MK1 GL Cabriolet. CRASHED!

hello, i thought id make a thread about my pride and joy in this desperate time of need!!!
i picked her up last October, i was in love at first sight. she was pretty solid all over when i had got her with no major faults. just a broken alternator and a leaky vinyl roof.
i got a new alternator fitted and a battery whilst i was at. she starts fine every time, like an absolute dream. i also sorted a new mohair roof on to get rid of the leaks, made the car look brand new! and of course to get it ready for summer
i also got it lowered 40mm. the plan is to make/keep it retro looking, but love the original look.

heres some pictures…









now the bad news. as i was on my lunch break from work today i plowed into the back of a stupid old lady who emergency stopped at clear junction for no reason. as you can imagine i am absolutely devastated to say the least…
the left wing is buckled and twisted
the front panel is a goner
the bumper is smashed up
indicator and lights on the passenger side are smashed
i am aware that you can get all these from crazy quiffs but wonder if there are any 2nd hand good quality parts floating about

other than that the engine seems fine, nothing leaks, the tracking seems fine too. i could drive it home after the accident, but i cant be sure on everything until ive got a professional opinion on it.

i am only 20 so the cost of insuring a 'convertable' was a joke this year and  will be an even bigger one next year. so im going to sort my car out myself. and use my insurance to pay for that stupid f&*^^%& womens mk4 polo!
if you guys could help me out in sourcing any of these parts or even give me opinions/personal experiences, and keep my girl alive it would be much appreciated.

thanks,
ollie.

Sorry to hear the bad news! Looks like a real beaut in the pics. Crazyquiff does new and used parts, so should be able to sort you out either way. If it was me, I'd ring him rather than e-mail. And you can always keep asking round in the Parts Wanted section if no-one replies here. If it is just the front panel, wing and bumper that's not too bad. Hopefully it looks worse than it is.
P.S - the old lady probably hit the wrong pedal!  :roll:

cheers mate.
ive found a wing and panel on ebay. they arent the same date as my car, but they will be the same dimensions right?
here they are…

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=140319436754

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=220408439764

i took the bumper off today, the damage is rectifiable.
if i can get them panels pretty sharpish i can get to work on it right away, i cant bring myself to leave it in the garage haha.

Yes they'll be the same dimensions. Obviously they're pattern parts so you won't be guaranteed with a brilliant fit (the pattern wings tend to have big panel gaps if you can't tweak them enough). Seriously though, I'd ring Crazyquiff, he does good genuine used parts, hopefully a wing, which would fit like a glove. I take it there was no damage north of the headlight area then…slam panel, radiator grille, front edge of bonnet?
Are you gonna take some pics of the damage? Not just cos we're nosey, but it'd be good to see your before and after pics in a thread like this.

heres some pictures to have a ganders at.
i took the bumper off as soon as i could to have a closer look at the damage.
ill take your advice and defiantly give crazyquiff a ring mate. i thought i might be able to beat the wing panel into a better shape but the twist in it is ridiculous.
the front panel where the light is has folded on itself n pinched wires between it. so im guessing ill have to replace that panel too, the impact has pushed the front end of the engine back a little, but nothing is damaged, hopefully it will just all fall back into place when i get the new panels.

Just thought, if you put 'CRASH!' in your title, you might get some more viewers who can offer advice about the sort of damage the car has.

haha nice idea

Sad sight there mate.  Hasn't crumpled the chassis leg atall has it?

i think it has mate, i cant get a close enough look at it without taking off the panels. im so gutted.
i tried to get the wing off today, i unbolted it all but it still wont come off. i dunno but it looks as though some horrible sealant is holding it on.



any suggestions?

Yeah, the factory fitted wings were really well sealed. It's just a case of cutting down the seal with a stanley knife and basically hacking it all off! Probably the easiest way, it's either that or heat it up.

ollie_t said

haha nice idea

 i had a very simalar accident identical damage on my mkII jetta gti, i fixed it all up my self second hand panels etc, after i'd sorted it all i noticed when i was driving it that when i eased off the gas to change gear the car would pull to the left and as soon as i'd changed gear and put the power down the car would straighten up and drive straight so long as you had the power down? i took it to the vw garage they checked everything couldnt find anythingno visable damage or bends, they did the tracking incase i'd knocked it out, i went down the rd tried it again and it still did it, so they then put it up on the ramps did a 4 wheel alighnment  on it and it was out they re-set it we tried it again and it still did it?? it was only when they measured my wheel base from centre of the front wheel to the centre of the back wheel we finally descovered that the left side wheel base was actually half an inch shorter than the drivers side, im not saying this could have happened to yours but its worth measuring it cause if your chass it out from the accident you may well not notice it anywhere but its a good way of checking, sounds stupid and simple but it had the vw garage scratching thier heads as they could not see any damage anywhere only by measurement!!! hope you get her sorted and straightend back out, i know how ya feelin its gutting you'v done better than i did straight after i couldnt look at mine for about 3 days if i had i'd hav cried??

Have all parts to put right, pm me if you haven't sorted

thanks alot for that zambeaky, ill keep that in mind. fingers crossed i wont have that problem. ill let you know!

ok, so today me and my dad re-shaped some of the panels to keep us busy (in the hope that we can just sand/fill and re-paint them.)
so heres what we did…




after taking the outter wing of we've noticed the inner wing folded in on itself
so we bashed it out a little, heres one picture of it done half way..


it finished is nowhere near perfect but it looks much better i promise







thats what it looks like at the moment, im gunna do abit more shaping/ sanding monday, i think ill be able to save the outter wing, what do you guys think?

after knocking the front panel into shape its been confirmed that the left chasis leg has bent in at the front, its not crushed or anything so i think i  may pull it out and weld it, im not sure. opinions?



im definatley going to need to get a new front panel though, as you can see the car looks like its had a stroke so the bonnet cant shut properly.

over all though its lifted my hopes up, its still a long way away though, i can look at it now though without wanting to cry, haha
ill take it for a drive tomorrow to see if the tracking is out and to see if any mechanics are seeming to be a problem.

Good luck

nice amount of work done today, i cant take credit for it, this is my dads handy work!..





really pleased with the progress, gunna finish the front panel (planning on smoothing of the entire front, so theres no holes) and wing of tomorrow then ill be able to get it back on the road until i raised the money   for new panels and to get it professionally sorted.
got a quote the other day to get it looking tip top again. will be just over a grand. looks like im gunna be stuck doing over time at work for the next month or two!

is it me or is there something missing? you did tell your dad that the square hole SHOULD be there

good job tho.

haha we've decided that we're going to smooth over the whole lower front panel, ill drive bumperless on the front for abit

hopefully it'll look a little like this one…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/justinminns/2937238037/

i wasnt a fan of it when i first saw it but its grown on me now.

But what if you have another similar accident? chances are you wont be able to fix it again… Even a slight knock in a car park and you'll be looking at panel repairs, rather than just replacing a bumper.

JoeB said

But what if you have another similar accident? chances are you wont be able to fix it again… Even a slight knock in a car park and you'll be looking at panel repairs, rather than just replacing a bumper.

Could be said for anyone running bumperless.  Its a risk you take.