GT5-S crash rebuild

Another view from the left side. She was bent pretty bad.

Here it is just arriving.

Another view from the rear after most of the quarter panel was removed.

Check out that trans case---what a mess. The entire engine compartment was several inches narrower than original and pushed left all most 2 inches.

Freshly removed transaxle. You can see how far the right side was pushed in. I relocated the MSD box to the firewall during reconstruction.

OOOOPS

On the way to be pulled a bit. Most of the structure was removed but I needed to have the platform checked to make sure it was totally straight from front to rear before the internal reconstruction was started.

Other side

A better view of the right damage. The first shop torched off the upper control arm---OK---

A better shot of the inside wheel well damage.

The B pillar was a mess and on late model car the latch is only mounted to the skin and not to the inner post. In this case it was a blessing or it would have destroyed the door latch also.

Same side inner wheel well with the undercoat stripped and the metal just starting to be cut---I was attempting to salvage the original pieces from the car to build correct patterns so the rebuild could be as factory exact as possible.

Last view before the frame machine work. I saved the left quarter, taillight panel and deck lid with lots of patients, hammering, and shrink disking.

Did have to rebuild the left side a bit do to rust. The late model cars do have the same issues as the early cars---this GT5-S will not have any rust issues again. You will see the repairs in future pictures.

This is the right side rebuilt---I'll show the construction later. Just wanted to show the structure drain holes in the bottom---the left side rust repairs matched the openings in this picture---just can't find a shot of it tonight.

This is a picture of the lower frame rail outer skins with both of the inner structures drilled off. I rebuilt the suspension mount sleeves using 1" washers on both sides welded to the sleeve. This will prevent the sleeve welds from fracturing off the skins which all late model cars are prone to.

The structures are now welded to the outer skins. The rods keep the structure parallel so the suspension mounts correctly. The platform is mounted to my fixture which holds all of the mounting positions in there correct location.

You can see how this mount sleve area was starting to fail before we removed the structure.

here is what was savable from the inner wheel well---not much to start with.

Another view from the outside. You can see the taillight panel has been mostly straightened by this point. Still had to straighten the taillight mounting pocket and re-install it back on the rear panel.

I will post more later on this week.

Thought I would post a shot of the finished car just before the transport picked it up. The rebuild shots can be a bit boring but critical to proving the car was rebuilt with the proper care and detail.

Hi Kirk.

Looks like you did a great job bringing this GT5-S back. Look forward to more pictures of the rebuild.

great ! and thanks for the repair story...

not inquiring on who or what .. but can you give us a idea of that rebuild cost ? Just wondering, was that a total loss ?

This one was close to a total for sure.

This next picture is a better view of the removed damage showing the right rear wheel well fixture mounted to the car. I have a fixture system that bolts to a heavy frame spit platform that locates every stud or nut welded to the body. Using our fixture we can replace all of the damage assuring a correct part position. Using the fixture system, AmeriSport could build a Pantera from scratch if all the original metal parts were still available. It has proven to be invaluable when we're rebuilding sever crashes or bad rust damage.

Here is a shot of the first skin freshly plug welded to the new fabricated inner structure where the upper control arm and coil over mount.

Sanded and primed.

Inside view of the rebuild.

Here is a view of the just fabricated wheel well skin using the frame fixture. It is held in space ready for welding.

The next section fabricated and ready to weld. Matching the material to the original was difficult---there was many many measurements from side to side. It was a chore.

Little better perspective.

New rear lower cross member and trans mounts being welded in.

A view from the down under. We matched the welding as close to factory as humanly possible---stitching and spotting where required.

Another view from the other side. This shows the early repairs on the left quarter and taillight panel. The frame fixture was original built in 1980 to install new Ford replacement wheel wells. Over the years I've added every other bolt point to the jigging.

That is pretty friggin impressive Kirk!!! I hope I never need your services, but it is nice to know that almost anything can be rebuilt with the right tools and skills...

Here is a shot of another car that had rust damage. This is a view of the door fixture mounted to the car and rotator assembly---just a reference picture. The mounting spit platform and attachments are not pretty but they work very well.

another view

I was able to get a right side factory draw panel to replace the damaged quarter. They are not finished but gave me more than I needed to get-er-dun.

A shot of the side gill opening sheet metal work. The panel did not have any reference for the opening---fortunately I had another S car in the shop at this time and was able to use it as a position guide.

Freshly mounted quarter panel and deck lid. The deck was mashed badly on the right side where the impact originated. I had to remove the inner structure to straighten the skin and then re-weld the inner frame-work. The deck came out quite well considering the extent of damage.