So i unfortunately ran my z into a concrete barrier so am now looking to get the chassis straightened so as to rebuild the front end and get her back on the road... who has come across this before? where did u get the work done? how much was it worth roughly? from what i can tell its pushed in about 2 inches but most of the other damage is only body work and the headlight... any advice or stories would be great. thanks in advance...
ps: I have a perfect nose cut if you want it too. I bought it years ago for $380 and never used it. I can't remember why but I ended up with two. You can have it for free. Might help you get on the road quicker. But I can only bring it as far as canberra. Let me know
Man, tuff break. That roundabout on warners bay rd is a killer. Mate had his landcruiser on two wheels around that one Where about in newcastle are you? If it is an insurance job, you will have no probs getting it straight, and it will be relatively cheap. If not, then you might have some dramas. Try the large shops like steve koulis or gerrards in broadmeadow for a quote, then work out from there.
wow in comparison other forums ive been reading that is pretty expensive... first z ive heard about though... do u know how many man hours it took? yeah ill pull the motor and all body and everything myself, its currently auto so gotta fix that too and once i have all the new body work i might respray while the motor is out lol
yeah i have sent queries to both of those joints lol not insurance either unfortunately... only got third party fire and theft so doing it all myself.. lol im down on the lake in speers point... Z hasnt been out for a while though havent had the dosh to fix it until now... good old tax time
that sounds awesome, i need a few bits and pieces.. would fit on the back of a ute yeah? might have to see what i can organise in regard to picking it up from canberra...
You will prob have to pull it down to this. So you can straighten the chassis rails. ( yes they where bent) before you reassemble it back to this. then finish it off to this Got a spare 100-200 hours or so ??
you're probably right The guys I took it too. were the only ones interested in doing cash jobs. It had been bent since purchase. I will admit I didn't even notice it. When they fixed it they said the top of the strut tower on the left hand side was 1" out. So it looks perfect now. Very happy and maybe a little expensive. But got the engine bay resprayed at the same time. Not sure on hours to be honest. They had it for about 3 months. As for the nose cut. Consider it yours. It fits in back seat of my VN so it will fit in your ute for sure. I would rather give it to you than throw it. As that is what I was thinking I would have to do. Nice to know someone may get some use out of it. It's still wrapped in plastic shrink wrap haha
haha awesome, thanks man... well i might be heading down that way in a couple of weeks so ill definately let you know. definately keen to take it off your hands!
yeah i can do most of that... the only thing i havent donw is removing the headlight and radiator housing section... is that just a cut and weld job?
Its hard to get right. I went to a lot of trouble picking all the spots apart on the nose cut so it was a close to a new assembly as possible. Put a bit of thought into how you dissasemble it and what you actually need to cut and what needs to be left and you will be fine. Suggest you get some spot weld cutters. I used up 2 of them cutting all the spots out. The nose cut went back perfectly and the chassis rails straightened to within mm's of new. All the suspension bits bolted perfectly with no stretching to reach holes etc. You would never be able to tell my car was ever decked now. It looks as new. Take your time and yours will be too.. BTW dont heat the chassis rails when you straighten them. They are tempered. Cold pull them.
Easiest way is to work out where the spot welds are and use a drill to drill them out. Do the same with the front cut to get the new panels required off. When you have straightened it you can then just weld where the holes are. Have just done this recently with my brother in laws Skyline. Looks good as new now! MattB
