Ok, so to get right to the point here- I crashed my '92 convertible corvette. Basically spun the rear into a concrete wall and hit pretty squarely in the back bumper. The back 'bumper cover' is pretty well wasted. The lights to the left and right of the plate are gone and that whole panel is now hanging. There is minor damage to the drivers side panel where it now buckles above the wheel well. The driver's side door no longer wants to open.
I need to investigate further just how bad the damage is- it actually drives pretty much the same as pre-crash, but this is bad. Especially considering that its my only car.
It does appear that the damage is pretty confined to the rear and back side panel, and that the frame and gas tank assembly isn't damaged, but I am taking it in to have all that confirmed.
I have been researching replacing these parts, and am reading that this is assmebled using a lot of adhesives, and that on the convertible, this whole area may be a single huge fiberglass shell. This is all making me want to just skip the whole thing and get a new car.
I'm looking for some opinions from folks who've been through this- just how much pain and suffering is this going to require?
Also, when describing what I need, I'd like to study up terminology, as in what is described by terms such as 'rear clip', 'bumper cover', 'rear bumper' etc? What years will share parts with a '92 convertible? Finally, to avoid huge shipping costs- does anyone know of a resource near charlotte, nc?
Thanks for any help! (and condolences)
-kevin

 

wow...sorry to hear that. I'd be crushed if that happened to my car. Good luck with the fix. Some folks will give ya some great advice here shortly.

 

Having been a Corvette sandwich on the freeway, I feel your pain Not good with terminolgy, just wanted to say good luck....

 

bad start to the weekend, good luck

 

Hope you'll be getting some help from insurance. Sounds expensive. Sorry to hear it.

 

Sorry to hear about the crash.

I guess you'll have to get the estimates then figure out if you are going to repair or just get another ride.

Sorry I can't offer any advise about the bodt work.

Good Luck
Gary

 

The rear bumper by itself wouldnt be too hard to replace, but from what I can gather it sounds like most of the rear end is heavily damaged. Thats whats gonna cost big money to fix. The only advice I can give you is to contact your insurance company and get some estimates.

 

I'm taking it that you don't have collision coverage on your insurance, right? Shame....collision is relatively inexpensive, it's liability that you get reamed on in these cars.

If no coverage, you're probably better off selling the car damaged and buying another one. Put it on eBay, and you'll get some interest. A lot of bodymen buy wrecked cars on eBay and fix them. They have the tools and the know how, and can do it without paying the labor, which is the most expensive component of body repair.

Sorry to hear you cracked it up.....we've all been there before. As long as you're not hurt, everything else is minor.

 

I feel your pain man.

 

Sorry to hear of your misfortune but glad to know that you are OK.

Good luck getting it repaired.

 

If you hit square and it seems to drive the same as it did before you might be alright... A body shop can give you a clue on fixing it, but they won't be able to give you anything solid without getting into it... Still, you won't know until they check... Maybe a couple hundred to tear down to look at, hopefully not too bad...

Good luck...

 

Sorry to hear and good luck with whatever direction you take.

 

I know that it don't mean much when you're lookin' at your messed up car but you could have been hurt & that would really su@k!

Mostly sounds like cosmetic damage....till I got to the part about the door not wanting to open....that's not good as the striker plate is attached to the upright on that side of the bird cage....so something moved during the impact. It could be something simple like the striker or the rear body panel moved into it. Look to see if the quarter moved into the door opening. If you can't find any body panels in the way to prevent the door from working then it's more than "sheet metal" related.

If you get the door open take measurements from the good door opening along the frame rail(sill) to the "B" pillar and along the top of the door to the "B"-pillar. I would guess the FSM might have key measurements for panel fit that may help determine if the "bird cage" moved....I don't know if that can be fixed in the "driveway" so to speak.

Good luck!

 

another idea is to check with the local 'vette clubs.... someone may do collision work or have a connection to someone and may do a "side job". (I have a couple of friends that do at least) if one door doesnt open you may have just a shift of the rear clip (rear 1/4 panel assy) you may also have some (diamond) to the chassis and that would require measuring on a frame rack. sorry to hear of your accident, but as said earlier you are ok..... good luck

 

Sorry to hear about the crash; glad you're ok. Charlotte? There's got to be at least one repair shop that specializes in Corvette repair. Charlotte and NC guys/gals, check in re good body shops!!

Depending on how severe, that advice about putting it up for sale the way it is may be a good idea, or not. If extensive damage, the parts won't be cheap, but he's right: the big money is still in the labor to get it on there right, prepped and painted.

But I'm hoping it's repairable for your use. Good luck and tell us how it turns out.

 

Ouch! I would part it out and purchase another car.
Good luck.

 

I'll take your ECM and rear hatch struts

 

Circling like vultures- geez... we're not dead yet!
..and anyway as its a vert, there IS no rear hatch!

To update the rest of you, here's a clip from the other forum I read:
It appears that much of the fiberglass is a single composite structure. The jammed door is the apparent result of that rear quarter panel having shifted by about 1/16" to overlap the top edge of the driver's door. The driver's door is damaged only slightly (basically just a layer of paint) where the panel slid onto it locking it in. I nearly took a dremel and sliced that overlapping area off so that I could open the door this weekend, but couldn't bring myself to do it. I was thinking I might also just winch that panel backwards 1/16" now that I've removed the wheel wells. That should also free the door. Not yet sure which fasteners I might loosen to encourage that panel to slide. I'll try to post some pics later.
thanks again.

 

wow, you just described my wreck in my '84. i was a the local track and spun into a cement wall. no major damage only cosmetic. i took a dremel and sliced of the 1/4 panel about 1" at a time. where it starts to curve fast becareful because there is support under it. a chisel will take the glue off. the rear bumper just unbolts. for the new pieces you will probally have to drill new holes for the bolts, no biggie. it is an easy project, but it is time consuming. also mine is my only car too. if you work fast and find no problems then you can do it in a weekend.

if you have any further questions or need help feel free to PM me.

here is some pic's of the work that i did.

when i wrecked it
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f1...r/100_0367.jpgi know that it doesnt look bad but the 2 panels were trashed.

with the back removed
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f1...r/100_0393.jpg

i dont have one of me cutting the 1/4 panel but here is the new one glued on
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f1...r/000_0095.jpgmake sure that panel is on right so that the back will fit.

and here is it finished, now i just need paint
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f1...r/000_0091.jpg


WEAR A MASK WHEN CUTTING!!! there is a lot of dust


good luck , btw it took me about 1/3 of the cost as the dealer was asking

 

If you live in or near Charlotte, then it might be worth taking it up to Modern Chevrolet Body shop for the fix. They are owned by Modern Automotive Network (yes a stealership), but they do excellent work. These guys know what they are doing on vette repairs, have a new and state-of-the-art facility. If you have insurance, beg them to let you take it to Modern in Winston-Salem, NC. I had a '92 Vette with driver side door damage and they fixed it like showroom new+buffed out all of the water marks, surface nicks/stratches on the whole car. That '92 was Polo green and showed every little water stain/scratch. The car looked better than new when they were done with it. They also did front bumper/facia damage work on my wife Infiniti QX4. Once again, better than new work done. On top of all of that they steam cleaned the carpets/mats and did a full interior detail at no extra charge (that I could tell on the receipt). Top shelf folks!