26 hours with fresh paint...

[bijon440]

So, these aare days 1 through 5 of bodywork, sanding, and paint. I had my baby reassembled for about 26 hours before meeting a 200lb Buck 4 minutes from pulling in my driveway. Need to see what insurance will do for me (if anything) before deciding what to do next. Bit of a heartbreaker.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/10/ee077812f5b24fe392f6cab35674a39a-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/10/07fe23ef6e42ba13b98ab421c595e6a1-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/10/dd34662201dffc8555b291d396676d4c-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/10/4ef1296a0c7ce1341cd30f9c8a4e450e-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/10/83f1c5142195ba79acd8be8ea1691ab5-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/10/401055a23ffbf652f4f3e9dad748db71-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/10/b5a1d50fe561a826ee1c84feffffcf69-1.jpg

[thenines']

OUCH! Looks like all three of you survived

[98legwag]

That sucks. Sorry to hear/see it.

[JBCLEGACY]

Oh wow.
Shitty luck.. haven't experienced anything this severe, but its heartbreaking to see and hear the circumstances; hope something works out for you

[bijon440]

Thanks everyone. Ya its a shame, at least no one was with me and no other cars were involved. On another note, I'm exploring options. Part it, front clip conversion, hope the frame isn't bent and get a spare parts car for what I need. Not sure what direction to take. Would like to hear what people think.

[86bratman]

That sucks man, I can't imagine how pissed you had to have been. If it were me, there is no way I'd part the car. The rest of your effort would have been for nothing, besides the car is too sexy in that grey to not fix. What color is that if you don't mind?

[bijon440]

Its called sonic silver. Factory Hyundai colour. Code is n9s. I used matrix systems 2 stage paint. What a great product, I would highly recommend it. Very clean finish

[thenines']

Any pics with the hood open?

[bijon440]

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/10/f1da0f112c6a1753960b4a7c30c57bf2-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/10/40660af9effb5b69098bfa5e2dfa3221-1.jpg

At a glance, Rad, Rad support, fender, air box, headlight, fog, bumper, grill, timing cover, belt, pulleys. Without pulling the engine (which is the next step after dealing with insurance) its tough to tell the extent. But the motor has 265000 km anyway which is why I was looking at a swap. I have a spare ej22 in the garage but since this happened I'd rather drop an sti powerplant in.

[bijon440]

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/10/f1da0f112c6a1753960b4a7c30c57bf2-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/10/40660af9effb5b69098bfa5e2dfa3221-1.jpg

At a glance, Rad, Rad support, fender, air box, headlight, fog, bumper, grill, timing cover, belt, pulleys. Without pulling the engine (which is the next step after dealing with insurance) its tough to tell the extent. But the motor has 265000 km anyway which is why I was looking at a swap. I have a spare ej22 in the garage but since this happened I'd rather drop an sti powerplant in.

[bijon440]

This is the critter that attacked my project for those who want to see the size to damage ratio.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/10/294e43200132795b6e89045f09c5909c-1.jpg

[meepers]

That sucks. At least no one was hurt and the damages are not that bad. Lower rail looks like it should be ok. Worst structural is the right apro and from the photos looks repairable. Love the color. Really thought it was oe slate gray. Hope you fix her regardless!

[bijon440]

Yes no injuries. So far I've managed to piece together most of a front clip from an assortment of wreckers for around 800$ including inner and outer fender, door, upper and lower tie bars and Rad support, which they're calling a front tower cut, and found a hippo sleek bumper for cheap. Still nothing from insurance but I'm moving forward without them for the moment.

[meepers]

You should be in good shape then. Make sure you take lots of photos if you are starting the actual work on your car. That way you can document everything to the insurance company if they have any questions.

As someone who currently runs a body shop and has worked as a Damage adjuster for 3 different insurance carriers, you ALWAYS want to protect your own ass.

The only really good part about it, is it is a comprehensive loss, and wont be chargable to you. So, yay, no rate increase. lol.

[Muse]

200lbs? I'm guessing that's a typo, as I weight almost 300 and that thing's definitely bigger than me.

[bijon440]

Yes I posted that after an estimated size in the dark. After seeing it and moving it in the light it was much larger. Somewhere around 270

[thenines']

Hope he didn't suffer-yea-I'm one of "those" people

[bijon440]

So, picked up this donor wagon for $400 today. Its a little rough around the edges but all the bits I need are in good shape.
After a more in depth look from the impact, the timing belt now has about 2 inches of slack in it, which leads me to believe its done some internal damage, which is fine since this wagon has only 162000 on the motor so I'm just going to swap the engine in after a gasket job and full maintenance run on it. Should get double the life out of it once I'm done. It fired right up no problem but had a tick while cold. Not a knock, not a slap, just a tick.
For future, after I have what I need from this wagon, the rest will be parted if anyone needs trim or whatever before it goes to the wreckers.
Here's a flick of the donor.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/11/f9b1788fe1c1aba2e449670ae12f4df6-1.jpg

[thenines']

Pretty clean donor

[bijon440]

Made some progress yesterday evening. Before I carry on, I didn't want to start a build thread because, well, its more of a 'fix and replace the mangled shit' than a build thread, so if this should be moved my apologies.

Got the upper tie bar, Rad, AC, and most of the broken stuff out. Lots and lots of spot welds. Good news, I was able to straighten out the side apron, and the box rail and lower support are fine, so yay. Bad news, one of the pulleys is non existant and thatd be why the timing belt is that loose. I don't have high hopes for the internals.

Next step is to yank the motor and do a thorough cleaning of the engine bay.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/11/2d8002dd227c5ac78843f9b4f0de8f9c-1.jpg

[bijon440]

Got the engine all cleaned up and ready to drop back in.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/11/5cff1bca3b932a011eadcffb5697e6ca-1.jpg

Also picked this up tonight. Does anyone happen to recognize this bumper? It doesn't have any stamps or badges on it anywhere and it doesn't really look like any of the hipposleek/vis/gtb bumpers I've seen. Its all fiberglass and super rigid. Curious to know exactly what it is.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/11/479a8f4e47355affdcb16056f4aa6d7c-1.jpg

[bijon440]

There we go, fixed...for the most part. I still have a few things to do like get ahold of the JDM headlights and mount the fogs, but she runs and drives again. And of course, paint still, but my painter can't get at it for a few more weeks so I'm stuck like this for now. Its been interesting considering I've never done any sort of repair like this on my own, and without a lift, but I'm fairly pleased with the outcome.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/12/029cba867437d5d03fe0a8b496c9cfa3-2.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/12/1fd5ad691bbe6d8c1831e045f83802e5-2.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/12/a3d6cb0c1e04aae24064035bfd07b2da-2.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/12/30d3a7b3daac7942607d7e68cab716f9-1.jpg

[Muse]

That's a pretty rad bumper. Ever figure out it's manufacturer?

[bijon440]

Actually no I haven't. Not too sure where to look either. There was an ad on eBay I think with someone selling a mold that looked similar to this but not quite. He way actually selling the machinery and everything that goes with it to make that bumper.

[wentz912]

Is it a primitive bumper?

[wentz912]

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2008/03/LAV-1.jpg

[Muse]

Doesn't look quite right. The Primitive one has more square fog light openings.

[bijon440]

Ya its close. But still not it. Mine has the center support for the license plate as well. And missing them damn air dams too