dr.apex

Yesturday, I took my car out to wash it due to it being a beautiful day out. While drying the car, I noticed spider cracks in the clear coat on the hood close to where the hood latch is, a crack in the bumper on the driver side by the grill, and scuffs on the top of the bumber under the grill. I popped the hood and scanned around under the hood to see if I could find more damage but could not find any. When I looked at the hood latch (not the part connected to the hood) it looked as though it is bent down slightly. Later that night, I took my wife to the movies, by this time it was dark. I noticed that it seems like my headlights are pointing down more than they should.
If I had to guess, whoever owned the car before me, ran it under a taller vehicle but not hard enough to cause alot of damage.
This stuff really isn't a big deal to me because I'm planning on a body kit and new hood anyways.
My question is, before I slap new skins on, what else should I look for that could be damaged under the hood and bumber? Does the whole front assembly that holds the latch, lights and grill come out, or replaceable?
I just dont want to slap new pieces on just to find out that the are not gonna line up.
I've owned the car for about three weeks now but never noticed the damage due to the fact that this is only the second time driving the car, the damage is very minimal, and first time washing it. It's funny the things you find when you wash your car.

dr.apex

I looked around under the hood some more today to see if I could find anymore damage under the hood. I couldnt. The (cross member??) that the latch is affixed to is not bent in any way. The latch, itself, is pretty bent and needs to be replaced. I'm just going to assume that everything, from the radiator forward, needs to be replaced.
If anyone can help with a parts list, I'd appreciate it.

FlamingoGT

What are you basing the headlight alignment on? It could just be the way Mustangs are.
Did you get a Carfax (or similar) report on the car before you got it? It sounds like a cheap repair job and just the stuff that was mostly visible was repaired/replaced. How is the alignment of the hood to the fenders? Does there seem to be any steering issues?
It may just need a hood, latch parts, and a front clip to be almost perfect.

dr.apex

I'm basing the alignment on my 15 years experience driving several different vehicles. You may be right about it being a mustang thing. I owned an 85 and a 91, but they were not like this. I did get a carfax before I purchased the car, but to be honest, the damage to the car is so minimal that I doubt it was reported.....I wouldn't have.
Like I said, the damage is minimal. The hood is not bent, but you can tell it flexed on impact shown by the spidering in the clear coat. THe bumper is scuffed and has a small crack by the headlight next to the grill. The latch that is mounted to the (crossmember?) is bent.
The fenders and hood line up fine. I just had a tire replaced and the tire guy told me the bumpstops for the hood need to be adjusted, but the hood lines up fine.
My main concern is what parts under the bumper are the parts that take the most damage in a fender bender? There are no alignment issues or anything like that. Trust me, people I've shown the car to havent even noticed it....hell, I didn't even notice when I bought the car.

vanquish

The most important thing you can do is under the hood, verify that diagonal measurements from a front fender bolt to the opposite hood hinge are the same for both. This will let you know if the front end is tweaked and you need to get it on a frame machine.

Also, on the bumper itself (not the bumper cover) look at the "accordian" mounts that are designed to flex on impact.

dr.apex

sweet man, thanks. Thats the kind of info I needed. I'll get it measured tomorrow.
As far as the accordian mounts go, am I looking for them to be bent up, down, or pushed in? How do I tell if they are bent/damaged?

Also, what are acceptable tolerances in measurement differences? I'm guessing a hlf inch or more is bad, but would a sixteenth or less be acceptable?

vanquish

The accordian mounts could be damaged in any one of the ways you mentioned it depends on what happened. I would look at it and try your best to determine if anything happened or try to find pics or another car to compare it to. I just noticed you have a 1998 and I'm not sure if the bumper bracketry is the same as 99-04.

For the measurements, any body shop should have a book with all the specs and tolerances. They'll also have a special tool that makes measuring it more accurate.

I think if you go to a body shop they may do these measurements for free if you're getting an estimate because this measurement determines if a frame machine is needed.

dr.apex

much appreciated. thanks for the heads up.

dr.apex

Yesturday, I took my car to a body shop to see what they would charge for an estimate on my front end. I explained to them that the car was in a fender bender but there was no serious damage. I explained that I have plans for a new hood and complete body kit and that I didn't want to put that stuff on the car if there is damage underneath causing the new parts to incorrectly line up. He came out and visually inspected the car and explained that he highly doubts there is any structural damage. He quoted me a price of $150 for around 3hrs of work. Basically to take off the hood, bumper, fenders and take measurments.
My question to you guys is, do you think this is a fair price? It seems like it to me, but I've never had to take a car in for this reason before.

sstang

Dont waste your time and money. To do enough damage to hurt anything, your hood or bumper would have very noticeable damage. Not just cracks but chips and dings/dents. Measure the fender bolts to hood hinges like mentioned above to see if they are close to equal. Look at your radiator support (what you called the crossmember) to to make sure it doesnt seem bent. Check for any cracks in the header panel (what the headlights and grill bolt to). If your fenders & hood are in decent alignment then you should be fine.

I do body work btw. My car was hit in the front and I've had the front off several times. Also, how are you certain is was not rocks that cracked the paint? I had several of those on my car before I repainted it. The headlights do seem to point down on the SN95 cars a little bit so I wouldnt worry about that. You can put spacers under them like I did to point them up more.