Body shop said it wasn't fixable -- te frame strucures thathe bumper attaches towere crumpled like an accodan and were 2" shorter. Of course all the attached body parts were equally creased and crumpled too.


I sent all day hammering and cutting and have it back running and the trunk lid will now close. I got about 1 1/2 of the 2 inches back. I had to work quite a while on the trunk because the trunk opening is no longer square. The bumper cover was toast so I only have the exposed bumper with the rubber wafers now.


Still, its back to running again.


Thanks all and have a happy Thanksgiving.

 

Howard, for future reference, use a jack or a come-a-long to straighten out body panels before you get out the hammer. The hammer does more damage than it repairs in most cases and it can make using a jack later impossible.

If you use a jack or come-a-long is a way that reverses the pressure that deformed the metal, you can see the metal go back into its original shape. You can even straighten the frame with these techniques.

 

Thanks Keith. I have a bottle jack but no real place to anchor it for this repair. Same issue for the come-along but it would probably just have pulled the car backward instead of straightening the frame. I needed a torch to heat the crumpled section of the frame.

 

Howard, I would lay the jack down on its side with the base resting against the wheel well and the tip against the inside of the trunk as close to the point of impact as possible. Then jack it out. Done right, you can see the damage reversing itself.

My son was hit when a delivery truck stopped at the top of an off ramp began to slide backwards into the front end of his Tercel. It missed teh bumper and smashed in the grill and headlights. I showed my son how to use a come-a-long and a tree in the front yard to pull the front end back in place. Never hit it with a hammer and when he was done, you could not tell it had been hit. The trucks insurance paid him $1100 for the damage so he made out like a bandit.