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MG MGB Technical - Wrecked Today - Left Rear Advise?

Well, a big old SUV couldn't stop fast enough today on the expressway and took out my left rear corner panel, rear light, rear bumper, side marke, chrome side piece. May have crunched the trunk hood a little. Good thing is that he has insurance and was sited for being at fault. This is a uni-body in the rear, don't see British Victoria selling any rear corner panels. How should this be fixed correctly? It's all good metal there, just flat now :-).
Also, any contacts in the Cincinnati, Ohio area would be appreciated too. I'll be in touch with the local club resources too.

Best regards,
Doug
DT Toms

Tom, check the most current issue of the MGB Driver. You'll really like the photo essay on an MGB LE that got nailed in the rear.
John Perkins

I had something similar happen to mine. I ended up with a cut from a parts car. Check out my webpage if you want to see all the gory details.... ;-)
Rob Edwards

Oh yeah, that's right -- the url isn't in my sig line any more. Must figure out how to remedy that.

http://www.mgcarz.com
Rob Edwards

Thanks guys, about what I thought. Not going to be a cheap or quick fix. I am headed to Budapest on business for 3 months beginning August. Need to leave it with a shop that can keep it in doors too. A little bit of a headache when these things happen, but at least no one was injured. I did get with the club newsletter and talk with our local MGB mechanic. He can look at it Saturday and give me a good estimate of damage etc.

Best regards,
Doug
DT Toms

FYI, just in case anyone else runs into this issue.
Found panels at Victoria British along with Valance, boot hood, light assemblies, bumer kit etc.
About $2100 in parts, body shop gave total estimate of $5336.
This will include fitting all panels, welding, undercoating, and painting back half of car and blending to front half.

They'll order parts and once everything is in then they will have me bring car in and keep it inside until complete. About 3 weeks turn-around.

Thanks all folks! :-)

Best regards,
Doug
DT Toms

Doug,

Before you proceed with this, I would strongly advise a discussion with John Twist or Carl Heideman (Eclectic Motorworks in Holland MI). John might very well refer you to Carl anyway. If nothing else, I'm sure Carl might explain a few procedural issues that you should take up with your selected shop.

FWIW,
Allen
Allen Bachelder

Doug,
That's a pretty reasonable estimate, all things considered. Mine got 'side swiped' a year and a half ago. Estimate to replace the bumper, trim, quarter light, fix the rear quarter and rocker, reskin the door and blend the paint into the front fender was $6k+. First thing the other guy's insurance tried to do was total the car. Helped that I had it insured for more than that. That stopped them cold.

For the amount of work they'll be doing you may want to think about repainting the entire car. If it hasn't been done recently (or not well) there will be a night and day difference in the original/repaired areas.

I concur that talking to John and/or Carl is a good idea. It sure won't hurt.

Best of luck,
Tom
Tom Sotomayor

Thanks for the additional input.
What kind of procedural issues might you be talking about?
I did have a couple small dings and a car door chip from the kids, so have gotten estimate on my end of re-painting the other half of the car.

I'll try calling Carl after the 4th.

I am hoping not to have any difficulty with Insurance. I have full coverage and $10,000 worth of receipts from my restoration. I told them they could take the car and give me a check for $10,000 or fix it :-)

Best regards,
Doug
DT Toms

Doug,

I confess I don't know exactly what I meant about "procedural issues" EXCEPT I DO know that there are things I DON'T know. A man like Carl might ask if the estimate includes "X" - something neither you nor I might think of, but it would affect the longevity of your repair. An example might be putting the car on a frame machine to make sure it has not been distorted. Even modest damage can misalign your frame such that even Heritage repair panels will not fit right. The average bodyshop guy would presume the panels need fudging to fit. Somebody like Carl might discover that something needs to be pulled out on the frame machine just a 16th". The fact that the panels don't fit perfectly might be a sign that there is damage to the integrity of the car that you cannot see, and since you can't, the body shop might do the easiest thing to make you happy - for now...

Better to check with the experts before proceeding; that's all.

Cheers,
Allen
Allen Bachelder

This thread was discussed between 02/07/2007 and 05/07/2007

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