Any issues with this job??

[Joe H]

I'm haven't got much experience with automotive repairs, so I thought I'd check with you guys before I took this on.

A fella called me up today from a craigslist ad I have. His wife crashed a van, which he described as a "show car". It took a hit to the front passenger side. The picture shows the section of the uni-body type frame rail he needs cut out, to be replaced with same section from a donor van.

The cutting and welding is not an issue. I was just wondering if there was anything I should know about beforehand. I would hate to overlook something, only to find out later that he had issues with putting the body panels back on.

Thanks!

[SWells]

You want to hope the frame is not bend beyond what you are cutting out and replace. If that happened, the replacement piece may not fit or worst yet the car may not travel straight and eat up tires. Up here in Canada there are regulations in some province on repairing/modifing frames and you can be held responsible in the event of an accident where the repair may have contributed or been at fault. A frame shop could tell you if the frame lines up beyond the immediate repair area and I'd check liability also.

[David R]

I wouldn't touch it, but I hate body work. Is the K frame bent? Is the windshield intact? Air bags?

Do you have a plasma cutter? If you do, fitup is pretty easy. Lay the new part over the old part and cut both with the plasma. you now have a perfect fit.

David

edit If you do any cutting, find the coffee can or EVAP canister before you do. They go boom.

[Joe H]

I haven't seen it in person, he is 45 minutes away. He says that the damage is limited to that corner of the vehicle. Yes, the windshield is intact, first thing I asked him. Apparently the guy has done several restorations and builds for showing. He at least sounded like he knew what he was talking about, he just isn't much of a weldor.

Yeah, I've got plasma...

I guess I'll ride down there and look it over, couldn't hurt.

[Me!]

I would not do anything...

The liability is very high on an item such as that. If that vehicle gets into another accident and someone is injured or killed your a$$ is on the line.

Let him take it an auto body shop.

[KC10Chief]

Yep. I wouldn't touch that. I'm a pretty experienced auto mechanic. Frame damage pretty much totals the vehicle in my opinion. You may weld that piece back on, but the rest of the frame may be bent and you can't see it. Ever seen some junker driving down the road at an angle? Even frame repair shops screw this job up all the time. I'd leave it alone. If it's really a show van, he would have had it insured I think.

[dabar39]

I have to jump in here and agree with all of the others about leaving it alone. I've got many years experience in the collision trade and when it comes to frame or inner structure work there is always hidden and unforeseen damage. Also you can not just cut out the old and put in the new, the vehicle needs to go on a frame machine to be measured and pulled back into place before any thing is cut loose from it. Keep in mind the old adage "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction" so in other words something is bent somewhere else.

Just by looking at the picture I can see the core support is shoved in and more than likely the left side rail is swung in with it. the whole nose is probably swung over pretty good, make sure you look at the door and hood lines real close as an indication as to the front being out of align. I can already tell this is going to be more involved than you may want to get into anyways.

The liability factor makes it a big no-no as well unless you are a registered repair shop with good insurance. Just my .02 Dave

[Joe H]

Yeah, I left it alone... Thanks for the input here guys.

[David R]

Thanks for letting us know how it turned out.

David

[TozziWelding]

Glad you left it alone, it woulda been an evasincya.

[infro]

tozzi....evasincya????

[o.c.d.]

Good move Joe H,

When I read "Show Car" I was worried. Sometimes people cannot be pleased no matter how good a job you do, and that's what I feared about this one.

ocd

[ZTFab]

Originally Posted by infro

tozzi....evasincya????

"Evasincya touched my van it don't work right."

Good call on leaving it alone.

He must call it a "show van" because everybody will "show" him the door when he asks them to repair it.

- Paul

[David R]

As a mechanic, If I rebuild the motor in some ones car, I seem to own it. Anything that breaks is from the job I did according to the customer. I don't rebuild motors any more.......I cam make more money welding with less hassle.

David