Compliance And Repair Q&A

[Nacho]

I seem to be going in circles in regards to finding info for the VIV process. I'm just doing some prep work on getting everything I need to try and pass a VIV and need some help/opinions.

Firstly, I'm trying to find out how I'm going to prove that the repair conducted on the car in an approved method/standard set by Mitsubishi to repair that type of damage. At least that's what I think they want........

Secondly, is the repair (below) made by the panel beater actually a normal and standard method of repair for a car? Basically the passenger side chassis rail was bent when I first bought the car. So as a repair we got an undamaged front end from another FTO and the panel beater cut the damaged one off and welded the front end on as per the diagram. The red section represents the new welded on section.



Thoughts?

There's more questions but I'll stick with one for now.

[Astron_Boy]

Yikes.

Really?

Didn't think that was legal nor safe.

I could be wrong, but kinda scary...

[Shhtuart]

I dare say it's all dependent on on how he's welded it and it it's been reinforced correctly. Wouldn't any chassis welding require an engineers cert to prove it's structurally sound?

[Daniel2019]

Yikes.

Really?

Didn't think that was legal nor safe.

I could be wrong, but kinda scary...

Yeah I didnt think they'd allow that to be registered either. Doesnt seem safe :/

[Nacho]

Ok there's a start. Where does one get an engineer's cert from? And are they meant to have observed the actual repair?

Or is there a test I can perform post-repair to confirm the repair was sound? I am getting some mixed opinions on the fact that when done correctly the weld fix can be the same or even stronger in integrity than the original. True or false?

[Vectose]

Where does one get an engineer's cert from?

From an engineer.

[Taz]

Usually if a chassis rail is bent, its an instant write-off regardless of the condition of the rest of the car.
You will want to check if this is the case in your state before you go spending potentially lots of money at an engineer to try and cert something that might never see the road regardless of what he says.
If this is the case, then more than likely it will have to be registered as a write off and be scrapped. (im assuming it hasnt been yet and is still in registration?) otherwise if not, then it wont be allowed to be registered after you report it (again check the local laws and requirements they might be different than the rest of the country)
In regards to the safety/strength - its one of those arguments that can go either way and debated about for hours, but at the end of the day, most states dont want nothing to do with it on the roads so i guess that's all that's needed to close the case.
Just be prepared to hand over our kidneys and first born for the engineer cert. Some charge your soul, knowing that they can get away with it because lets face it - its not something you can just go down to that competitor down the street and ask for a better price. Proper certified engineers (at least in QLD) arent that common (that im aware of
I hope this is all incorrect and you can have a wonderful FTO to hit the road with! Just trying to let you know what the potential go is before you find out at the last minute from the wrong people

[Shhtuart]

http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/Reg ... ection.htm

Just read through all that. It states you need to have documented the repair process and provide Vic roads with the manufacturers standard. It doesn't seem to require you to get an engineers cert as they will determine whether or not the repair is adequate. Also needs the documents to be stat dec'd.

Let's hope your mechanic took some pics.

[shadowarrior]

And receipts, they want to see receipts of everything and anything you bought to bring back the car in a road worthy state.
I would check against the vin to find out if it was listed as a total write off or a repairable write off after the previous accident. Whatever you fix, you can't make a total write off road legal, but you can for repairable right offs with the receipts and documented process.

[Nacho]

The FTO is in the WOVR as a repairable write-off so no issues there. I have all the receipts and photo evidence I need before and after the repair but the panel beater didn't take any photos during. Because of the lack of that evidence I think the only way I might be able to prove the repair was done right is to prove that their repair method was the industry standard and perhaps get a test on the structural integrity hence I'm asking you guys how I go about doing this.

Ok here are the relevant sections to what I'm asking about straight out of the VicRoads site that Stu posted above:

6.photos taken prior to and during repairs i.e. crash repair diary which includes photos

7.copy of the manufacturers’ repair instructions

After the vehicle is first inspected, the inspector may request that you obtain a structural and/or body measurement report detailing the actual vehicle measurements and a copy of the manufacturer’s specifications for comparison. This could be as a result of current or previous structural damage to the vehicle; poor repair/welding; or crumpled rails/body work.

The sections I've highlighted are my concern. First one is where am I meant to find Mitsubishi's repair instructions?!

I know we're all working in IT in this forum but are there any panel beaters on here that can vouch for whether this repair method will stand any chance of passing?

[Shhtuart]

Let me trawl the deep interwebs for said repairs manual....

[Bennoz]

Yes... I too will trawl the intarwebnets...

Oh look, what's this?

http://ftoaustralia.com/downloads/Body_ ... Manual.zip

[Shhtuart]

^ found it

[Nacho]

Holy ball sucking and ring felching Batman! It actually exists!

I honestly didn't even know what to google on the intrawebs to even start looking for that thing. There was always the fear of what would come up on the google search at work when typing Body Repair Manual.........at first guess I would have thought a whole host of adult only websites

[Supplanter]

at first guess I would have thought a whole host of adult only websites

What's wrong with that?

[Nacho]

Anyone on here do a VIV in the past?

Not just FTO.....any car?

[payaya]

We do certs for clients that require VIV's all the time. Who's bring up the repair/damage anyway?

[Nacho]

We do certs for clients that require VIV's all the time. Who's bring up the repair/damage anyway?

I'm so glad to hear that mate. How much would you charge for a cert and what will that cover?

Will the cert confirm:

a) That the repair was done to meet industry/manufacturer standard

b) Regardless of a), the vehicle is structurally sound

Also do you guys do body measurement tests? That might be a good start just to make sure everything's symmetrical and aligned properly.