I was involved in a front end collision with a guard rail, gravel

I bought the car back from insurance and now i'm trying to figure out the best way to go about fixing it.



The fender frame rail, where it gets cut and gets skinnier (for a lack of better words..)
that part is bent by about a quarter inch. I'm not sure if that effects anything such as the way the car drives, because it doesn't touch the frame rail itself which is still straight, and the strut tower portion is still straight, but the 3rd fender bolt doesn't line up. My two ideas at the moment is take it to a frame shop and have it bent back, use a factory core support or option 2 which is cut it off and tube frame the front end.

Does anyone have the measurements on how to go about tube framing the front end? What size tubing to use? Any information on it would be great since after a few minutes of google searching I couldn't find anything.

Thank you

 

Having worked in collision repair, which includes buying my evo salvaged and repairing it, you are looking at a tremendous amount of work/money to get this thing fixed up right. My .02 part it out and combine that with the money from your insurance settlement and buy something clean. I know this is not the answer to your questions, but unless your child was born in the back seat of this car or something, it isnt worth it. You will either spend WAY more money then you think/should on this or you will end up with a car that has had many corners cut.

 

Hood, fenders, core support (ordered, not received yet) and a damn near every part broken was ordered. The ONLY issue i'm running into is the fender rail is bent. Either I can have that fixed or I can tube frame it.

It isn't worth buying another car. Too much work has gone into it already.

 

Its your time/money. What i said is still true though as you have already admitted. You have already put too much into it. If you want to start down the tube frame path you are talking custom fabrication. Decent fabrication is $$$$. To really fix this thing right you need to get it onto a frame jig and get computer measurements to verify the frame is straight, before even beginning the repair process. and even when all that is put back together you are looking at 3-4 grand in paint/body work to get it looking nice again. After that its going to be a process of ironing out issues here and there. If all this sounds fun and worthwhile then good luck and keep the questions coming.

 

This ^^^ You don't want to fab up something with a tweaked frame to begin with. The Car is just never gong to be the same again.

 

Car is a NASA TT3 time trial car. The car was built to the specs and then it had a small incident. The money I have invested into it is suspension and built drivetrain. The hood/fenders and bumper cost me a couple hundred all together. Custom fabrication is not that big of a deal, however making the measurements from scratch to make sure everything fits correctly, that's the hassle. That's why the thread was made wondering if anyone had the measurements, tips or "how to's" to go about tubing the front end. I'm weighing my options, tubing it would obviously be more difficult and time consuming but it adds rigidity as well as reduces a slight bit of weight.

 

You mean you want it to be a race car? Cause thats a whole different thing.

 

Well.. it already kind of is.. my issue/question/debate isn't about IF I should keep the car or not because that part has already been decided. It's IF I should tube the front end or leave the stock support, if I should tube the front end how long will it usually take, what size tubing should I use and what are the rough measurements so I can order the tubing haha

 

Thats all going to depend on your class rules. If you can even tube it and be compliant should be the question, and if so the rules should specify what is allowed and what isnt.

 

Emery at STM would be the man to ask/go to here, I have seen them do some nice custom work with tube frame front clips.

 

Not true. NASA rule book has nothing on tube frame front ends, only tube chassis. I already checked that haha

 

I only stated that the rules would dictate what you can and cant do. Which is true, if the rules dont prevent it then your all good. I would recommend following that up though if you haven't because rules can be "interpreted" so best to talk with someone that deals with this type of stuff all the time.

 

That is not accurate as I recall. Last I heard you cannot do a tube front end without taking a non-production car penalty. I would check this in detail with your regional coordinator to make sure the car would be compliant. Even minor changes have been causing issues this last year like rear/front crash beams being replaced/modified.

 

I used a rubber mallet and smacked the fender support beam once, everything lines up perfectly now.... except for the sticker, I can never get those on straight.