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It was unexpectedly windy as started home from a rehearsal. Broken pine limbs were blowing around on the road. A moon-less night, a stretch of road far from civilization. Very dark. I was going slow. A car from the other direction was stopped on the side, so I dimmed my lights and slowed even more, thinking he might have stopped for something in the road. Indeed he had, but had backed up so it came upon me sooner than expected: a big dead tree stretching all the way across the road. I skidded over the busted bark and twigs, and hit it at about 5 mph, on the left side.
Kinda wish that driver had 1) not backed up, and 2) put his flashers on, and 3) turned off his headlights.
The chin spoiler was loose at that end, so I cut it off the other side, causing remarkably little further damage, it turns out. It was already smashed and repaired in several places; I can probably fix it again.
Other damage:
The bumper cover is cracked down low, and certainly needs repainting if not replacement.
A fairing is broken, which extends upwards and forms the part holds the ends of the variable vanes.
Another view of where there should be something to hold the vanes.
Another crack in the bumper cover.
The front, lower fender liner - another part that I'd fixed previously with some crude plastic welding.
The left-side skid plate saved the alternator from taking the major hit, and maybe the block. This is the only significant metal that needs repair.
A branch managed to go through the bumper opening, through the vanes, and hit the condenser. It doesn't seem like it busted a tube, but I haven't checked.
Hagerty sent out an adjuster, and I already have a check for about $6500. I have no details about how the repairs were priced out, though I think I can get them. I have not looked into the availability of parts. It seems I have a fair range of options. Suggestions?
A couple of tubes of Araldite and you should be good to go!
A good excuse to dump the inlet vanes and the crapware that goes with them- improves air flow to the radiator if you need a bit of extra cooling in summer.
Carl's bash plates are worth their weight in gold at times like this. If they had not been fitted as you rightly say the alternator and de-facto the block might have been goosed.
Anyone object if I put a come-along between the right-side tow-hook area and the tip of the splayed-out left bash plate? I don't think much precision is required. If it goes poorly, I'll take it to a shop nearby, who will be painting the bumper cover, the "PU" as Stan calls it.
Sorry, I didn't explain very well. I'd be pulling on the extended tip of the bash plate from the mounting holes on the right, so there would be leverage. Yup, work hardening will fight a return to the original geometry, so the question is how close I'd get. And, of course, how much ductility remains.
This is the undamaged side (forward is to the right), showing what the bash plate is bolted to. The brace part (aka skid plate, or two hook) could be easily removed and pounded back into shape, with heat. Or replaced. The frame rail "tabs" would have to be pounded back in situ.
Yup, work hardening will fight a return to the original geometry, so the question is how close I'd get. And, of course, how much ductility remains.
Ummmm...
Yeah. That's what I meant.
I knew you knew your stuff, metallurgically speaking, and kinda figured I was pointing out the obvious to you, but I've learned (the hard way - go figure) that having the obvious pointed out to me can often save me a huge headache.
You seem to have thought it through.
You might give Carl a call and see if he's willing to trade the bent skidplate for a new one.
That one would make a hell of a good ad.
The tow hook itself is part of the LCA mount (shows as 928 341 064 02 for my 85). It can be replaced fairly easily if you can't bend it back.
Best of all, 928 International's Half Price sale is 14 days away.
You may be able to get a lot of the parts for this at a really good price.
Remove those parts you want to re-form. Add heat to facilitate the bending process. There's likely a retired metallurgist in your neighborhood who can recommend the correct temperature. Then repaint and reinstall.
Getting replacement bits from 928 International is an easy and safe fix. In recent years Mark has offered sale prices between Thanksgiving and Christmas on used parts, so your timing is pretty good.
Be glad you weren't driving the Sprite. The nose is a lot more fragile. Plus you would have been really cold, navigating with those flickery candles that are early Lucas headlights.
I knew you knew your stuff, metallurgically speaking, and kinda figured I was pointing out the obvious to you, but I've learned (the hard way - go figure) that having the obvious pointed out to me can often save me a huge headache.
You seem to have thought it through.
You might give Carl a call and see if he's willing to trade the bent skidplate for a new one.
That one would make a hell of a good ad.
The tow hook itself is part of the LCA mount (shows as 928 341 064 02 for my 85). It can be replaced fairly easily if you can't bend it back.
Best of all, 928 International's Half Price sale is 14 days away.
You may be able to get a lot of the parts for this at a really good price.
I'm an expert at bending coat hanger wire into useful shapes, but not much else of a practical nature. If a jet engine design guy was asking me what to do, I'd ask him about the specifications for the steel and how it was processed, and he'd know. But we'd both need someone experienced with a torch and a big hammer, which is what I need here - thanks, everyone.
Carl's plate is undamaged! In fact, I wonder if it is too strong. Maybe it needs a mechanical fuse. I put them in because my ride height is low and because of the scary alternator/block vulnerability. I mentioned this to the Hagerty person, hoping to get points for prudence and caution. I shouldn't need any points: this is my first accident claim in 47 years of driving. Almost made it to Medicare day (today!).
Half-price sale! Don't tell Hagerty.
Everything is fragile in the 1400-lb Sprite, especially the driver, and the brakes ... oh, deer. I've only driven it once after dark. I was overcome with nostalgia when I hit the floor-mounted hi-lo switch.
First thing you need to do is drop the frame that supports the lower A arm- should be easy to get another one from Mark or maybe straighten the original. If the bash plate is Ok that only leaves the bracket attached to the engine beam that obviously is bent out of shape.
As Dr Bob says heat is your friend but that thing is made of mild steel and probably ductile enough to take some cold bending depending on how out of shape it actually is. Given it is a somewhat slender thing you might be able to pull it back into nearly the correct position using a decent size stilson wrench and then use the replacement/repaired frame and some [longer?] bolts to jack it into shape as it were.
Suggest you post a pic of the deformed bracket after the frame is removed.
Progress report: Five busted up plastic parts are out, all to be replaced. The bumper cover had so many layers of paint, my body shop punted on it after consulting with their media blasting guy (yes, walnut shells and other media were discussed). Around $2400 worth plus painting.
I've whacked on the skidplate mounting tab a little; I think I'll be able to persuade it into position to hold a replacement skidplate. I'll be replacing the AC compressor and drier while they're nicely exposed. The condenser got dinged by the tree, but the system was still under pressure when I loosened a fitting (accidentally, of course).
11-16-2016, 02:18 PM
Hit a tree! Minor (?) damage.
