'73 Westy Rear panel

[mylopolis]

Man, two steps forward, three steps back for me lately.

Today, the panel behind my sliding door got side swiped into a telephone pole (no thanks to an uncourteous Mustang driver):



First body shop quoted me $1400 bucks! I think (I'm hoping) they're insane, and I'm currently debating doing it myself.

Is this something to just pull/bondo? or is the panel replaceable?

[Amskeptic]

Man, two steps forward, three steps back for me lately.

Today, the panel behind my sliding door got side swiped into a telephone pole (no thanks to an uncourteous Mustang driver):

Insurance? Theirs?

Drives me mad with despair the dolts who distractedly destroy our precious cars and damn close to almost kill us.

Get it fixed uber-correctly. That is a complex group of stampings around the wheel house and anything less will compromise the car long after the new paint has started to blemish and the rocker rots from the inside out.
Colin

[Vdubtech]

$1400 seems rather cheap for that repair to me. I wouldn't expect estimates to be getting any lower.

[mylopolis]

Another pic from before I buffed out the abrasions.

It actually doesn't look *that* bad.



The wheel well is perfectly in tact.

Most likely not worth going to insurance for :(

[Amskeptic]

It actually doesn't look *that* bad.

The wheel well is perfectly intact.

Most likely not worth going to insurance for :(

Depends on where you're at. There are three panels in that vicinity. There is a double wall panel at the wheel arch flare spot welded along the opening. That impact has assuredly splintered the paint inside and likely breached the caulk seams further up. Once water gets between the two outer wall panels, rust here we come..
I only suggest that you hammer the responsible party for a proper repair, not based on "looks" which drives most of America these days, but actual integrity of your car which is worth more each year, not less, you want the best assurance that it will last indefinitely into the future.

I have seen plenty of repairs in my life, 90% are not up to the task.
Colin
(if you hit the phone pole and the other car got away, I will show you how to make sure and double sure that you stop all possible corrosion so that the next owner will have something to work with.
Colin

[mylopolis]

No, it was entirely my fault. I just tried to cut the corner to get out of the a-holes way and did it far too soon. I feel like an idiot :( The day after I finally get her running beautifully and I screw her up like this...

My current plan has this:
1) Pay a body shop to do the "repair" professionally.
2) By myself; seal as necessary and rattle-can for looks
3) Continue to work on body repairs as time permits
4) Pay to get her entirely professionally repainted.

I need to know what to demand in #1. The first shop I asked said they're going to "pull it and bondo it", with 9 hours of labor included to do so.

Should I be demanding cutting/replacing the lower part of the panel? ala, this:
http://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/Detai ... 11809164cx

Or can they safely "fix" it. If so, how can I tell that they did the paint and double wall panel/caulk correctly? Is that stuff you can just see look inside the wheel well?

[Amskeptic]

No, it was entirely my fault. I just tried to cut the corner to get out of the a-holes way and did it far too soon. I feel like an idiot :( The day after I finally get her running beautifully and I screw her up like this...

My current plan has this:
1) Pay a body shop to do the "repair" professionally.
2) By myself; seal as necessary and rattle-can for looks
3) Continue to work on body repairs as time permits
4) Pay to get her entirely professionally repainted.

I need to know what to demand in #1. The first shop I asked said they're going to "pull it and bondo it", with 9 hours of labor included to do so.

Should I be demanding cutting/replacing the lower part of the panel? ala, this:
http://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/Detai ... 11809164cx

Or can they safely "fix" it. If so, how can I tell that they did the paint and double wall panel/caulk correctly? Is that stuff you can just see look inside the wheel well?

That is not a bad price for the panel but there would be additional labor of course to weld it in. Your car does not look bad, but look up inside the wheel well and you will see four plastic plugs along the inside of the wheel arch. These give you access to the inside of the double-wall. After repairs, you spray your rust catalyzing primer up in here with plenty of air pressure alongside to blast it to the entire inner area. You would also remove the interior panel inside the car so you can see the wheel arch/outer panel interface, and make sure it is paint protected at the conclusion of repairs. A body shop could skip some of these steps, but you the sophisticated consumer will point out how thoroughly you need to protect your investment. !

You have a judgment call to make here as far as how deeply you want to actually repair the car. The Road Warrior had a prior crease along there when I bought the car, and it was responsible for the rust I battled all the way to the tail light. I made sure to stop the rust and did not worry about the aesthetics until 2001.
Colin

[mylopolis]

Ooh, I just found out that the best local VW Shop (Kombi Haus) also does body and paint!

I'd much rather pay an experienced (and caring) VW specialist to do it right than take her to a plastic-parts-swapping body shop.

Will take it down there this week and report back findings :)

[mylopolis]

The guys down at Kombi Haus in Sacramento are good people and know their busses!

$600 bucks to pull, fill, and prime. Not great, but not as bad as the previous 3 quotes. Plus I know they'll do it right.

I'm now in the debate of how much more I want to do in the body-repair and painting category. Most of which is a financial question. I am accepting donations :)

[mylopolis]

Debate over :)

[Amskeptic]

Debate over :)

Looks good!
Colin

[chitwnvw]

How much...sorry.

[Oregon72]

That looks really nice!!! =D>