Bent front end question...

[JJPotter]

Hi all,

I bought a GK Super Saloon a couple of months ago with a bit of front end damage (including the chassis rail which was a bit bent before the tyre arch). A couple of friends and I did a bit of "realignment" and have discovered (the hard way) that the bonnet now doesn't line up (regardless of the bonnet being adjusted), but everything else fits into place. The car currently has an auto, but I'm planning on converting it (I already have the required parts). The engine has a few things done to it (extractors, balance shaft bypass kit, weber) which were one of the main reasons I bought the car.

My dilemma is should I try and fix the front end damage and try to get this car registered or should I get another car (preferably manual), strip the old one and transfer the bits I want across (I guess you can never have too many spares...can you )? I plan on putting an SC14 supercharger on the engine eventually (and maybe doing a few other things in the longer term) and was wondering if this type of damage would have a significant effect on my ability to get an engineers certificate.

I don't mind doing either option, I was just looking for some valuable opinions to help persuade my decision

What are your thoughts?

TIA,

Jonathan

[75wagon]

Any chance of some pics so you can show us exactly where it is bent so we understand exactly where the damage is?
Cuts confusion that way. We'll all be on the same page for giving you advice.
Get a photo and put a circle where you believe the damage is...

Dave...

[rob020]

i reckon pics too,

but if it were my car, id be thinking the cost of any body repairs/panels/paint plus the cost of converting from auto to manual (gearbox, flywheel, clutch,gearbox mount/crossmember, driveshaft, pedalbox, clutchcable) would make it cheaper to find a straight manual shell and swapping all your good bits/super salloon interior over to the new car...

once a cars been crashed, its always been crashed... ask yourself if you think you can fix it back up to a standard your happy with... also, with the impact required to bend your chassis rail.... just what else do you have to fix?? hows the steering/suspension??

my 2c,
cheers,
rob

[Sean]

If you're ever a bit naughty and cop a defect sticker, things that slid through in the original rego inspection might be picked up in the defect inspection....

Best to start with a straight, prefferably registered, shell.

[JJPotter]

The steering/suspension appears to be ok. When I got it the chassis rail was a lot more bent than it is now, the screw holes for the battery holder didn't line up, the bonnet catch was out of whack and the radiator shroud was obstructing the fan. Currently the bonnet will just close, but we (my friends and I, well mainly my friend who is a mechanic) managed to get the battery holder screws to line up and the chassis is straight enough that we are able to bolt the bumper bar on. We did however notice that the radiator leaks, so that's another thing I'm going to have to add to the fix list, but I have all the required panels (although one of the guards has a bit of a tear, but I can live with that for now). As they say - a picture says a thousand words so I'll take some pics tomorrow and post them.

I have everything for the conversion except for the cross-member (all off a 2L GK, but not sure if the tail shaft is off wagon, d'oh). If I end up getting another car I'll keep them as a spare to go with the current engine in case things go sour.

I have to admit I have been starting to lean more towards the new shell idea more and more this afternoon. I saw a few cars on eBay, but they want $3000 for them (at least they have rego I guess, but still). If anyone here has a straight GK they don't want within a few hours of Canberra I'd be willing to consider it (especially a manual, although the engine doesn't necessarily have to be 100% as I can easily replace/repair it).

I am trying not to be too bad on the road, but yeah you never know what will happen (damn RTA).

Cheers,
Jono

[JJPotter]

As promised, here are some pictures that show the damage to the front end of my beastie. The guards and bonnet are not properly bolted down, but this was as far "aligned" as I could get them. I couldn't get any decent shots close up of the chassis damage.

- This image shows the passengers side of the bonnet and how misaligned it is.
- And the drivers side...
- Chassis rail where the front bumper bolts on
- The red circle shows where the chassis was bent. Not the best pic, but there is still a small bulge where the chassis was bent.
- This is the "good" side of the car. Hmm, time for some degreaser...
- Shows the radiator. The corrosion at the top doesn't look good.
- A close-up of the corrosion of the radiator. It gets a bit wet when it heats up, but is still surprisingly full.

[75wagon]

Looks like it's more then the chassis that is bent. The inner guard looks like it is bent. This is not as bigger deal as the chassis rail, but it looks like both sides are affected.
Firstly you need to get the car checked for straightness. If it is straight then just move the inner guards to where they should be. Then your guards will line up.

The best way to check if it is straight I can think of is to take it to a place that does digital 4 wheel wheel alignment. They will tell you straight up if it's bent. If the damage id in front of the struts it should be less to worry about.

Really I think we need Pistorf to have a look at this for an expert opinion. That will get rid of the guess work and bring some clarity to the situation.

Dave...

[Skidmark]

If your after opinions well mine is keep this one for spares. Siggys come and go all the tme fairly cheap . Buy something straight (straighter) and no major rust, save yourself the hassle.Thats my two bobs worth anyway.
Skidmark

[stealth]

or take it to a decent panel shop and just have them pull it straight on a chassis alinement jig
any good shop will do this and it shouldnt be expensive if you strip it all and bring it to them on a tilt tray
get them to pull it straight then fix the rest yourself
thay will have the factory dimentions for a sigma and be able to do the job in a maximum of three hours
this will save you having to find another chassis and all the work of transfering bits over
its far from wrecked just need a good pull (lol )
cheers stealth

[C_Fernance]

It definitely looks to me as if the whole front end has been shifted sideways - strut towers, etc included. As mentioned above it would probably be easier to find a better shell.

Have you checked how square it is? Heres all the body dimensions straight from the GK Sigma factory service manual. May come in handy if you do decide to repair it.

[pistorf]

or take it to a decent panel shop and just have them pull it straight on a chassis alinement jig
any good shop will do this and it shouldnt be expensive if you strip it all and bring it to them on a tilt tray
get them to pull it straight then fix the rest yourself
thay will have the factory dimentions for a sigma and be able to do the job in a maximum of three hours
this will save you having to find another chassis and all the work of transfering bits over
its far from wrecked just need a good pull (lol )
cheers stealth

Take it to a panel shop and get them to pull it square. They won't have to put it on a jig,as most shops have pulling gear bolted to the floor.If you strip it down for them a decent shop will be able to pull it in a few hours. make sure that you take the panels with you so that they can trial fit them. A lot cheaper than doing a body swap.
I bent my old GA rally car and moved the front across 250mm on one side and a beater I knew repaired it in 2.5 hours for me.

[JJPotter]

Thanks guys, you been a great help .

I might see what some of the smash repairers in the area say and how much they'll charge (I'm sure I know someone who knows someone who knows a smash repairer). Meanwhile I'll keep an eye out on a new shell and see if something good comes up. I think this may end up being easier than converting the current car to manual (I've done it once before and that was fun enough). The main things I want to transfer across are the extractors, weber, balance shaft bypass kit, cam and steering wheel.

Hopefully it'll all be sorted by the next cruise

Cheers,
Jono