Ok so... about a year ago I wrecked my accord (head on collision in the rain) (1990 2 door 5 speed... nice little car... well was). The front end was pretty messed up... but the car drives fine (looks like sin). Its hard to work on due to the damage to the front end...

I still am really fond of this little car... great gas mileage, reliable, few to no problems whatsoever. However...

I can not keep driving it in the condition it is in, and i cant buy new fenders, bumper, hood and bolt it on to the front end that is on the car, as it is slightly warped and they would never line up.

So... my question is

Could i cut the front end off another accord (same gen) and put it on the front of my car, would that sacrifice any structual integrity? (i know where a parts car same year but 4 door... front end should be the same though, i wanna check on the front end of it) And would this really be cost effective?

Im not looking to make money off selling this car, in fact im not looking to sell it at all. I am looking to get it back on the road in one piece, and drive it for another 100k miles (it has 208,000) atleast.

Any information would be greatly appreciated!

 

that seems like it would cost a **** load

 

i found where i can get the body panels, hood, bumper, and the headlight it needs for about $500-700, and i could possibly get the new front end frame section for about $250.... im just wondering if it would be worth all the effort or will it never be right again?

 

buy another one...part out what you got.

 

what he said

 

wouldnt it cost me more in the long run? A decent shape one would probably run me 1200-4000 depending on mileage and shape. or i could get this one back up to that condition for roughly the low end of that?

 

put it on the rack at the local body shop. they'll straighten the front end out for you. and maybe any other twists you cannot see with your naked eye.

 

how much is that going to cost me? it may be worth it to cut the front end off another one (theres a local parts car) and put the 2 together rather than fixing the frame

im also not looking to buy a new car instead... as this isnt something to make me money, or make the car worth anything, its mostly just a project.

 

how much of the front are we talking here?

I mean people with Civic's and Integra's do similar things when converting to a different year headlight or JDM conversion. Granted they are only cutting off the radiator support and wleding another on. So if your not cutting/welding more than that I don't see why you can't.

If your talking about cutting like from the middle of the wheel well out or something, then I don't think thats a smart move.

How hard was the collision? Do you have a picture of the damage?

 

Ok anytime that you do something major (such as cutting off the front of a vehicle and putting on a new one) there is always going to be some structural loss period.
but if you have it done right and know for sure it won't be so bad. Definetely make sure you don't have some massive frame dmg b4 u fork out the cash.

GL, hope I helped

 

You want picture... you got picture... ill have some from under the hood tomorrow...


http://img27.imageshack.us/img...a.jpg

 

hmm... yeah maybe some closer pictures of under the hood.

 

Rebuilding wrecks by grafting "clips" is done every day of the week. There's a cottage industry which does nothing but repair vehicles with "salvage" Titles. But there are some cravats to what they do.
They only choose late model cars who's resale value exceeds (by a wide margin) the cost of repairs.
You have to have the correct equipment: (A Guide-chart machine), Mig and Tig Welders, a plasma cutter, lifting and measuring equipment.
You also need the knowledge to know where to cut, splice etc, not only the 'clip', but your car as well.

You're gonna pay the bucks whichever way you go. My preference?, I'd choose the car that hadn't been hacked up.

P

 

me? i'd be concerned with the unibody from the windshield forward, esp that passenger front corner. how's the main rail where the trans mounts to?

 

I had an integra with about the same damage, cost me $1100 to straighten out EVERYTHING on the frame. I put another 300-500 into the frontend parts (control arms, ball joints and axle included). So figure its gonna run $1500 (give or take) to fix it. Now you have to measure out if the car is worth that to you or not. If it is... fix it... if it isn't parts it out or junk it and get another one.

 

imo.. once a car has been in a accident.. it'll never drive the same

 

it, for the most part, does drive the same... all of the damage seems to be in front of the fender well (the way the car got hit is... i was coming around a curve in the rain, and the car slid and went straight across the road into an embankment, but right before it hit the embankment it was slammed right basicly at the headlight by another car. my guess is... 70% or more of the force went in pushing everything to the driver side, and the rest went towards the back of the car.

heres my rendering of what happened (warning: i am NOT an artist in any way shape or form)
http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/1374/crash0gz.png

 

Take it to a frame shop to get their opinion on the damage. Shouldn't cost too much for them to just check how far its bent. You should be able to take some measurement under the hood to see how far the side is pushed over with a measuring tape.

Damage is fixable. I have fixed worse.

My girls car has been totaled 2 times, she can't give it up. It still drives very well. (once was before we bought it)

 

tomorrow will be the day i take it in for an estimate on the damage, if all goes well i may have her fixed soon!


its that or time for a newer accord

 

that looks like it would cost quite a bit to fix. my car was esitmated 3k to fix and it didnt even look that bad. go ahead and get your estimate, but im guessing you need to find a new one.

my car to give you an idea

 

well i had time so i went and had an estimate done just for straightening the frame... the guy said i was looking at $250 if i do all the prep work myself, and as much as $850 otherwise... but he also took notice of the "body work" i already did on it, and told me i should be able to, relatively easily, take the radiator support off, rebend the frame back in, and replace the radiator support... so that will be my goal for the near future. i can do that for under $100, and then its just fenders, bumper, bumper cover, and hood... and then the paintjob... all in all cutting all the corners i can without sacrificing the quality of my repair work... i could do it for under $1000

 

Wrecked Accord... not Civic's

 

well... theres been another snag thats not going to stop my fixing it, but simply slow it down (a lot). The parts are cheap... but im getting raped on the shipping (hood, radiator support, probably fenders, bumper cover, etc) all oversized items and the shipping is ridiculous... for just the radiator support its like $100 to ship. oh well, ill just bite the bullet and pay for it... it may be more than i was wanting to spend, but it should be worth it in the end.

 

If the doors still open without hitting the fenders, it's probably not that bad. If you can do the work yourself, and get the parts cheap, go for it. I would draw the line at cutting off and welding frame pieces together though. Unless you are an experienced Fitter/Welder.

 

don't get all your parts from the same place, shop around, I advise getting your radiator support and things like that from the dealer, I recently fixed my accord after a front end colision, all in all about 800 bucks, not as bad as yours, didn't need fenders, but if you get all your stuff wholesale it wont fit right, you'll have to do a little cutting here and there. If you can afford it get the hood from the dealer, got mine aftermarket and when they shipped it they set it on end and it bent(stupid *******). Yeah get your parts reallign that thing and install the body yourself, then afterwards take it to a body shop to have them allign panels if needed.