Damage repair

[jtucker]

Ok, here goes. I have a 1994 X and got into a fender
bender while offroad. Its a long story that I dont
want to get into.

Anyways, I damaged a few things, mostly body, no
major engine damage except the radiator which I
replaced 2 days after the accident. The truck is running
great, I just need to fix the body damage at this point.

I should take a picture but my camera has dissapeared
on me.

Bascially the front body mount that the radiator and
other things attach to is realy bent up and needs to
be replaced. As does the bumper, hood, and grill with
all the supports for the light included.

I was going to take my week 1/2 vacation and at least
get the hard core stuff done and out of the way.

Is there any suggestions or things I should keep
in mind while doing this?

Is there any resource that could help me take apart
and reassemble the front end of my truck?

I am not sure about painting the hood, which is the
only piece that will need to be painted all that well,
I have painted bumpers before, and will just use primer,
black spray paint, and some clearcoat. What would
you suggest when getting the hood painted? Take it
to an autobody shop? That would cost about $400 to
get that sucker painted there at least not to mention
the price of the hood

Anyways, wanted to get some advice before I thought
about starting this project. Any info is better than no
info

Thanks all,

~tucker

 

[88vert]

Go to a junkyard you might get lucky with the hood it might be the same color

 

[jtucker]

Already checked two junk yards and so far, no
luck in finding a hood at all or a bumper or
grill for that matter.

~tucker

 

[88vert]

Im sorry I forgot to look where you are at

 

[jtucker]

Lol, its cool, my fault for hitting the suburban Well,
his fault too, but oh well.

Worse comes to worse, all the parts new are $1500
total, and i have a few more junk yards to look in

Thanks,

~tucker

 

[88vert]

That sucks I wish you luck

 

[MONMIX]

Sounds like a pretty bad klink-up. The thing that hold your radiator is called a core support. Not a real easy replacement. Odds are if your lower section of the core support is bent as you say it is , you could have damage to the appron as well ( the inner fender )
Good news is that is the only hard part , every thing else is easy.
Option 1) Dissasemble every thing your self and have your local body shop put in the core supp.
Option 2 ) give it a shot your self , but you'll need a mig welder and some air tools. I can try to talk you through it.

 

[jtucker]

mig welder and air tools

Yeah, the core support is shot All the damage
to the front of the truck is pretty much above the
bottom of the radiator, the farthest the damage
goes is to that little metal strip right below where
the grill is suppose to be.

The suburban was lifted, and we were in sand, so
the majority of the damage was to the top part of
the front body. 1 more inche in, and it would have
rammed the battery into the air conditioner

hmm....I have an idea I have a pic and I will hightlight
the area where it hit.

Red is the area of greatest hit, and goes in about 8
inches or so. The blue area is just damage to the
bumper.

If you could tell me how to do what I need to do, I
can possibly get the tools, I think....lol

Thanks!

 

[88vert]

Thats not that bad,got any more pics maybe with the hood open

 

[jtucker]

Yeah, its not too bad, it was not too fast of a collision,
but enough to do about $3,500 (including
paint and labor) worth of damage

I need to get some pics of what the stuff really looks
like. We had to pull the front out a little using an
un-orthedox method (chain and 94 Ranger) so that
I could get the new radiaotor in.

Anyways, i need to run, I will try and get pics up
of the actual damage, thinking about abducting the
digital camera from work for a night or so.

Thanks all,

 

[jimbo74]

i got a whole front apron from junkyard for 250.... new fender for 45...new hood for 90.... and everything put together for 1100..... no paint.....

 

[MONMIX]

That doens't look too terrible at all. Hood looks reapiarable. Pop the grille and bumper off and snap another photo. A bit closer.

 

[jtucker]

Thats not a damage photo.....thats a normal photo
of the truck with lines drawn on it to represent where
the damage is.... lol

 

[MONMIX]

Oh , duh. I am a retard.