Landseer

Our most trusted and fun driver is the red Stan Shaw 84.
It apparently has an early Euro front end grafted onto it, sheet metal, headlights & adjusters, etc.
Carfax suggested it got collected in a New Hampshire intersection. Who cares.

4 of mine have sustained some body damage.

The 5 is unhit, except it looks like somebody T-eed a Titlest into the middle of the passenger fender. Helluva dent.

Put yours backtogther and enjoy it! Like my dad says, own it, don't let it own you.

BC

The situation was that was going to put all
Of the "nice" stuff on this car. All the powdercoated and rebuilt stuff from the 78 would go into this car, including body parts.

BC

But if this car is "bent" then I may change that plan "again".

BC

Btw- the pictures are showing a larger kink on the passenger side and a lesser on on the drivers.

Abby Normal

tveltman

When I first saw that, I thought jack slippage damage. If there is no other sign of body wracking or distortion, I would chalk it up to that, put all your pretty go-faster parts on it, and call it a day. Besides, in a year if you see one you like better, you can always swap them over...

BC

Thanks for everyone's comments and suggestions.

I was hoping that I could ask a favor. The passenger side rear wheel opening should be (within a variance) a certain width. Say, from a certain distance above the rough-protective rubber area at the bottom - Measure across the wheel well opening. If I could get that number from someone, I could then compare it to my own car and see if the rear end is actually squished - even though you cannot really tell anything by looking at the car.

I have a 78 that is unbent. But I changed that wheel well opening quite bit in body-work before I painted it.

Can anyone help? Thanks.

JHowell37

Do you have the service manuals? In one of them, there is a chart that shows the body dimensions for repair purposes.

BC

Thanks. I do have the service manuals. I will attempt to find this.

Jerry Feather

Post a picture of the rear of the car from the rear looking downward and foreward along each side, and then a couple more slightly out from the side so the wheel arch can be seen. Then take a long straightedge and place it across the wheel arch about 3 or 4 inshes down from the apex/top and take a picture of that onb each side from above.

Without the S4 and later rocker panel covers and rear bumper cover to give defining points, it will be difficult to find a certain point that a measurement can be taken to compare with yours.

Jerry Feather

BC

My pages do not look like that. Its as if they were folded together and the car is missing in the middle.

9x8

Damage is localized to the very rear of the car (aft of rear suspension mounts), so I'd most likely just leave it be if there are no signs of other problems - and if the car aligns and handles properly.

BC

Well, it does seem like that visually. But I am having a "putting the pieces" together moment and remembering that:

1) When you jack the car in my garage, and put it evenly on jack stands, one door opens fine, the other sticks. This could be just my garage floor, or..

2) On level ground, the driver's door seems like the lock is mis-aligned just a mm or so....

3) The hatch does not like staying closed.

All of these could be unrelated and I am being like "Jerry Feather" and always thinking the worst. Or...

Jerry Feather

BC, you asked the question that started this thread, and now you seem to know more about the answer than the question suggested. You also seem to resent the reality of your situation even though you are now inquiring into how to verify that what I suggest is actually your reality.

If you are just interested in hearing what you want to hear, that is fine. If you want to know the answer to the question then I suggest you follow the suggestions given and we can try to get to the real answer about how your car is bent.

Your car is about one inch lower at the right rear corner than it should be and about a half inch at the left side. When you take the pictures that you seem so reluctant to take and show then I will show you what I am talking about; or not. Or you can show that the rest of your car is somehow miraculously "straight."

Jerry Feather

UncleMaz

My image came from the freebie download UK site. I guess you get what you pay for. Post deleted.