Nicole

It's frustrating when such things happen, but we all make mistakes. I almost crashed the 928 last Saturday when I didn't see a truck approaching in a lane that I wanted to get into... Needless to say I was quite embarrassed, particularly considering who I had in the passenger seat...

Anyway, there is a body dimensions diagram that provides all the measurements you can make in order to determine structural damage. You should be able to find this online, if you don't have it. Worst case, I can try to scan it for you.

JWise

Simon - Sorry to hear of your accident. It doesn't look too bad, hopefully as you get deeper into it, this will be the case.

For body shop referrals I'd call Tom Charlesworth, our local independent Porsche wrench. He's provided me with some good contacts for getting rims welded and straightened, and I suspect he would know some good body guys as well.

Tom's number is nine-one-eight, 66four, eight7onefour (got to fly under the bot radar). Hope this helps.

Take care,
Jarrod

Lizard928

I can tell from the pictures that it appears as though the frame is twisted in the front unfortunatly. That is what is going to make the repair a little more costly.

But I would get the fenders off and put it on a rack to see how far out it is. I would estimate .5-1.5" But I could be way off too.

Charley B

Holy Crap, Dan!!!!! I followed your purchase of that car and suffered acute bouts of jealousy.

My jealousy has now been cured.

I'm sure it will rear its ugly green head again, once you have it back on the road with the killer engine.

Dennis Wilson

When I had a problem on the ice a few years back, a body shop at about 58th and Mingo did a great job of repairing the dents and matching the paint. Another shop that does great work in Tulsa is Huber Renovation but I doubt the insurance company will foot all of their bill. Last I heard Oklahoma Foreign in OKC had some 928's they were parting so you may be able to find a fender there. Concerning the bumper and cover, I have a set from a 78 that you can have. They aren't perfect but are definitely repairable. Give me a call at 622-0017 until 2:00 pm or 272-4140 after three today if you want them.

Dennis

76FJ55

Dennis, thanks for the info on the local shops. I'll be giving you a ring later today as well.

I'll be heading out to the car shortly, so updates to come.

GlenL

Looks like frame damage to me. The bumper is a little bit too far left. A visit to a frame shop will tell. Would be an easy thing to pull.

JPTL

+2 on the frame shop for starters. You want to confirm whether or not there's any structural repair>alignment that needs to be done prior to putting a new fender on. They'll check the factory specs & go from there.
Also the headlight bar is likely bent & needs straightening. Make sure that's all good before mounting the fender.
Good luck w/this...it may not be as bad as it looks.

76FJ55

Well I now have the fender removed, and it seems to be a sad day for my 928. The front bumper cover is still attached at the left fender so it is still setting on the car, but I can see enough to say there IS chassis damage. below ore a couple pic's. So now the question is what do I do. it seems that by the time I get the chassis straightened and the necessary parts to put the front end back together, and the is a bit of damage on the drivers rear quarter between the door and rear wheel opening from the PO... so the whole car really needs paint which is were the big expense comes in. It seems like it will be easy to get upside down in this project in no time.
In the first picture you can see from the bent turn signal that the bumper took the brunt of the impact on the right end pushing it left.
In the second picture you can see that the aft edge of the cutout where the bumper recesses in the chassis is bowed to the left.
And in the last picture you can see the face of the chassis where the bumper shock bolts has sheered off the top of the lower fame tube.

So is it time to start looking for another 928?

Marine Blue

I wouldn't assume anything until you let a body shop look at it. Hot Rodders have been welding frames and modifying cars for years and there's no reason why those repairs can be made here.

Good luck and I hope you can get it back together soon!

GlenL

That is minor. It'll be fine. Yes, another $300 to $500 but soon enough only you (and us) will know.

76FJ55

Okay so lets assume it can be straightened. I'm trying to figure out if it is economically feasible to repair it or would I be better off looking for a replacement? I know the obvious parts I will need like fender, hood, bumper cover... the whole car really needs paint so what are other item I will need? window seal, side mounding?...?

GlenL

Your car is worth very little until it's fixed.

Do you have comprehensive insurance?

This can be done affordibly. Figure $200 for the fender and hood, $400 for the frame work and then the paint job you want. When you're done you own a car with a sweet paint job plus the $600. Might run more with the broken headlight but you get the idea.

The math-based decision is the cost of the new car minus the value of the wrecked car is greater than what you'll spend to restore it. Start with this: a decent 928 is $5000 and you've got $1000 sitting there. Sure, you could part it but that's your time and you'll end up with a garage full of stuff. So can you fix that damage for $4000? Easily.

dr bob

Remember that any 'new' car you find will come with its own list-o-things-it-needs. If your list for the current car is short, and one of those items is paint anyway, it's probably worth fixing the old car if the frame work can be done reasonably. Take some pictures and visit a frame shop, take the car to them for better estimate if their initial impression from the pics is good.

All of this chatter and discussion is no more than idle speculation until the bodyshop expert looks at it and gives you a number to work from.

76FJ55

Okay it looks like I'll be paying a visit to a frame shop some day soon. I'm sure it's salvageable. I'll just have to see what the cost will be.
Dr. Bob, thanks for reminding of the fact that acquiring another 928 would most likely be assuming another long list of projects.
The list on mine was getting shorter with the only significant item left being the AC which hasn't worked since I got the car. As an indication I just set the car back on the ground, Tuesday before the accident, from doing TB including new cam gears, Pkns'r, radiator refresh, thermostat, fuel lines, 55psi FPR Porken chips, X pipe, air pump delete... and within the last 6 months: motor mounts, oil pan gasket, solid rack bushings,...
So I'm starting my parts list and I'll combine that with the chassis alignment estimates and we'll see where it ends up.