tr7triumph.com

On Friday I was sideswiped in the TR7. It is currently in the shop getting estimated. I got hit by a young kid who was in a left turn lane, who suddenly decided he wanted to turn right instead. He shot back into my lane without looking, and kept going even after he made contact. He left the scene for a while, before deciding he better come back. Luckily there were a lot of witnesses and insurance is putting it 100% on him.



The damage goes from the front bumper, which is pushed a couple inches to the right; the left front wing, a bit of the front apron panel around the headlight, the left door skin and left rear wing. In person, it looks worse than these pictures show.



The bumper and front end got pushed far enough to the right that the right front wing buckled slightly behind the wheel opening. That wing can probably be saved, but the car will need to go on a frame rack to be straightened. Given the low value of these and the high cost of repair, it doesn't take much for insurance to write it off as a total loss. I hope not, but won't know for a couple days.

I just want to puke thinking about it.


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1980 Pageant Blue DHC with removable hardtop.

That really sucks! I hate to say it, but you might want to consider talking to an attorney. Years ago I was hit head on in my little Honda CRX. I was completely taken advantage of by the other guys Insurance and swore I would never let it happen again. Unfortunately these days you can't even count on your own insurance agent to advise you on this. I'm just saying make sure you get what you want out of this deal and don't let them push you around. Did you say your neck was a little sore too? ; )

Good luck and please keep us updated!

1980 TR7 <font color="red">Spider!</font id="red">
http://web.me.com/rg_spb/TR7_Spider/Home.html

Looks pretty bad. Even if it's straightened will it be the same. Here. with collectors plates, you can set your own car value at $5 per thousand with appraiser only needed in the $20,000 - $30,000 and up range.



- - - - TR7 Spider - - - - - - - - 1978 Spitfire - - - - - - 1976 Spitfire - - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra - - Yellow TCT

I don't know how it works over there in the USA, but here in (Quebec) Canada you can usually fight with your insurance company when the repairs (like this) are close to the value of the car, and then get what's called a "contact price" where they give you the maximum repair value they can go to considering the cars value (usually 75%) and then let you arrange to have the car repaired with any additional cost out of your pocket.

This is also the reason I had my car professionally estimated at a slightly higher value than what the car is really worth.....even though my insurance premium is now higher than what it should be, I feel it still gives me some wiggle room, should something bad-luck like your fender bender happens....

Btw from the pics this looks like a very straight forward repair, , any good bodyshop with uni-body frame bench should be able to repair the car very easily. I see maybe 6 hours on the frt wing, about4-5 hours on the rear quarter and maybe a solid day (at most) on the frame machine to set up the car and bring it back into spec. The hardest part will be the paint blending on the right side (that we can't see in your photos) the left won't pose to much trouble as they will simply paint the whole side.

Good luck dude, now's when you'll find out how good your insurance company is...............



Ron.

...Uggh [:(!] Chief drawback of having a rare, inexpensive car...

Best of luck. I'd almost switch you drivelines/bodies.

My collector car insurance it is based on declared value, which I put at $6000 at the time I insured it. I wish I had declared more; the insurance rate is so low that I could have declared double that and still been happy with the premium.

The big thing about it to me is that it was an undisturbed car in great original condition. It won't be that now, no matter how nice a job they do on it. On the up side, if all works out, it won't cost much to have the rest of the body resprayed while they do the repair work. The paint could have used refreshing anyway.

But there is this listing on eBay that looks very familiar:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1980-Tri ... 500wt_1101

Maybe I should just take a settlement and move on.



[/img]
1980 Pageant Blue DHC with removable hardtop.

Very nasty damage indeed [B)]

It should be repairable without new panels and not too much filler.
But you’ll need a good panel beater and it will be a fair bit of work.

Just make sure you don’t end up with a repair like this ...



<center>
<font color="blue"><i>1980 TR7 DHC (my first car, now restored and back on the road)
1981 TR7 FHC Sprint (better known as 't Kreng)</font id="blue">
<b>[url="http://www.tr7beans.blogspot.com/"]<u><b><font size="2"><font color="red">My Weblog</font id="red"></font id="size2"></b></u>[/url]</b></i></center>

Beans:
It will take a new front and rear wing on the left side. No sense messing around with big wads of Bondo. I've done enough of that myself to know when sheetmetal is not worth saving. It would take a 55 gallon drum of the stuff!

Most everything else can probably be saved, although a door skin can be had for only about $150, so it might just be better to change that out too.

The shop its at does some classic restoration work, so they aren't just the usual bump shop. I'll trust their judgement and keep out of it until the insurance company gives their blessing for repairs. Then I plan to be in their hair every day until I'm satisfied.



[/img]
1980 Pageant Blue DHC with removable hardtop.

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Century Gothic, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by whitenviro</i>


The big thing about it to me is that it was an undisturbed car in great original condition. It won't be that now, no matter how nice a job they do on it. On the up side, if all works out, it won't cost much to have the rest of the body resprayed while they do the repair work. The paint could have used refreshing anyway.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">


<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Century Gothic, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by whitenviro</i>


It will take a new front and rear wing on the left side. No sense messing around with big wads of Bondo. I've done enough of that myself to know when sheetmetal is not worth saving. It would take a 55 gallon drum of the stuff!

Most everything else can probably be saved, although a door skin can be had for only about $150, so it might just be better to change that out too.

The shop its at does some classic restoration work, so they aren't just the usual bump shop. I'll trust their judgement and keep out of it until the insurance company gives their blessing for repairs. Then I plan to be in their hair every day until I'm satisfied.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">



dude ....imho you are completely underestimating what a good metal man can do with his two hands. In many parts of our world it would be a crying shame to scrap a solid fender like that!!!
Yes the hardest part would be reshaping the corner edge, but even then these cars don't have perfect bodywork even from the get go (my dhc has never been wacked, and I can tell you the sheetmetal is far from straight)

-it would be a waste to see your car written off for such a small impact......


Any other pics of the damages??



-BTW, A friend of mine bought a wrecked TR8 a couple of years back, the car was 3 times heavier hit than yours, and I've seen the car since being fixed and most would never spot the repaired areas ......

-before;
[img][img]http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w48/ACN1081/Aqua%20TR8/P1010458.jpg[/img][/img]
-after;



I still kick myself for not finding the money to buy the car at the time....it was one of those deals you hate to have let slide by.....


Ron.

Things are looking up for repairs. The insurance company didn't know how to value the car or estimate repairs, so it took longer than expected. Eventually, they just decided to wash their hands of it; wrote me a check for the full declared value, <u>without</u> claiming the car or issuing a salvage title. I can get it repaired any way that works out.

I think I'll have the body shop straighten it on the frame rack and replace the left front wing. It needs some work on the front headlight panel, but not sure if it is easier to remove and replace it, or fix the current one. They are also talking about an arch repair panel for the left rear wing. After the main work is done I will get it back, strip it down and do the prep on the rest of the body for an overall paint job. When it's ready, I'll take it back to them for the final spray, then reassemble it myself. It may take a while, but it will be back on the road again and hopefully it can all get done within the insurance amount. I've got all winter to play with it anyway!




[/img]
1980 Pageant Blue DHC with removable hardtop.

I wouldn't replace the rear wing as that damage can be pulled out pretty easily.
This one was much worse ...



<center>
<font color="blue"><i>1980 TR7 DHC (my first car, now restored and back on the road)
1981 TR7 FHC Sprint (better known as 't Kreng)</font id="blue">
<b>[url="http://www.tr7beans.blogspot.com/"]<u><b><font size="2"><font color="red">My Weblog</font id="red"></font id="size2"></b></u>[/url]</b></i></center>

Had to put my oar in here.

When our son was born in 2003 we had an accident bringing him home from the hospital. Basically, we were rear ended hard by another driver. My wife was seriously injured.

Our insurance cover turned out to be the same agent as the other guy's and we got ripped off too. I really wish to this day that I'd hired a local solicitor instead of using the insurer's legal protection. But you live and learn. Now I don't buy legal cover - its a waste of money in my opinion as they work for the insurer and not for you.

Even though we were not at fault our insurance company treated my wife with disrepect and did not serve us - only themselves. If I could go back and do it again it would be different.

I just hope anyone reading this thread doesn't make the same mistake once.

R

--
http://www.rwfts.com
Talking Dictionary for the Blind
--

Whitenviro-did I read your post correct? The insurance co. gave you a check for the full declared value,didn't declare it a salvage,AND let you keep the car? Wow,I need your company,that sounds like the best possible outcome! Good luck with the repairs,and of course,let us see the finished product once done.

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Century Gothic, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by fiveliters</i>

... gave you a check for the full declared value ... that sounds like the best possible outcome! ... <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Depends very much on the declared value of the car.
This damage looks like it will cost a fair bit more to rectify properly,
than the value of your average TR7 ...


<center>
<font color="blue"><i>1980 TR7 DHC (my first car, now restored and back on the road)
1981 TR7 FHC Sprint (better known as 't Kreng)</font id="blue">
<b>[url="http://www.tr7beans.blogspot.com/"]<u><b><font size="2"><font color="red">My Weblog</font id="red"></font id="size2"></b></u>[/url]</b></i></center>

Yes and yes. Insurance wrote me the check for the full declared value (which I had set at $5000; I thought it was $6K, but I was wrong). But since they thought the car was worth more than that, they did not call it a total loss and could not take it as salvage. I don't know where they get their valuations from, because I did not pay anything near that for this car! Actually my insurance company was great about the whole thing, so I have no complaints about them at all.

I keep the car and it will probably cost more than that to fix it, unless I participate. Given the settlement, I had to think seriously about whether or not to rebuild or use it as a parts car and get another. I'm a little attached to this one so I decided to fix it, even though it may cost more in the end.

The shop is pulling it into shape on the frame rack today. Then we will look at it to decide which panels can be saved. Every time I talk to them they are sounding more upbeat about things, so I'm hoping for the best. The front wing is the most likely thing that may need replaced. The other guy was moving forward compared to me, so the metal is pushed forward and torn right at the tip. My pictures aren't very good for showing the damage.


[/img]
1980 Pageant Blue DHC with removable hardtop.