I’ll have someone with a paint booth do the spraying and reinstall it myself. Virtues of having a pickemup truck.
I’ll pull the creased reinforcing bar and install the new part.
I’ll pull the hood and clear some workspace in the garage and get a bending frame built up that I can work clamps on. I’ll force the bend back to the original arc, then get some body work tools and drill some holes in the creased and deformed front edge of the hood. I’ll work to get that shaping right. Might see about whether it’s better to have a skilled person do that. Then, bondo and sand and spray and install the front trim edge—salvaged from Pick a Part or aftermarket solution. Once it’s all set up, I’ll get it painted. It’ll look ugly AF for a while then it will look fine.
I’ll pull the deck shield from of the radiator and start disassembling the bent structural members front of the radiator, assessing what can be hammered back into shape, and what might be able to be fabbed. I have skilled friends in this regards. And then, what can be sourced.
I’ll consider whether to just get an OEM Transmission Oil Cooler (on the border of egregiously expensive at $350 new, $200 used), an aftermarket transmission oil cooler (a Mishimoto will likely be $200 after sourcing adapters and then time), or deleting the transmission oil cooler (also a completely legit option given that I’m not thrashing the transmission WRC style).
Repairs Begin 16 November 2021
I took the bumper off. It was fairly simple, a matter of several 10mm hex head bolts that I put into a baggie. The front running lights just turned counterclockwise and came out, freeing the plastic bumper. It is a Toyota part, not an aftermarket imitation. The carbon fiber look plastic bar that runs across the top of all that from fender to fender was of course a total loss--that went into the trash but I kept the screws that held it on.
Then I detached the metal strip running from fender to fender across the top of it. Curse the designer who decided four plastic screws that absolutely will strip out was a good way to attach that to the bumper. Curse him to the hell where people are skinned alive. I drilled them out. This one might be able to be recovered and reused.
Then I unscrewed the plastic deck sheet at the front of the radiator--it's not torn, merely deformed. I deem that it will reshape well with heat. It was still attached by one pin at the corner, so I just swung it out of the way to see what else is going on.
I detached the upper front fender bar running across the front of the car from fender to fender. That one is pretty beat up. Even then, I don't see why I couldn't have it repaired with a patch of some sort and straightened out.
All of this stuff out, I hopped in the car, and tested the lights--in my discomboobulation right after the accident, I'd turned then lights on, then when I turned them off, they couldn't close all the way. Thankfully, the motors did not break themselves on the top of the bumper trying to put the headlights down.
I started working on getting that front reinforcement bar off, and I got the bottom 17mm bolt off, but the top is another matter, as you can see. I wonder how that's supposed to work...
Tomorrow is another day. Slowly but surely.