Brighton96 Posted December 9, 2020 Author Share Posted December 9, 2020 Uh oh! Better get Maaco. Any other paint job will probably cost more than $2k. Ready to buy it back from them? (I hate insurance companies). Exactly, insurance is gambling but I spoke with the rep today, they are going to fix the other persons car (and hike my rates obviously) and then they won't touch my car cause I didn't buy the right coverage for that, which is actually ideal. No insurance to appraise the car = no risk of salvage title. My mom feels bad and has offered to pay to get the car resprayed once I have it fixed. The current plan is use this opportunity to do the metal work I've been wanting to do, which is shave the engine bay, roof rack, badge holes, and fix the rust the right way. I'm expecting it to be done mid next year so then I'll have it repainted. Going to coordinate with Sublimejoe to pick up his donor and then get to stripping (not the fun kind) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublechaz Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 Sounds like that is working out about the best it can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brighton96 Posted December 10, 2020 Author Share Posted December 10, 2020 Damage Report The weather was nice enough so I figured I'd start stripping the front of the car to assess the damage and it's about on par with what I was thinking. The car she hit had a trailer hitch and it seems the hitch hit right in the section I circled, which mitigated the damage to the things around it, the rad, condenser and fans are all fine as a result. The bumper cover mount broke free and was pushed upward into the headlight (RIP) And the fiberglass bumper is tore up but really, not as bad as it could have been. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublechaz Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 Should be cake apart from the various bolt on parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehsnils Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 Sucks, but doesn't look terminal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brighton96 Posted December 11, 2020 Author Share Posted December 11, 2020 Sucks, but doesn't look terminal. Agreed, turned out as good as it could have aside from not happening at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brighton96 Posted January 3, 2021 Author Share Posted January 3, 2021 (edited) Parts Hoarding Update The silver GT donor has since been stripped and sent off to scrap and I acquired another donor, this one is missing most of what I need aside from headlights (damaged but usable), grill (damaged by usable), one fender and core support(maybe also bent.) I plan to also steal the white door trim, exterior handles, rear hatch and rear right door to replace mine since they are in better condition than mine. This car is a 95 LSi which had a few unique things (leather e-brake) and what not. If you need parts feel free to let me know, my basement is getting full. Edited February 18, 2021 by Brighton96 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brighton96 Posted February 18, 2021 Author Share Posted February 18, 2021 Small Progress Not a whole lot to report, been doing other projects because I don't really want to mess with the car. I did however get nearly all the parts I need to put it back together, the last thing I want is a white scooped hood but the smooth hood will be fine for now. Here are the two bumpers, top one is stock, bottom on is my damaged modified one. I got the stock bumper modified and filled in all the unused holes/slots with a plastic welder. After this both the front and rear bumper will get body worked and will be good as new! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brighton96 Posted March 16, 2021 Author Share Posted March 16, 2021 Update The last of the parts I needed have been sourced so it's only a matter of time until the cars ready to get taken apart and fixed! The last piece of the puzzle was a pre face lift grill that wasn't beat to hell. Stock form Remove the grill portion, cut all the tabs off and remove black translucent vinyl that surrounds the grill insert. More work to be done in regard to cleaning up the cuts and getting the vinyl residue off but looking good already Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brighton96 Posted April 10, 2021 Author Share Posted April 10, 2021 Rebuild Process So begins the process of putting the car back together. Got all the parts I need, now just a matter of actually doing it. All the new metal has been treated for rust and I shaved all the unnecessary holes. Will paint the core support to match once I get it welded in and the shaved holes bodyworked. Will have more pics once it's back together Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brighton96 Posted April 26, 2021 Author Share Posted April 26, 2021 Coming Back To Life As stated above, she's slowly coming back to life and I see the light at the end of the tunnel. Not considering the future rust repairs haha. If anyone needs the closest matching white to our 20+ year old faded white paint, it's FedEx fleet white :/ The top of the core support has been welded in, the metal under it has been straightened and I filled in all unnecessary holes and body worked them so you'll never know they were there A few hours of sanding, primer and Fedex white later It may not look like much but I shaved a few unnecessary brackets and relocated nearly all of the headlight, foglight and horn wiring up under the fender to clean up the engine bay. There are other mods that will be done soon ish but while I had the car apart I figured now was the ideal time to install these triangulation braces courtesy of Kein on Ebay, they are marked as being for a 3rd gen but they bolt right up. It's nearly done, got a few other parts off at powdercoating so uglier pieces are installed right now. The overflow tank/washer fluid tank is by Weapon R (Model 826-124-101) and isn't specifically for our cars but bolts right in, aside from losing rear washer pump, minor price to pay for shiney things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublechaz Posted April 27, 2021 Share Posted April 27, 2021 Let me know what you think of those front braces once you are rolling. I would do them if they are noticeable. Front strut brace didn't seem huge to me, but the rear one was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brighton96 Posted May 3, 2021 Author Share Posted May 3, 2021 Close to Done Both donor fenders had damage in the bottom corner where they collect dirt, so they got stripped back, treated with rust killer and then painted Fedex white (only the bottom corners got painted that is.) Got them installed along with the hood, all 3 got colors sanded (1k-2.5k wet sand) and then compounded and polished. Headlights, fogs and grill in place so I can at least drive it while I finish up body working the bumper. In the gaps between waiting paint to cure, I installed the Walboro 255 that's been sitting in my parts bin for like 5+ years. It had the subaru install kit so there was zero fuss with installing it which was a refreshing change of pace. Other than that, the plan is to body work the spare door trims, front and rear bumper and spoiler and then have them professionally resprayed since those are the ugliest bits of the car, aside from the rust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublechaz Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 Sweet! Just about there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brighton96 Posted May 26, 2021 Author Share Posted May 26, 2021 Completed! It's finally back together after 5 months of down time. Still have to order another set of headlights since the drivers side is damaged and am holding out for another scooped hood. Also got the coilovers adjusted so the car sits even and took it around the block and immediately remembered why I like the car. Lastly, I have a DMV appointment in June to get antique plates! No more failing inspections for old car stuff. Maybe in a few months I'll take it back off the road to tackle the rust THEN maybe worry about the manual swap stuff. Only time will tell... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brighton96 Posted September 21, 2021 Author Share Posted September 21, 2021 Update The hunt for a near flawless white scooped hood is over! I found a hood sort of locally and will get it installed at some point and that was the last big item needed to get my car back to pre-accident spec. I keep getting invalid file error when uploading pics so sorry, no show and tell this update. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brighton96 Posted November 4, 2022 Author Share Posted November 4, 2022 Not Dead Yet Update It felt like way longer but I guess it's only been a year since I last posted, in that time literally nothing has been done to the car aside from the occasional drive. The rust got to the point it was either fix it or scrap the car, no more just ignoring it. So, 10 ish hours of labor and a few days later the strut cancer is "fixed" The rust was bad but most the structural stuff was okay, so I cut out all the cancer, treated all the rust with tannic acid paint, made 16/22 gauge panels and sandwiched them all together with panel bond. The 16 gauge was used for more structural parts and then I remade the vertical supports from flat bar. They were all welded in place and then I went back over with panel bond and filled in any gaps or imperfections so it should be more than enough. Is it pretty? Absolutely not. Did I channel the spirit of Ray Charles when I welded it? yyyeaahh... Will it buy me a few more year? Probably. Couple days to let it cure, then seam seal and paint with the same rust paint, then back on the ground for a month or so until I can tackle the quarter panel rust which should be easy in comparison. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZMAN24250 Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 Oof, and I thought mine was bad... At least shes up and running again eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brighton96 Posted November 30, 2022 Author Share Posted November 30, 2022 8 minutes ago, ZMAN24250 said: Oof, and I thought mine was bad... At least shes up and running again eh? Yep, still needs more love before I go back to dailying it though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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