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repair or reshell???

Posted: 28 Dec 2008 10:18 pm
by themightybaggins
well, i guess im a newbe on the forum, ive been reading and searching for a while, but i find myself having to ask questions now!

i only bought it a few weeks ago, and according to the guy i got it from, the guy who built it might still be about, so let me know if you recognise it!

ive been having a great time in it, but today it bit me, and punished me for having so much fun!

i was pulling off a large roundabout (massive dual carrageway stylie), and i must have hit something slippery (a bannana skin maybe? lol) and i span! front end into the barrier, than span again, rear end into the barrier!

so the question is, do i repair it, or reshell it?

before

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and the after pics :oops: once i'd limped it back to my workshop. luckily i was only down the road!

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Posted: 28 Dec 2008 10:35 pm
by Tourinki
It is hard to say. What i would do is strip damaged parts which can be unbolted and then inspect the damages. Then you see if the chassis rails are bent and can it be repaired with sensible amount of work. But it doesn't look so bad that it couldn't be repaired but you'll never know until you check or get it checked properly.

Posted: 28 Dec 2008 11:03 pm
by Chris_C
For what it costs to get a new 300, I'd not try and repair it. Take what you can in good parts, but that looks like enough of a shunt that I wouldn't be repairing it. 3dr's arn't that rare ;)

Posted: 28 Dec 2008 11:36 pm
by themightybaggins
cool, sounds like a plan. im going to look at one tomorrow morning, so if its any good, i wont even think about repairing it!

Posted: 29 Dec 2008 12:09 am
by sven360
Will it not T Cut out?????

Posted: 29 Dec 2008 12:18 am
by volvorsport
welded diff ?

Posted: 29 Dec 2008 12:30 am
by volvosneverdie
Gaffer tape and stickers.

If it pulls to the right, steer left.

Posted: 29 Dec 2008 12:51 am
by 340GLT
Front end is a fairly easy repair but rear is a quarter replacment job. Look at the thread in acces and tuning, "Repairing the 340R"
Adam

Posted: 29 Dec 2008 01:10 am
by Chris_C
As long as it's not banana'd Adam ;)

Posted: 29 Dec 2008 06:50 am
by nomead
Argh, another 300 drifted to s**t. :evil:

The truth is, as others have told, unless it has some really special technical features (mostly engine) it's not worth repairing. And even then it's probably easier to take the special engine out and stick it in another shell.

But if it still runs, why not patch it up and learn, before trashing another one?

Posted: 29 Dec 2008 08:45 am
by whiskeyonesix
I'd say that's a write-off, although you won't really know how much damage there is until you start stripping it back.

Whats your insurance like? Is it worth putting a claim in, then buying the thing back and stripping it?
For what its worth, I reckon you were pretty lucky not to hit anyone else - These cars are twitchy enough as standard!

Still, I think everyone has one bad accident - you tend to learn after that! ( Thats pretty much how I wrote off my old 740SE )

Posted: 29 Dec 2008 09:29 am
by pistonpen paultje
Is this a Valver? (the old one of...griffo (if im right?) Maybe?)

I think this is easy to say:

If you don't mind the looks of your car (because its a drifter, or something like that) Repair it...

If you want a neat & solid car again: Get a 340 automatic, and rebuild it!

Posted: 29 Dec 2008 10:41 am
by trabitom99

Posted: 29 Dec 2008 11:04 am
by SteveP
I'd find another shell and swap all the running gear and nice parts over, maybe one with a blown engine or something? Not only would you get it cheaper but a sense of satisfaction in building it up faster and back on the road :D

Have you driven the car on any drift days yet? Best thing for a car like that is to take it to one of them events to find out its limits I guess. Sorry if I'm teaching a granny to suck eggs!

Posted: 29 Dec 2008 11:45 am
by Chris_C
Ahh, ok, so landy dampers then. Makes a lot of sense :(