body damage thoughts
02-05-2011, 07:15 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: NC
Posts: 21
body damage thoughts
i bought an 88 gt as a project. i want to eventually find a t-top shell and swap my stuff into it, but am making it a daily driver until then. the car was in an accident that looks like it was slid into something and it mainly hit the hatchon the drivers side below the wing. I have been trying to figure what is bent. the hatch was shifted over about 1.5 inches to the pass side, the latch was broken, and the hinges were shot. there is some paint cracking and a dent on the roof in the rear as well. i have replaced the hinges and the latch and have aligned the hatch up the best i can but in order to get the hatch to line up at the taillights and down the body, the gap at the roof line is small on the drivers side and quite large on the passenger side.
do you think the hatch is tweeked, or would it be more likely that the roof has shifted from the hit. and if it is the roof should i bother trying to fix it?
thanks. i will take some pics tomorrow.
do you think the hatch is tweeked, or would it be more likely that the roof has shifted from the hit. and if it is the roof should i bother trying to fix it?
thanks. i will take some pics tomorrow.
02-06-2011, 08:09 AM
#3
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: NC
Posts: 21
02-06-2011, 09:14 AM
#4
M.A.D. Motorsports
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Indiana
Posts: 8,014
It looks like you need to just loosen the bolts that go through the roof to the hatch hinges and adjust it. The driver side needs to be pushed up some. BUT with the other dents in the body it might have slightly shifted on you. Also check the striker mounting. The plate it mounts to could have slightly been bent. Once the hatch comes down to latch it can move a little to catch the lock. I have had similar issues since I smashed my rear end on an accidental of roading adventure. The weight of the hatch did all the mis alignment issues I have though....
02-06-2011, 12:23 PM
#5
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: NC
Posts: 21
i have already re aligned the hatch. i replaced the hinges and the latch. loosened everything up, centered the hatch and striker, aligned the hatch on the car and tightened back down. this is the best i could get. If i align the roof line on the car, the hatch hangs off the passenger side of the car by about 1.5 inches.
i guess the better question to ask is, do you think the hatch would tweek more easily than the roof?
i guess the better question to ask is, do you think the hatch would tweek more easily than the roof?
02-06-2011, 05:25 PM
#7
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: NC
Posts: 21
oh whatever im just gonna have to pull it apart and pull it back into place. ill post up pics after im done.
02-07-2011, 04:15 PM
#9
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: NC
Posts: 21
interior has been pulled, didn't see any definite damage, but i did cross measure from the taillight panel to the roof and its tweeked. so tomorrow im gonna pull the windows, realign the roof gap, and porta power the roof back into place. ill post up some pics of my progress.
02-08-2011, 05:06 PM
#10
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: NC
Posts: 21
ok its fixed enough for my liking. i pulled the interior and the rear windows.
realigned the hatch on the roof. heres what it looked like when i got it.
and set up my porta power to push the roof back into place.
after a little pushing and tweeking, its back into place.
and thats how you straighten out a tweeked roofline.
realigned the hatch on the roof. heres what it looked like when i got it.
and set up my porta power to push the roof back into place.
after a little pushing and tweeking, its back into place.
and thats how you straighten out a tweeked roofline.