A Light At The End Of The Tunnel

NorthQLDFTO · Post by **NorthQLDFTO** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 4:54 am

OK... So you all know about what happened with my FTO... The first 2 quotes that I got said that the car was a write off! But after talking with one of the boys who works at the holding yard his opinion was that they took one look... Saw a mess & decided that it wasn't worth the trouble! So I had the car removed from the holding yard & have since had a further 4 quotes done on the car... Now out of 6 quotes I have been given 3 "It's A Write Off" quotes... 1 "You Shouldn't Really Bother" quote! BUT I have a futher 3 who have all basically said the same thing... "Its A Lot Of Work But It Can Be Fixed!"

WELL DAMN PEOPLE! THIS IS MY FTO! I WANT MY sh*t FIXED!!!

...SO...

After extensive discussion with the 3 positive workshops I have selected one to do the work... They have been long established & have a good name along with some VERY nice examples of their work, from rebuilding & repairing to complete custom fabrication!

I have been lucky in that with having many aftermarket parts already laying around, a spare engine & a newly acquired bodykit I have a lot of what is needed for the repairs... But I am in need of several others. While the workshop can source the parts for me I am sure you are all aware of how expensive FTO parts can be... And until the legal side of things is sorted out with the situation all the repairs have to come out of my own pocket so I am trying to keep costs down! Hoping that I could pick up a few bits and pieces from within the community... I know this should be posted in the "Wanted To Buy" forum but I simply wanted to get better coverage first off...

I'll understand if I'm relocated!

Here is a list of the parts that I don't already have that are needed;

bonnet
bonnet hinges x2
lh fender
radiator/support
washer bottle motor
front engine mount
power steering lines /front
a/c lines from compressor to condensor
receiver dryer
radiator
tapit cover engine
timing belt cover
lh fan & shroud
rh fan & shroud
rh headlight
rh bumper indicator

If anyone has any of these parts that they are willing to part with or know of somewhere I can get them reasonably priced PLEASE email me [djwalsh@iqconnect.com.au] with details & price... I am desperate to get my car fixed as (1) It's my only source of transport at this point in time & (2) C'mon... It's my FTO!

EURO · Post by **EURO** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 2:24 pm

I dont meant to dampen your spirits... but just remember, that after a big accident like this, it will be very hard to onsell the car at a later date...... secondly, as good as the workshop might be, most cars in accidents often have small issues with them.... alignment of panels, steering, electrical etc etc....

might be best to cut your losses and get another FTO? sorry, as i said dont want to dampen the mood - but just giving you another persepective...

vivek · Post by **vivek** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 2:30 pm

I fully agree with EURO. Just remember you can get a pretty decent FTO for about 16k.

SG · Post by SG » Tue Apr 11, 2006 5:46 pm

the other thing that was on channel 7 (i think) the other day was that after big accidents all the spcifically designed crumble zones in the area of the accident crush like they're suppost to, and they're repaired by heating the metal up, bending it back, and welding or whatever which dramatically weakens it... and gives the car which could have had a ~3 star safety rating, a 1 star safety rating. so if you crash in the same way, denting the same parts it'll do like 1.5 - twice as much damage or so. its speculation but they showed a nice example of a falcon having antoher front-end collision in a test enviro and it showed the steering column/pedals moved about a foot towards the driver where they wouldnt have normally moved at all in its first accident

i'd upgrade the chassis with CF or strong rollcage steel or something if ya still keeping it IMO (if thats even possible)

dannyboyau · Post by **dannyboyau** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 1:46 am

did you ring the guys that had the body i told you about?

it was a complete shell with interior and it is in good nick, last time i was out there they had only sold the rear bumber

Panelhouse · Post by **Panelhouse** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 10:22 am

PM SENT WITH PACKAGE DEAL

NorthQLDFTO · Post by **NorthQLDFTO** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 1:56 pm

dannyboyau wrote:did you ring the guys that had the body i told you about?

it was a complete shell with interior and it is in good nick, last time i was out there they had only sold the rear bumber

Sorry Dannyboyau... I missed that post! Could you email me [djwalsh@iqconnect.com.au] with the details please?

I'm well aware of the downsides to rebuilding my FTO but to be honest I was in the process of organising the purchase of a 2nd car so that I could use the FTO as a project car... I was lucky to buy it with only 32,000kms on the clock and even now it only has approximately 48,000kms... As silly as it may seem I simply don't want to part with it if there's a chance it can be fixed... Besides

With it all stripped down I've got the excuse now to do all those little extra bits that I couldn't justify doing before!

dimi · Post by **dimi** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 1:46 pm

Good luck with the rebuild mate, make sure you update on progress, love to see the finished product

Maybe a custom colour when you get it sprayed????

SchumieFan · Post by **SchumieFan** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 2:55 pm

First of all, GOOD LUCK

Second, Ill have a ask around this side of the tasman and see what the price diferances would be....

Third!

Gotta agree, if youve got most of the body work you need and the rest of your kit is in good nick (ie, the side skirts and the rear aftermarket bar are still undamaged, Id just buy another fto and put all the parts on that 1
(?)

Fourth, Id bin it acctually, if you need to replace your cam cover on your engine (tappit cover?) and your car has taken a serious hit to the top of the engine then the mounts have probably buckled your chassis or any number of things could have quietly gone on on the structural side, and yeah, you can have the best smash repair guys in the world and stick the car on an alignment machine and it will appear ok.... but it still pulls to the right....

not in my case luckily

If you do decide to get another 1, flog off all the interior parts and anything good u can salvage from your old 1 that you dont need on your new 1 or on this website or through other forums/auction sites/wreckers etc... make a bit of money to put towards the cost of the new 1.
Or if you do swap some over sell the parts from the new 1. (stereo surround anybody?)

FIRST THING: GOOD LUCK

SG · Post by SG » Thu Apr 13, 2006 4:38 pm

SchumieFan wrote:Fourth, Id bin it acctually, if you need to replace your cam cover on your engine (tappit cover?) and your car has taken a serious hit to the top of the engine then the mounts have probably buckled your chassis or any number of things could have quietly gone on on the structural side, and yeah, you can have the best smash repair guys in the world and stick the car on an alignment machine and it will appear ok.... but it still pulls to the right....

not in my case luckily

doesn't matter if they repair the chassis so much that its perfectly aligned and you drive it and it feels better than new..if they are heating and bending the chassis metal back they are weaking it and you will get a steering wheel facial and foot pedals instead of knees in any head on collision
its proven after you crash and the repairs bend everything back in place its much more stucturally weaker, thats probly why half the repairers that looked at it said and based their decision from that its too FUBAR'd to be confidently repaired.

um

Good luck with it all though

(im not trying to care for your saftey or anything dont get me wrong, just putting it out there)

bradlovell · Post by **bradlovell** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 5:31 pm

I know its your car and all mate and yeah you always want your car back etc....but its just not even gonna feel the same now that you know its been smashed up. thats always gonna be in the back or your mind. my 2 cents worth....move on....but its your personal decision. Good luck with whatever you decide to do anyway!

NorthQLDFTO · Post by **NorthQLDFTO** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 5:56 am

Hmmm... I have to admit... You all make a damn good point... I'm now considering purchasing another car??? But another FTO??? Wouldn't feel the same I don't think... Maybe I'm just a little TOO attached to my car!

Just trying to get a rough figure in my head about what I could make out of selling the car off in bits to decide what the better choice is!
Hee hee... The centre console & stereo surround is the original part and it's ALL IN ONE PIECE! I could make a mint on that part alone judging by the demand on this forum!!!

SchumieFan · Post by **SchumieFan** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 12:54 pm

ill give u 50 bux!

start the bidding now!

gus · Post by **gus** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 9:24 pm

If u got the dial kits i'll be interested. i missed the group buy a while ago and i need to start jazzing up the interior