Dead?

[laurenscar]

Oh dear... Only a month in and a slippery road and wall have reinforced all the worst stereotypes of young drivers...

Laurenscar is very poorly (as was the wall she hit... )

She hit a lamppost too, so there's a dent in the OSR 3/4 panel, but the biggest worry is the front crossmember in front of the radiator.

Does anyone think there's any chance this can be repaired or shall we just scrap the poor thing?

http://img542.imageshack.us/slideshow/webplayer.php?id=imag0168o.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks in advance for any thoughts...

M.

 

[bettie boo]

im not sure if you could change the crossmember :? but you would have to check the chassis isn't twisted or bent would be the biggest problem! im sure some one with abit more knowledge will be along soon!! :grin:

 

[JonB]

Hope Lauren is OK.
That would be the bumper reinforcer that needs replacing, probably not a good idea to try and pull it out again as its only really designed to do that once, a cut and weld job for the body shop I would think. As suggested ^^^ the car should be jigged to check all is still in line too. Time to get some prices and then decide.

 

[laurenscar]

Thanks - Yeah she was ok, a bit shaken up, but not hurt.

Time to do some investigating...

M.

 

[yippeekiay]

Before I bought mine it had been driven staight on into a lampost - smack bang in the middle which left it with a lovely V shaped front. The photo of the damage on mine makes yours look like a small scratch....lol, so yes, it can be fixed as Jon says. k:

Obviously cost depends on if you can do it yourself or have a friend who can help. How much a garage would charge is anyone's guess. Either way, hope you get it sorted

 

[ScubaSteve]

It's repairable probably cost more then the cars worth though the rear quarter replacements require a lot of work cutting and welding. If you go through insurance im fairly confident that will be a write off

 

[laurenscar]

Yeah, we've already discounted the insurance option

Am I right in thinking this is the same as the Fiesta unit seen here?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MAZDA-PART-NEW-121-FORD-Fiesta-Puma-Front-Cross-Member-/180707578187" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Not too worried about the rear panel as that's just cosmetic.

M.

 

[evilrob]

Any news on this story?

 

[ElDude at Allison Automotive]

front crossmember a piece of cake for any repair person...

rear quarter a bit more time consumng tho....depends how much you love the car

Think of the value of the car when it was new and then see if your interested in restoring it or not... that how i look at my Fiesta Ghia.. :lol: Book value it's worth nothing now, but to me it's still a 10grand car.. :wink:

Chris

 

[red]

Except I wouldn't pump 9K into a 1k car :grin:

 

[laurenscar]

The car's still in bits on the drive, but we've found a welder now, so we can get the reinforcer replaced.

Can anyone confirm (or otherwise) that the part is common to Mk4 Fiestas and Pumas?

For instance, would this fit?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FORD-FIESTA-MK4-96-99-FRONT-BUMPER-REINFORCER-/140561580613" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks.

M

 

[laurenscar]

Quick update.

We've got the front bar sorted out and I removed the damaged radiator at the weekend.

I plan to fit the new radiator this weekend, weather permitting and then see if the car drives ok.

If so, we'll replace the broken headlight and get a new bonnet and it should be back on the road, albeit a little less tidy than it looked pre-crash!

M.

 

[laurenscar]

New radiator in and water tight, bumper's more or less back on (except I can't work out how to refit nuts to the big bolts once it's on!) and replacement headlight sourced.

I need to replace the OS rear lamp cluster too, but I have one of those ready to go.

It's been driven (only around the drive, so not really a 'test drive' ) under it's own steam now too - A moment we never thought we'd see originally.

Only spent about £200 so far and all it needs is a replacement bonnet, so pretty happy.

M.

 

[laurenscar]

Been for a quick 5 minutes around the block today.

A bit of noise from the front end, might be the bumper as it's not 100% reattached yet. Could be the bonnet too as we're waiting on an undamaged replacement (air can get under the old one!).

Mostly it seems pretty sound, except that the radio needs the code resetting, the fuel gauge appears stuck on 1/2 full and the rear lights stay on all the time, regardless of the setting of the light switch.

Still, we're almost there!

M.

 

[BenF]

it sounds like you are going to be lucky!

 

[audio84]

Best of luck with this!