FIBERGLASS ???s SUV LIMO Backed into me!

[neksirrah]

What needs to be done, just patch work or new front, body? I have no idea any help would be appreciated, taking it to my guy this week, but want to make sure no expense spared.

Woke up at 6am this morning, cleaned the car drove around for 30mins and missed the exit before the lincoln tunnel and ended up in NYC. Since there is no traffic and I only saw 5 cars all morning I decided to people watch in Midtown, no harm no foul right, what could happen 7:00am with no cars on the road.

A limo driver can put his huge SUV in reverse at a stop light, back into your car, and then tell you. "YOUR CAR IS TOO LOW AND TOO SMALL, I DIDN'T SEE YOU" that is what can happen. Surprisingly I was way too calm, and didn't even look at him when I got out of the car I just walked over the the cops parked in the next block and immediately started "the process". This is my first fiberglass car and after looking at other pictures on the forum the damage doesn't seem that bad. However, this is a show car... I know I know why am I in NYC. Last good driving day of the year, and NYC building are way to fun to bounce the sound of exhaust off of. Anyhow the car has won best paint in show every car show I have been in. I want the car to be the same when I get it back. Side note everyone always thinks their ordeal is worse than it actually is

[TimC]

Did you build the car? If not, see if you can find out who did the original paint. At least you can get the exact paint codes if they are too far away to do the repair.
BTW, from the pic, the paint looks great.

[Riptide Motorsport]

Certainly repairable but you need a guy who knows fiberglass, if your body guy isn't good with it , all the boat guys could fix it and the body guy could paint it.Steven

[Hunter 2]

Will probably cost around a few hundred to 1k to repair. Don't second guess yourself for enjoying NYC in your Cobra. Done that about 100 or more times. Hopefully you'll have it back on the road to attend the Cobras on the Circle event at Columbus Circle the second Sunday in October. About 45-60 Cobras gather there every year. Including one original.

[Aaron Silidker]

Originally Posted by Hunter 2

Will probably cost around a few hundred to 1k to repair. Don't second guess yourself for enjoying NYC in your Cobra. Done that about 100 or more times. Hopefully you'll have it back on the road to attend the Cobras on the Circle event at Columbus Circle the second Sunday in October. About 45-60 Cobras gather there every year. Including one original.

I would peg this repair at far, far more than a few hundred to 1000. Paint and body work are very expensive: good materials aren't cheap, blending well isn't cheap (and the color will have to get blended onto the hood and the car will likely need clear blended to all the way under the doors)....

Anyhow, it can be repaired, but you will need a great body guy.

[Technic-Fan]

Originally Posted by Aaron Silidker

I would peg this repair at far, far more than a few hundred to 1000. Paint and body work are very expensive: good materials aren't cheap, blending well isn't cheap (and the color will have to get blended onto the hood and the car will likely need clear blended to all the way under the doors)....

Anyhow, it can be repaired, but you will need a great body guy.

I remember past posts were someone used one of these FFR 'wall art' kits to graft in as a nose repair. It's basically the front of the body up to the seam point.

Mk4 Roadster Nose Wall Art - Factory Five Parts Catalog

From FFR site: "The Roadster nose wall art is full size and made using the same molds and process as our full Roadster bodies. The nose measures approximately 9" deep."

[mrmustang]

That is about $2,500-$3,000 in repair and paint work you are looking at. Hope you got the limo drivers insurance information.

Bill S..


PS: if you are in northern, NJ, check with Troast Autobody in Rockaway, NJ as he has plenty of fiberglass kit car experience.

[NHolds]

Originally Posted by mrmustang

That is about $2,500-$3,000 in repair and paint work you are looking at. Hope you got the limo drivers insurance information.

Bill S..


PS: if you are in northern, NJ, check with Troast Autobody in Rockaway, NJ as he has plenty of fiberglass kit car experience.

Yep... was gonna say 3500. Easy. Don't ask me how I know.

[Ray]

Originally Posted by neksirrah

..."YOUR CAR IS TOO LOW AND TOO SMALL, I DIDN'T SEE YOU" that is what can happen.

This is a good lesson for all of us. Something that I learned to do when riding motorcycles is to off-set to the left if at all possible, so that I can see the driver in his left side mirror (and they can see me.) Also, stop far enough back. You should be able to see the road and the rear tires of the vehicle in front of your vehicle. If we got backed into in our patrol cars, and we had stopped too close to the other vehicle, it was a pain in the butt as well as a TON of paperwork.

Ray

[Cobra Cory]

You know....Looking at I think it is a good thing it happened where it did. I think you'l be able to get it repaired and looking good, mainly because most of the damage is largely in the white stripe area. Yes they will have to do an excellent job to match that beautiful paint color but the white stripes will help on the repair I think.

[neksirrah]

Thanks for all the comments.

Props to the offset "stainding" while behind another car, don't know why I would have never thought of doing that but it's a must from now on.

Also glad to know some one else drives in NYC, as everyone has been making me feel like an idiot for doing that ride. But it's pretty sweet to stop the streets of the biggest city in the world with a car they will look at more than a ferrari or a lambo.


I didn't talk to the guy that hit me more than a sarcastic... "ARE YOU KIDDING ME.... NICE WORK" i just walked right past him to the police car right accross the street. One good thing about NYC squad cars are everywhere. They did all the talking to the driver and told me what he said after he left. As you can imagine i was pretty HEATED so i thought it best for me to let them handle it.

Got off the phone with my insurance classic car insurance company this morning. (get classic car insurance if you don't have it) they will be taking care of EVERYTHING for me and going after the other driver's insurance company so I have to just drive the car to the body shop. I'm using K&Z auto repair in Wyckoff NJ. I know the owner and the paint guy personally, they work on my other classic cars but never have done any fiberglass for me. Only word i got was that they didn't like working with it, but that they would do it. The painter has a few vettes so I hope everything turns out ok.

I'll post pics when done.

[Hunter 2]

My ride to New York EVERY weekend entails hopping on the turnpike and heading up to the George Washington Bridge and driving back down to the Holland Tunnel through the city via the West Side highway, making the left onto 23rd Street and making a right onto Broadway down to China Town and back through the Holland.

It's a nice mix of highway driving and city driving. First half, people on the highway wave at me, the second half, people in the city, wave, talk and take pics when I pull over to grab a bite or what ever.

It's one of the best driving experiences I can imagine. As as you said, you never see another one. While New Yorkers tend to ignore other exotic cars they wet their pants and point when they see the Cobra.

The Columbus Circle run in October is always nice as all the Cobras go rumbling down Broadway after the gathering at the Circle. Sounds like the end of the world as the sound bounces off the buildings!!!!

[NAGA]

That SUV the Limo's derived from had to have had a back-up warning system. Either they didn't hook it back up or the driver just decided to ignore it because he "couldn't see anything." Idiot. That's what the system's for.

Hope you get it fixed to your satisfaction. That is a spectacular paint job.

d

[MJN]

Originally Posted by neksirrah

I know the owner and the paint guy personally, they work on my other classic cars but never have done any fiberglass for me. Only word i got was that they didn't like working with it, but that they would do it.

A friend had the rear quarter replaced on his SPF by a body shop that specialized in Corvettes. It looked great when he picked it up but within 6 months the repair had shrunk and was very visible. Just my opinion but it seems that Vettes and kit cars even though they are both fiberglass are not the same when it comes to repairs. I would at least talk to Bill's (MrMustang) recommendation before committing to a repair shop.

[neksirrah]

Got the estimate back today $3k. Not going to bug them about a time frame I'll just wait until I get a call, so they can do it right. Nothing but good things to say about K&Z. I'll update with how the job turns out and how it holds up. One more good place in Northern NJ won't hurt anyone :-)

[TimC]

Originally Posted by MJN

A friend had the rear quarter replaced on his SPF by a body shop that specialized in Corvettes. It looked great when he picked it up but within 6 months the repair had shrunk and was very visible. Just my opinion but it seems that Vettes and kit cars even though they are both fiberglass are not the same when it comes to repairs. I would at least talk to Bill's (MrMustang) recommendation before committing to a repair shop.

Could have been caused by using a polyester based fiberglass instead of vinylester (sp?). Make sure they use compatible materials in the repair. If they have any questions I'm sure they could be answered here.