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The strut is attached to the strut tower; the strut tower is what controls the caster and to a degree the camber. If the crumple zone is collapsed no amateur will be able to fix it and most body shops will decline the job.
That is what Oldblue meant by uni-body.
+1 on air cooled VWs. '62 bug, '68 KG, '69 KG, '67 Square Back, '80's Rabbit (almost air cooled).
Thanks Don, those crumpled crumple zones kinda twist when they buckle and are pretty much impossible to straighten out.
+2 1956, 1957, 1961, 1965 and a 1969 VW
The 57 was a DD until mini-stock Racing bit me, and I built it into a dirt tracker , 1969 one was brand new, my Dad bought it , 3 months before he passed away.
He left me that and his 1967 GMC 327, 4bbl pick em up.
his hhr is a easy fix if u can use tools and see throw the damage sure its ugly buy look the frame rails are straight , bumper support looks great i,m sure from have over 200 plus hhrs wrecked and not and modding them now since 06 all the inner metal he needs comes apart at factory spot welds even the top rail on the pass side so it needs a tie bar and inner sheilds they sell them on ebay , as for all the little parts theres now tons of them in my yard and pick in pull yards , there doing half off this week end so great time to stock up i buy all the front body panels i can this week end and that way u also save in painting thats the big cost today , we need to support him not beat him up for trying how do u learn , also i would rather fix a hhr hint in the front then the rear as there are no spot weld panels like the front u are pulling and cutting qtrs and really welding so the best fix is a front hit if u need info and how to fix or do something lmk happy to send u pics of some of my repairs or tell u how to do it ,,,,
this is a parts car killed frame rails ,,, it had 40.xxx miles
I'm sure most folks are financially sound enough to take a damaged vehicle to a body shop...or, if preferred, to the new car store and trade it in. And that's *great* that they're able to do that! It's just not the boat we're currently sailing in ;-)
J W Davis is right...safety inspections across the state, and emissions testing in 17 (I think) counties, mainly areas with the highest populations. This particular HHR was being driven without full coverage insurance at the time of the accident, and the owner had enough $$$ to bail on it and get something better. And who can blame her, right? So that means it wasn't reported to insurance, won't have a salvage title, however it WILL need to pass the safety inspection once it's all back together. If it falls apart during the safety test...it won't pass. So, the repair will be done correctly. No band-aids, no chewing gum, no bailing wire.
I do need to concede ignorance on my $400 estimate though. Oldblue and Ohiocruiser were absolutely right about the cost of repairs. Along with the low-dollar used parts market, I was strictly looking at using the chain / tree / truck style of body massaging to put things back where they needed to be...and I've gotten the core support massaged to the point where it'd work out okay...but yall were ABSOLUTELY right about the unibody part. I'd realized the crumple zones couldn't easily be un-crumpled...but I have met my match with the way it's wadded up at the intersection of the core support and the inner fender lining bit (the part with the strut tower attached). The strut tower is (amazingly) exactly where it needs to be, and the damage is all above the engine cradle and in front of the strut tower...however there's Just No Way I can make the fender, headlight, hood, and bumper cover line up without looking *terrible*. So...the first round is on me.
So, as Dave has suggested, we'll need to get those unibody panels and spot weld em into place. More work than we'd anticipated...but where there's a will, there's a way...right? :-)
So, there are no running vehicles in Texas available for $1200. And I am rich because the only car in my household is a 2000 Mazda and Medicaid is paying for my wheelchair because my $850/mo SS check puts me just above the poverty line. And I had to beg for money to make my bathroom wheelchair accessible.
Sorry, we all have sob stories; even people you think are doing better than yourself.
Wow, Donbrew, you've had a heck of a time there! I think it's GREAT that you've managed to get that new of a car and that much $$$ from Medicaid! It's sad to say that as meager as that situation may seem, it's Far Ahead of the game compared to a lot of people! In fact, being not-as-bad-off-as-it-seems is what keeps me from getting bitter about my situation. Sure, I'm disabled, and sure, my disability doesn't even come CLOSE to reaching the poverty line, and obviously the repairs on my wife's "new" HHR are going to take Far Longer than an able-bodied man could handle...but we live in a free country, we have access to running water, indoor plumbing, a roof to sleep under, reliable electricity, and "luxuries" such as reliable internet and cell phones! All of this means that we (meaning all of us) are RICHER than something like 80% of the WORLD. That keeps me from complaining much, even when I bite off more than I can chew repair-wise!
Oh...and for your question about the availability of cheap vehicles in our area...here's what I'd said back in post # 4:
"Around here, $1000 will only buy ya two of the following four options: low (<150k) miles, clean cosmetics, solid motor, or solid transmission. We've always opted for the solid motor & tranny with previous purchases (we're financially challenged due to drama no-one cares to read about), which means our rides have always required constant maintenance and still always looked like a garbage truck. The rest of this HHR is *incredibly* clean, inside and out, and non-wrecked examples around here are pulling in $4k-$6k in this condition. We'll have under $2k in it once it's 100% fixed, so for us, this was a no-brainer. Add to this the "Happy Wife" factor, and it's not a good deal...it's a GREAT deal. :-)"
Ok folks, I'm new here, so maybe I'm missing something, but I could have sworn I saw another reply after my last post...and now it's missing? I barely had a chance to skim it, and was literally on my way out the door so I honestly can't remember what it said or who it was from. Or...yaknow...maybe I'm just losing it. Any thoughts?
On another note, we've found an entire front clip for $200. Am curious if anyone here has been faced with doing a similar repair themselves? Everything I've found via the SEARCH button has been related to more traditional repairs and upgrades (control arms, camber adjustments, SS vs non-SS ball joints, springs, bumper bar, etc.) One thing I've learned from my years of older-car maintenance is that sooner or later Every Repair Imaginable has been done by someone, somewhere, and the forums are usually the Best Source of Information, simply because the folks in the forums are the most passionate and the most educated folks around for that particular vehicle. Since the HHR is still a relatively new (or, at least, newer) model, I'm wondering if this hasn't been addressed yet here? If that's the case, I'll take plenty of pics, as in the years/decades to come, there will be others doing the same. It's just a matter of time, but frankly, I'd prefer to stand on the shoulders of giants than to be the guinea pig! ;-)
As always, any and all thoughts, advice, and suggestions are welcome. ALL OPINIONS ARE VALID, simply because they're YOUR opinion, that's all it takes to create validity! I know plenty of folks are gonna chime in with the suggestion of fixing this car with a match and a gallon of gas (as it'll create less of a mess than what we're about to do to the car)...and that's perfectly acceptable! I'm not gonna follow that suggestion, of course, but I'm always happy to hear from the folks who've been there and know what they're talking about! :-)
01-11-2018, 09:10 AM
