Jeep liberty Repair

[Grav1ty]

I did this Jeep a little while back, Owner spun around and hit the highway center wall.

Over 12 g's in repair.

Went together like butter.... Not even so much as a check engine light.

[D323]

damn d00d... thats scary b/c it looks like its never been hit from what I can tell in the photos.

[Grav1ty]

damn d00d... thats scary b/c it looks like its never been hit from what I can tell in the photos.

Yeah. We are the best collision shop in town.

It is a great feeling when you have the same car come back months down the road with more collision damage, the boss says that you fixed it. you dont even remember the car, and can't see the previous repair.

My lowest milage car... a Toyota Camery. It had 3 miles on it. It was pulled off the car hauler and slid into a pole. My shop is 2 miles from the dealership! That was one car that was sold as *new* with no disclosure of the repair, so it has to look "factory".

[goldstar]

You do excellent work. You're obviously very skilled at your job.

Happy Motoring!

[Intruder]

My lowest milage car... a Toyota Camery. It had 3 miles on it. It was pulled off the car hauler and slid into a pole. My shop is 2 miles from the dealership! That was one car that was sold as *new* with no disclosure of the repair, so it has to look "factory".

Wow........

You do great work though. I'm amazed.

[95ProLeila]

How did it drive? You may not know, but yeah, it looks great kudos. Only reason I ask is because people always say "oh that will never drive the same, blah blah blah" and I'm never sure whether or not to believe them. How many miles? Surprised it wasn't totalled for $12k.

[Grav1ty]

Thanks. It is a fun job. I take pride in what I do and that my quality is some of the best in the area. I am finaly getting speed with the quality and that has taken a few years.


Here is another one... 2002 BMW 323I, did it a few years ago at a different shop.




















Here is a smashed up Accord

[Identity_X]

Very nice work!

[Grav1ty]

How did it drive? You may not know, but yeah, it looks great kudos. Only reason I ask is because people always say "oh that will never drive the same, blah blah blah" and I'm never sure whether or not to believe them. How many miles? Surprised it wasn't totalled for $12k.

Thanks,


It drove great. Aligned no problem.

I go and drive the larger jobs when I am done. Since I am an aggressive driver and race cars, I have a good understanding of vehicle handling. I go out and beat on them kinda hard....hit the ABS, run them to 100+ to check for wind leaks and high speed stability. Do some turns and get it to understeer/oversteer, trail break to see it the rear end will swing out. Give it a little hell.... If I don't like anything... well I go and fix it. That is the nice thing about collision and the insurance.... If it is broke and I can show that it was collision related, then it is payed for and shows up the next day (hopefully).


I take my time, no need to rush, it is my name and liability on each car. I hate comebacks and go out of my way to make sure the cars are right. My shop warrantees all collision repairs for the life of the car to the original owner, so if I do a bad job..... well the next time I fix it, it is for free and more work because the adjoining panels to the repair rust and make more work than the original job. I did a warrantee repair once that my shop had repared some ten years before under different ownership. All that was originally replaced on this Toyota was the quarter panel, but the tech did not apply weld thru primer and all the joining surfaces rusted away. Since I was not the tech who messed it up I got payed to fix it. I don't normaly do rust, it sucks!

I got to make it up as I went, some of the outer wheelhouse parts I could not get and had to make them from other panels, like from another cars wrecked hood that had a flat surface left.


4 panels come together here, rocker, a rocker extension, the quarter panel, and the outer wheelhouse.


What a mess.


All the rust is cut out.




New inner rear sill and outer wheelhouse panels installed and everything corrosion protected.


Sectioned rocker panel.


Rocker Extension.


Quarter panel.


Ready for paint.


Ready to go home.... This repair will be the only thing left after the car rusts away in a junkyard.









For me about 90-95% of the time the cars go back together and everything is fine... good as new, That is one of the reasons I would rather cut up a car's structure after it is pulled, that way it is all new OEM parts and it is as good as factory, The job also depends on the shop and the tech, there are some real bad shops out there. Our end result prices are higer than most, but we use high dollar materals and paint (european Standots, now owned by Dupont), and the end result speak for themselves.


The Jeep was a year old... and cost 20-25 grand-ish new.. So 12 g's saves them from paying out all the value. It was under 20,00 miles, and was the 18 year old daughter's jeep for collage. I think it was a high school graduation present.

[95ProLeila]

That makes sense if it was almost new. Great to see someone who pays attention to detail and actually cares about quality of work. I hope I never need to find someone like you!

Also, welcome to the boards, I see you joined in June, but I haven't seen you around before (at least that i remember), so hi, and hope you stick around!

[Grav1ty]

Also, welcome to the boards, I see you joined in June, but I haven't seen you around before (at least that i remember), so hi, and hope you stick around!

Thanks,

I hang out in the autocross and first gen section. Don't post a lot but I read thru.

[charles]

I should send my Protege to you!

[Grav1ty]

I guess it's not your style to use sheet metal screws at weld points during panel alignment?

Yeah, I use screws to align some things, as well as a ton of differant clamps. Just depends on the damage. The screws of course get removed and the holes welded in the end.

Screw holes make it a lot eaiser to reassemble if you glue panels back together, the glue eliminates hot spots that will rust later on. Wheel openings are some of the best areas to glue, as they love to rust out.

[Mazda96Protege]

Very very nicely done dude!!! thats some very high quality work there

Although this make's me kind of worrie some next time i go look at a new car lol