Stingray noob

So I had been meaning to update an older thread that I had started 2 months ago but had not had the car looked at by a c2 mechanic to find out all the ins and outs of the car. Short story is that my wife inherited a 65 stingray from her father. I Brought it to a general mechanic to drain gas tank, check fluids, breaks etc and everything looked great. Between work and it raining every day in NJ my wife and I only took it out a few times. Yesterday I took my stepfather for a ride but the car never made it back safely with my stepfather headed to the ER (he's ok, just a bad headache. Some impatient kid decided to turn left at a light and we collided head on. Waiting for the insurance company to check out the car. Any thoughts on if it's fixable or if they would total it? It's more of a driver and not sure if everything is original. My father in law bought it in 81 and completely rebuilt the motor (327) and added a few upgrades. My wife is devistated to say the least. It was a huge part of her and her father's life.

wmf62

pictures?

ANYTHING can be rebuilt
Bill

Stingray noob

emdoller

dplotkin

Yes its fixable, though we cannot see the drivers side wheel and suspension damage to know the full extent. I don't see it totaled but if it is, buy it back and get it fixed. Play your cards right and the car will be better than it was. I have a good friend who used Hagerty to essentially restore a driver Cadillac after it had been rear ended. He is a master self-adjuster...as it were. You might even want to hire a public adjuster to represent you if you are not comfortable or experienced muscling an insurance carrier.

Dan

webfiero

jrm5657

Certainly repairable,about $10k in parts needed, front clip,headlight buckets, core support, radiator,bumpers and brackets, maybe a hood. Can't tell from pics if the frame is bent or not, but it doesn't look too bad. Driver door opens, so that is a good sign. I would guess a reputable shop that knows midyear Corvettes will estimate it around $25k for repair and painted blended into the doors.

dkleather

Lotsacubes

Our car after a deer strike didn’t look as severe but the repair was about the same. A whole new Sermershiem jig assembled front end. Absolutely repairable and the 20-25k is in the ballpark depending who does the work. Won’t the car get a salvage title if totaled in your state? If so I’d never let it be totaled. Sorry not at my work computer or would send pics of my whole front end removed. Sorry and glad no one hurt.

I knew I wanted a new press molded front end and asked Sermershiem (now Lee Bumb) for names of shops near me who they sold lots of front ends to. Working out well. Yes fixable. Not much worse than mine. Best wishes. And keep that heirloom.

Frankie the Fink

Take heart...

Show your wife this magazine article....and this picture of the car today...her beloved car can actually be made better than it was...

Don't get talked into substandard parts or one piece front ends, insist on original or press molded panels.... Use a Corvette shop with a solid reputation....

Lawyer up.... that car was more than a car it was a piece of family history - a good lawyer (depending on STATE LAWS) can go after "diminished value", impact on your "enjoyment of life" and a whole lot of other things... Again this depends on state laws and the insurance coverage.

Get informed!

2tired

Unless you have collector car coverage to fall back on, expect some headaches dealing with his company. First off, you DO NOT want it going to a collision shop for someone to learn fiberglass repair on. By law, you do not have to use any shop strongly suggested by his company. It is your choice alone, where you have it repaired.
I have a restoration shop and do collector car insurance repairs on occasion, so contact me if you have questions about the process. Good luck!

Viet Nam Vett

Spun out on an exit ramp on the Atlantic city Expressway. Road was wet and a Septic tank truck had been




leaking sewage from the coiled up hose on the rear. Came around the corner on the exit ramp at 25 MPH..Foot off the gas and the Vette just spun and rolled across the guard rail and then did 4 donuts and came to a stop on the shoulder.

Police showed up after I called and his car spun out and almost hit me. The exit road was covered with sewage. My Corvette Body guy installed a Brand new GM Authorized "Shimershine" front clip.Factory exact.

No worries....sorry to hear about your crash. She will live again as mine does.

Stingray noob

Thanks everyone for the encouragement! The insurance company is Hagerty and I have heard good things. These are the only 2 pics I have as of now. It was towed to a body shop (of course he said they want to work on it) but Hagerty is going to send me a list of approved shops that they deal with. The body shop guy did show me that where the passenger door closes there is ZERO space and the driver side door has about a 3/4 inch gap. I would have thought that it would have been the other way around. He said the frame is likely twisted a little. The paint job is original and out of a 1-10 is probably a 5. Looks good in pictures but not so good in person. It would look really strange if the front have of the car looks perfect and the back like a 53 year old car lol. If they fix everything do you think they would paint everything?

2tired

Hagerty has never disappointed me when I've done work for them. They look out for the customer's best interest by paying to have things fixed right. That's all you can ask for.

Viet Nam Vett

In my case their was red lacquer paint to deal with.... My Corvette Body guy told the insurance company that he will not paint the New Front Clip with Base Coat Clear coat and that a part of the doors would have to be blended in . He said ..the complete car must be painted with B C C C. He would not do the job as mixing Lacquer with the B C C C is a No No.

Hence a Complete paint removal down to Fiberglass and then start all over doing right. The insurance company didn't bat an eye. After all damaged metal was replaced the car was repainted as you see it in the first pic. Total Cost..??? 38K. it took 13 months as my guy is a perfectionist. Didn't cost me a $.01.

Not sure about Hagerty as they are an agent who rep's many insurance companies. They are a Good outfit and I know of Corvettes that were handled by them with no problem. I use "Grundy World Wide" as they are the insurance company backed by 5 underwriters in their group.

Make sure you get good parts and the job is done by a Midyear Repair shop. God luck.

Tonio

Damn, so sorry to see this. I hope everyone is ok.

ptjsk

Sorry, that sucks! Probably a good thing you have Hagerty (or your Step Father does), as I've always heard good things about them too.

Main thing is to find a shop that knows what they're doing.

Pat

Lotsacubes

I paid the difference to take from the firewall back down to glass and prime/paint it all. Worth it if Hagerty doesn’t cover it. Sounds like the car will be in the family a long time. Do it right so there’s no regrets. Best wishes

Frankie the Fink

In the pictures I posted above the insurance covered a respray and blend of the front of the car up to the undamaged doors....I kicked in the add'l amount to spray the whole car.....to avoid exactly the situation you describe..

Jriver