crashed...

[de_stanny]

Hi Guys,

Got in a stupid accident a few weeks back , lady backed out of her parking spot and now left front damaged pretty bad , due to lack of replacement parts totaled by insurance ...

now what should i do ... get the full amount from the insurance and let them have the car or take the repair money and keep the car , the only problem i Have is time, going to be moving in a couple of weeks to an other continent , currently still in Houston.

So i thought maybe i can bring it up to the Forum as we are all in need of Spares .... maybe somebody is interrested in the car ....

thx Tom

[WienLot]

photos ?

[de_stanny]

[url=[URL=http://s271.photobucket.com/user/tompepermans1976/media/IMG-20140310-00509_zps1b4878c3.jpg.html][/url]][url=s271.photobucket.com/user/tompepermans1976/media/IMG-20140310-00509_zps1b4878c3.jpg.html][/url][/url]

[Peter_W]

VERY sorry to hear about/see your news. Hopefully a Forum member can make a deal/arrangements within your time constraints.

[DeanG]

Good luck with this

[Fredjohn]

Really sorry to hear of your incident. I know it's the wrong side of the pond, but surfboardiller is breaking a red Elan. He's just advertised the clam which looks ok and possibly has the front bumper too.

Maybe repairable with this??

EDIT: 18th April note to self: look at parts manual before making stupid comments like this one!!!!

[lotusgirlmarie]

Now that's just sad. I'm gutted for you to be sure.

Bright note is it's easy enough to repair well. The glass work is easy enough. Just the intercooler and some other small bits, the wheel sadly won't be easy to come by but, they are out there. I really hope someone has the time to salvage this one. I hate to see good cars broken.

[Brit-Car-Nut]

The Fed front clam is radically different from the European LHD and UK RHD clams.

[de_stanny]

Hi LGM,

thx for the reply , there was no fluid or anything leaking , dont think the intercooler is damaged and i got a spare rim in the trunk ... but stil its the time i don't have .

[Rusty Wishbone]

With your time constraints, you have to walk away with the cash from the insurer, don't you? A shame, obviously.

[tigerdog]

Ouch! If I knew where I could get a front clip, I'd almost have a go of it myself. I have spare Fed wheels. And in Intercooler and the under-bits. And a spare turn-signal lens. And... a wife that would NOT approve of another Elan at any price. I'm very sad to see this happen. I live in constant fear of this when I drive Smaug.

Anyone know where to find a Fed Elan that's been rear-ended?

[steve matthews]

So sorry, this happened to me but opposite end. John (British Car Nut) has most of the panels.
A front clip will be difficult. Took me about 30 days before I cut her loose. Still miss her so
I feel your pain.

Steve

[Brit-Car-Nut]

Ouch! If I knew where I could get a front clip, I'd almost have a go of it myself. I have spare Fed wheels. And in Intercooler and the under-bits. And a spare turn-signal lens. And... a wife that would NOT approve of another Elan at any price. I'm very sad to see this happen. I live in constant fear of this when I drive Smaug.

Anyone know where to find a Fed Elan that's been rear-ended?

None to be found in any US breaker yards. Maybe someone hoarding parts would step up, but the only wrecked car I could find in the US is in Kentucky and the nose is crashed on the opposite side and they want $3,000.00 for it. They punctured the oil pan and the right side is seriously damaged. They will take $5,000.00 for the car, but it has been out in their yard for over a year with the top loose and the windows open. I don't think it is recoverable and it doesn't have many parts that haven't been damaged by the wreck or the lack of care at the yard.

[lotusgirlmarie]

If I may, I have an observation reading the posts. Just curious as to why everyone feels they would or must replace the clam when modified by a dastardly deed. I've brought cars back with far more damage than this without replacing the injured bits. Removed and rebuilt, yes. Not replaced. Is it just me that can repair glass fibre work? I would have thought there to be more people than that. Again, no insults or anything of that sort intended. I'm just curious. Maybe my mindset is different having been around and having to do so much fabrication for the show cars I've built and the rare cars I've restored? I dunno. Almost anything can be repaired given the time, motivation, skill and money to do it. In this case many of those factors are working against you. I am truly sorry for this and wish I could help.

[theelanman]

I too have seen worse repaired......
I think DIY its doable but as its an insurance job it'll go to a garage and they like to make things as easy and costly as they can to push through the insurance company......Ive never met one yet that doesn't have two prices...one for personal and one for company.....
I think the insurer will just write it off as they (the garage) will say that they cant find the parts and the cost of a manual repair outstrips the actual value of the car.......
if you could buy it back then if you wanted to make it easier Im sure you could find a bumper/fender and 'a' panel...then repair the clam and bonnet....

just a thought

[steve matthews]

If I may, I have an observation reading the posts. Just curious as to why everyone feels they would or must replace the clam when modified by a dastardly deed. I've brought cars back with far more damage than this without replacing the injured bits. Removed and rebuilt, yes. Not replaced. Is it just me that can repair glass fibre work? I would have thought there to be more people than that. Again, no insults or anything of that sort intended. I'm just curious. Maybe my mindset is different having been around and having to do so much fabrication for the show cars I've built and the rare cars I've restored? I dunno. Almost anything can be repaired given the time, motivation, skill and money to do it. In this case many of those factors are working against you. I am truly sorry for this and wish I could help.

LGM I wish you were on the East Coast.
When mine was rear ended Insurance said only NEW OEM parts could be used.
So I bought it back from them and took it to the Corvette guy's.
Corvette guy's said we need a mold or a hind quarter + $8,000.00.
So I parted it out.

Steve- wishing I never let that one go.

[lotusgirlmarie]

Steve, it's crap like that that irks me the wrong way love. I got hit many years ago. T boned two weeks before a car show I was supposed to attend. Damage was in the right front. Bent a wheel, steering rack arm, A panel and a touch of the clam and door. Insurance wanted to write it off and I said at out, no. Write me a cheque for half the value of the car, which was easy to inflate slightly as they are so rare (btb this is a point that can add in the valuation of your motor if you keep it in top nic and keep receipts for all maintenance and uprates performed). Ended up with $11G and a clean title sans showing an accident and said I'd find the bits and get the repairs done myself. They agreed and cut me a cheque. Guess it also helps that at the time, I had my own shop and was the proprietor. They didn't question me as I did a lot of insurance work back then and NEVER did I inflate or rip anyone off. I was cheap by comparison to many shops slyly because I had some great lads whom all were enthusiasts of motors and had a skill set to match. They weren't just parts changers as there are now. Sad what the industry has become. Sorry. Rant over. Just frustrates me to hear people getting taken for by douche canoes and perfectly good, repairable Vic's getting shorted or turned into bondo queens.

In retro, that accident is what prompted me to make bits for my car out of carbon fibre and or Kevlar. I would have parts for the future should any 2 bit twat come out of the woodwork and decide to bash into me. I would also get to keep my car and keep a good title on it. I decided when I got her that she'd probable outlive me and possibly my marriage. So far the marriage was true.

[chris.t]

Blimey what was she driving, a tank? Agree with lgm on this , buy it back and repair, you could come out of this with change.

[epipete]

It really needs to be repaired, seems to me your dilemma is not just time. What were you planning to do with it, since your moving to a different continent and this is a US car then, were you planning to take it or sell it?

If you don't take the cash from the insurance company you have a car you'll have difficulty repairing and selling (due to time) or problems selling a damaged insurance write off just as is!

I think, for your own peace of mind, you'll have to cut & run (ie accept the insurance cash) shame though to see another one lost!

[tigerdog]

OK, so if it goes up for sale, how badly will my wife hate me and where can I learn to repair fiberglass? And get the time to do the job... that's the harder part. Anyone know a good boat shop in San Diego?