Wrecked my Bugeye

[KSIS]

Before the officer can make a determination, they are required to report the situation to their on duty seargant. You should have requested he be present. Just had a similar situation with a driver for our company.
He tried issuing her a ticket and I asked his supervisor "give a second opinion". Not all policeman are seasoned and have experience. I saved her job.....company policy, any at fault accident =Termination....

 

[mrsprite]

Victoria British (VB) does sell fenders and they are $530 each and I also need the lower valence, which is on sale right now for $350. I would also need some new fender beading (another $30), so just in parts I'm at $910 + shipping + installation. The installation could be pricey and it would need to be painted too, so it's an easy $2000+. It would be so much easier to find a nice complete bonnet somewhere......ever for the same $2000. It would save a lot of time & aggravation.

There is a good body shop in town that I will talk to on Monday......assuming the snow stays away. They have worked on several of my cars over the years and do great work, although I'm not sure how they are with straightening old metal out. I don't want any filler or wrinkles, so a good used fender or a new one from VB is probably the route I'll fgo if I can't find a solid complete bonnet somewhere.

I'm off to take some pictures!

 

[mrsprite]

Before the officer can make a determination, they are required to report the situation to their on duty seargant. You should have requested he be present. Just had a similar situation with a driver for our company.
He tried issuing her a ticket and I asked his supervisor "give a second opinion". Not all policeman are seasoned and have experience. I saved her job.....company policy, any at fault accident =Termination....

Hmmm....I did not know that, wish I did yesterday!

 

[Gerard]

Mike,

Sorry to hear about your mishap. Seeing the pictures, the damage does not look too bad and if you can find someone who knows how to straighten and shrink metal can fix it just fine. I think you'll be fine in the end.

I had something very similar happen years ago in my Bugeye, though I only had a small dent. I'm glad you weren't hurt and that the damage wasn't worse.

 

[Gerard]

I don't want any filler or wrinkles, so a good used fender or a new one from VB is probably the route I'll fgo if I can't find a solid complete bonnet somewhere.

I'm off to take some pictures!

Mike,

Stick with straightening metal if you can. I've seen much worse brought back to new, but you will need someone who knows what they are doing. The VB fenders will not fit like an original and might be a mess in the wrong hands too. There are guys who can do it without any filler, but a skim coat of Metalglaze is usually required in most cases.

I have a good original bonnet if you want to go that route, but I really think you can get yours straightened.

 

[RickB]

Mike, sorry to hear about the mishap with the idiot driver in a roundabout.
I keep my finger on the horn button and have had to use it a couple times recently, 140 db gets their attention.
I just love it when they stop in their tracks and look at me like "Were you honking at me???".

 

[mrsprite]

Thanks Gerard......I'll bring it to my body guy (he's repaired many cars of mine over the years and does great work) to see if he can or of he knows anyone who can shrink/stretch metal. I would prefer not to get an aftermarket fender for the reasons you suggest.....ill fitting, etc. I would much rather get a nice used bonnet and go from there (assuming I can't get mine massaged straight).

Out of curiosity.....what would you want for your bonnet. It may help with the insurance issue. You can PM or e-mail me.

On another note.....I went out to take pictures this morning and was fighting 50+ MPH winds. Not pleasant! I could not find my skid mark anywhere.....too much traffic, I guess, and the mark wasn't all that dark to begin with. I have a sick feeling I'm going to be left hanging on this one. I should have access to the police report tomorrow.....can't wait to see how that reads.

 

[mrsprite]

Mike, sorry to hear about the mishap with the idiot driver in a roundabout.
I keep my finger on the horn button and have had to use it a couple times recently, 140 db gets their attention.
I just love it when they stop in their tracks and look at me like "Were you honking at me???".

I have been thinking of upgrading the horn for sometime now, but it just hasn't happened yet. It is definitely going to be in the works after I get everything repaired.

 

[Gerard]

Mike, sorry to hear about the mishap with the idiot driver in a roundabout.
I keep my finger on the horn button and have had to use it a couple times recently, 140 db gets their attention.
I just love it when they stop in their tracks and look at me like "Were you honking at me???".

I have been thinking of upgrading the horn for sometime now, but it just hasn't happened yet. It is definitely going to be in the works after I get everything repaired.

I have twin air horn on all my vintage cars.

 

[rkep01]

I have been thinking of upgrading the horn for sometime now, but it just hasn't happened yet. It is definitely going to be in the works after I get everything repaired.

Check this out. There was a thread at the end of last month in this forum. Loud horn

 

[mrsprite]

Check this out. There was a thread at the end of last month in this forum. Loud horn

I missed that thread, but ironically I saw this same horn a few days ago in the new Moss catalog and thought to myself that I need one of these.

 

[RickB]

Check this out. There was a thread at the end of last month in this forum. Loud horn

I missed that thread, but ironically I saw this same horn a few days ago in the new Moss catalog and thought to myself that I need one of these.

That's my horn.
I first heard it on Bill L (Pythias) car then I ordered one.
It is loud.

 

[nomad]

I agree with Gerard, trying to remove those parts and replace them would not be as good as a good body man straightening what you have. Even if you could get as good as original, the job of removing and spot welding in new would be a bear.

Kurt.

 

[DWeeB]

I third that! The quality of the replace steel is garbage. A good body person can have that straight in a jiffy and probably for less than the costs to remove and replace.

 

[bgbassplyr]

Not an attempt to hijack, but I carry one of those cheap, one time use cameras in all of my cars for just such an event. It saved me once and others on occasion when I happened upon the scene.

 

[HealeyRick]

Some of the best places to check for guys that can still do old school metal work are the hot rod shops. Replacement panels generally require a lot of fettling to actually look good and you may be better off having your original panels straightened as opposed to fitting a new replacement. Here's a guy in Denver that looks like he knows his stuff: https://www.themetalsurgeon.com/services-provided/

 

[61frogeye]

Mike,
I cringed when I read your post. It's a shame, but it seems the average driver nowadays is a twit and they are never at fault. I'm glad you did not get hurt.
Dave

 

[mrsprite]

bgbassplyr.....you're not hijacking at all. It is a valid point and I normally do have my camera, but since I haven't been driving the Bugeye much lately it's been in my daily driver. My phone has a camera, but I have the lowest tech phone out there and the camera just plain sucks (I think it's 1.2MP...no zoom). Do they even sell disposable phones anymore?? I really don't know.


HealeyRick......thanks for the link. I'll check them out and see what they can do for me.


61frogeye.....thanks. After reflecting on it for a day I too am glad it wasn't worse and that I am OK. That doesn't make me feel much better though.....it sickens me that my Bugeye is damaged but my crappy 280K mile CRX that I drive 1100 miles a week is straight as an arrow.

everyone else.....thanks too. I won't be putting any replacement panels on my car. I will either get the fender & valence straightened out or I will buy a complete bonnet. I'm also ordering one of those 140dB horns!

 

[mrsprite]

Well......I got encouraging news today. The police report all but flat out says she was at fault! The officer states he agrees with my version of the incident and even drew a diagram showing exactly what I said happened. Her car is even listed as the "suspect vehicle" while mine is the "victim vehicle".

I called her insurance company and started the claims process and they seemed pretty receptive to my account of the accident......he basically said it sounded pretty cut & dry. Of course, anything can happen yet......until the check is in my hand I'm not going to be 100% comfortable, but I'm feeling pretty good about things right now.

I also went to see my favorite body shop and talked with him (he's worked on many of my cars over the years and does exceptional work). He is confident he can straighten things out. So as soon as I get things settled it'll go under the knife and get fixed. The estimate came in just under $1500.

 

[JPSmit]

Well......I got encouraging news today. The police report all but flat out says she was at fault! The officer states he agrees with my version of the incident and even drew a diagram showing exactly what I said happened. Her car is even listed as the "suspect vehicle" while mine is the "victim vehicle".

I called her insurance company and started the claims process and they seemed pretty receptive to my account of the accident......he basically said it sounded pretty cut & dry. Of course, anything can happen yet......until the check is in my hand I'm not going to be 100% comfortable, but I'm feeling pretty good about things right now.

I also went to see my favorite body shop and talked with him (he's worked on many of my cars over the years and does exceptional work). He is confident he can straighten things out. So as soon as I get things settled it'll go under the knife and get fixed. The estimate came in just under $1500.

good news! though I have to say that sounds low for an estimate since it seems like a scratch is a grand anymore. That said, if it's your favourite place and your favourite guy, sounds like you're good to go.