e50095

I'm curious about the radiator support. In replacing it, the spot welds need to be drilled out, which most folks can do if they take their time. The problem is not everyone can weld, including me. That said, I don't see why we just can't drill holes and bolt the new support in. You could even elongate the holes a bit to give you some adjustability. At one time I would have said that was a bad thing, but after buying a couple cars that were totalled by the insurance company and fixing them for my wife and daughter to drive, I learned a frontal impact, or any impact for that matter, stresses and tweaks areas of the car that show no obvious damage. For example, I bought a 2010 Sebring that had run into that big steel bar that hangs down behind a tractor trailer. I looked at it, and saw the front bumper support and frame were unaffected, and decided a new hood, drivers fender, bumper cover, rad support, AC condenser, and headlight assemblies would do the trick. A trip to my local upullit netted almost everything I needed, and it was all bolt in. It all went on so easily, but when I was done, the hood to fender gap was huge on both sides, and the windshield wipers when you put them in the upright position (like its gonna snow) hit the hood, even after I replaced the hinges. I concluded the inner fenders pushed out a little in absorbing the force, and the place where the hood hinges bolt up did the same, got pushed toward the windshield. I used a block of wood and hammer to push the fender mounts back in, but i'm still working on the hood, which needs to move forward about an 1/8 to look right and sit well over the headlamp assemblies. Not sure how I'm gonna tackle that, as there is no adjustment in where the hood bolts to the hinges.

Now I've gone and bought an 09 Mustang with what doesn't look like game over damage. I haven't gotten into it yet, but I assume a radiator support will definitely be on my shopping list. Any tips from folks that do crash repair would be appreciated. When I was little my granddad would say, "shut the Hell up and listen to people that know what they're talking about......you might learn something valuable." He was not wrong. Thanks guys....