wombvette

It might not be applicable to collector car cases so much, but you had better think about it a little if it is a normal car. Insurance companies are not your good buddies. They are in business to make money, and no matter what they say, "good hands' are sticky hands, and "good neighbors" are not always there when you need them. Lets consider this for a moment. These companies have charts for everything. They know how many of theirs hit yours and vice versa. If they mutually agree to handle a certain amount of cases in in this manner, they simply agree to refuse to pay those claims. Then you and the other party both pay 500-1000 or more in deductibles. They have collected a tidy little sum from both parties. Also the accident is charged to you and likely will make your rates go up. Makes them happy as a hog in slop.

out2kayak

I have a whole Sermersheim's / Lee Bumb Composites front end that I am using but is not yet mounted. If you want any pics, etc. let me know.

I drove down and talked with the new owner. Nice guy and seemed to have good business sense and was trying to get the company back on a sustainable financial footing. I would suspect that is what drove the increases to cost.

That said, if you talk with him, expressing the difference in cost between his and X other shop, he has been willing to match.

Sorry for the accident and best of luck getting your car back together.



-- Joe

65silververt

The problem with Sermershiem is their fiberglass is now in high demand and they are under staffed, which equals extremely long waiting times. Ive been waiting on a taillamp panel, fender, and a few bonding strips since February. It took 6 months to get the front clip i ordered last year. So, if you are in a hurry, you are SOL with sermersheim

csherman

i just ordered a 59 front end from Image - it will be here in 6 weeks.
I ordered a C1 core support 4 weeks ago - Susan called and it it being shipped.

65silververt

Good to know. I like sermersheim, but I am about ready to cancel my order, especially since they haven't bothered to call with an update in over two months. Surely Corvette Image has worked out the issues they were having with their fiberglass a few years ago.

billyride

I had problems contacting Sermersheim's and ordered (had the shop order. Corvette Image gives a 20% discount to shops) the front end from Corvette Image. At this point, it looks like 4 months from the order date to the shipping of the complete (except lowers for ease of installation) bonded together front clip. It seemed to me that Sermersheim's really didn't want the business. I'll keep posting here as things progress. Since the correction of some problems years ago, I've heard nothing but good things about Corvette Image. I hope I'll still be able to say that when my front clip is installed.

csherman

yes...... Brett and I have always dealt with Image. Susan and Jerry seem to be stand up people. I havent had an quality issues. I have 53 parts coming this week, so I will def check them over. I will go over this 59 front end thoroughly.

billyride

I trust that Susan and Jerry are as good as you say. July 7 is scheduled to have the engine removed and the car transported to the body shop. It would not be good to have to wait for the front clip.

Buttonhead

My 67 coupe when found by the previous owner was all customized. It had huge flares and a C3 front end. The owner looked for a long time for NOS or used panels and did not find anything he liked. He finally bought Semmersheim panels and bonding strips to return the car to stock. He did a beautiful job and the fit and finish is first class.

emccomas

But do we know that for sure. I have seen first hand the issues with their glass a year or so after paint, and on multiple cars.

I personally know of three cars that have had of have the entire front clip removed and replaced because of these issues.

I would make REAL sure that the issues were resolved before I went any further.

watson

Can you be specific as to when these three cars had a problem with Corvette Image? I did a lot of research and I could not find a single problem with their parts in over four years. If I am wrong, I would really like to hear some specific facts.

Thanks,

Doc

emccomas

In all three cases, the paint started to "bubble" (very small bubbles) about a year after the cars were painted.

The initial claim was that the painter didn't prep the cars properly.

It did not take long for that bubble (pun intended) to be burst. The painter in this case has, and continues to build award winning cars.

The only cars having issues were mid years with this vendors replacement fiberglass.

And it turns out that a number of well know Corvette shops, including a very well known shop in the Houston area, was having the same problems.

I think there was some chemical analysis done to determine the exact cause. I don't know what the final verdict was, but apparently there was something going on with the separating agent, as I recall.

This was a few years ago, so I expect that the issue has been resolved. But I would certainly ask questions before I made a purchase.

Also, keep one thing in mind. The repo fiberglass is manufactured the same fashion that the original glass was. However, the factory used steel molds and considerably more pressure than is currently being used in the molds. The original glass was denser than the replacement glass.

Google is your friend, do the research ahead of time.

watson

Thanks, I was concerned that you had some evidence of recent problems with Corvette Image. When I had my 67 body work done, Bill Headley did the work and he is very well respected in the field. He always used Corvette Image products and said that they were the best available. He also said that he always gel coated new parts per advice from Corvette Image. I recently bought a front end from Corvette Image and installed it on my 65 project. Given that there have been no real problems with the CI products in the last four to five years, I don't see any reason to be worried. I plan to use a good quality sealer on the entire car.

Thanks,

Doc

SupremeDeluxe

I don't have any direct experience, but I have seen a couple cars (done several years ago) that had paint failures due to the inherent issue with the CI glass at the time.

I cannot say if this car (link below) has a CI front clip, but the paint failure on the front is very typical of what I saw on the cars with the known CI issue.

http://bringatrailer.com/listing/196...olet-corvette/

Presumably this has been corrected over the years, but what a massive disappointment it would be to have this happen.

emccomas

Here are a couple of photos from the link.

This is pretty much what the three cars I mentioned earlier looked like after a year or so.

ddsharp

All the other party's co. will pay is the limit of property damage. In texas the minimum is 30k for bodily injury and 30k for property. That's why you need to carry 100/300 uninsured/underinsured. Not sure about Ca.

65silververt

That is the same issue that I have seen with the Corvette Image Fiberglass. Again, I would think they would have resolved those problems by now. My father's car has an exhaust panel from Corvette Image and it was covered in small bubbles. I sanded it down to bare glass, then repainted it, but they came back, just not nearly as bad. However, I did not let the bare fiberglass have any cure time. I think the trick to fixing their fiberglass with this issue is to sand it clean with 80 grit, then let it sit in the hot sun for a month or so to let whatever is trapped in the fiberglass make its way to the surface.

65 fi

Bill, Is one of the best there is. Wish he was was closer. Regardless, I have seen the same gas bubbling issue occur. The other issue is the fit (regardless of the aftermarket manufacturer) even on the jig built front clips. I would doubt your upper hood surround is beyond repair. Why not just buy very good used or NOS parts to repair?
The fit, density, and gas bubble issues should not be a concern with original G.M.parts.

65silververt

What? The repair is over 25,000 so far? I am sure $5,000 of that is for the front clip, but what the hell, it only takes about 5-7 hours to remove a front clip. I would expect the total repair with a new front clip to be around 25K and that is with a complete new paint job.

watson

I agree with 65FI. A used original front clip would clearly be the best option. There is a very high end guy here that is a master at Corvette bodies. He always uses original parts that he gets from a place in LA. When my 67 was done, the shop had a supply of used body parts and the owner would use them on his cars. In both cases, they said that original parts were simply correct. I bought a CI front clip for my 65 project and I am generally happy with it. That said, I did spent months fitting it to my car. I also spent a lot of time fixing small areas that were OK by GM standards but not really the way that I want my car to be. Good luck with your repairs, I hope that the insurance deal works out well.

Doc