Monday, October 4, 2005
It finally arrives!

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Disassembly - Monday evening

Disassembly - Tuesday evening

Friday, October 7th

The only progress since earlier this week is that the rear window has been removed so that it will not be damaged during the frame repairs.

Monday, October 10th

While the rear glass was out of the car, I decided I'd go ahead and retint it. Since I tint windows in my spare time, I didn't want to have someone else's tint job on my new car : ) Besides, the film that was on there wasn't all that great and the installer was somewhat sloppy as you can see in pictures 3 - 5. The CompG will be on the frame rack tomorrow morning so things should be happening pretty quickly after that!

Tuesday, October 11th

The car is finally on the frame rack. I took a couple of pictures showing the damage to the frame rail as well as the exhaust. You can see how the rear end is shifted to the passenger side from the impact. They'll be starting on it first thing in the morning, and I expect that the repairs will be complete by the end of the week.

Wednesday, October 12th

Progress! The rear quarter is looking more like it used to, and the right rear door now opens and closes perfectly! You can see how the frame rail is no longer collapsed in the before and after pictures below:

Before:                                                                 After:

They have pulled the rear frame rail about 3 chain lengths (~ 3 inches!!) so far. They'll be doing more tomorrow. They told me they like to pull it and let it relax, then keep working with it until it's where it needs to be. I also ordered my Eibach Prokit springs today, and plan to put them on as soon as they arrive. Because the car will sit pretty low, especially with the Inferno chin spoiler, it will get a four wheel alignment prior to installation of the front bumper and rocker panels.

Thursday, October 13th

The rear quarter is just about done, and the rear tail light section has been pulled back into place. The tail light now fits perfectly, and the trunk lid is mounted and fits very well. There is a still a little bit of pulling left to make the car the correct length, and the exhaust still needs to be straightened. However, I'm absolutely thrilled with the progress thus far. The quarter panel will not need very much work to make it straight, and the sail panel won't be a big deal to repair with a "stud gun".

Friday, October 14th

The car is just about finished from a repair standpoint. The rear sheet metal and bumper was installed today to check the alignment of everything together. Needless to say, the fit is fantastic. There were a couple more measurements to check, so the car will remain on the rack over the weekend and should be back up front in my dad's shop on Monday afternoon. Then the process of repairing the quarter panel, sanding, blocking, and painting all of the body parts will begin. My Eibach springs arrived today, so I will be installing those once I get the car back. Incidentally, I received the wheel I purchased from eBay last week. It was to replace the wheel which was damaged during the transportation. It was a bargain, so I'm pretty happy with that purchase also.

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Monday, October 17th

Well, it's finally out of the body shop and ready for me to disassemble, straighten, sand, and paint. Tomorrow I'll be removing all the body parts, re-installing the interior, and begin installing the Eibachs.

 

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