So I wrecked my Vette...

[gen2lover]

looking good A.J. GLAD you are OK!

can you please just CHECK MY OTHER THREAD TO YOU? I HAD A FEW NEW QUESTIONS. TYIA, KEVIN.

 

[Jeebs]

Thats some pretty sick work for doing it in a garage. That would put a lot of body shops to shame.
Good job.

 

[Junkman2008]

How many days did that take you from start to finsh? Awesome job!!!!!

I'm not done yet! Still finishing it up.

 

[Junkman2008]

looking good A.J. GLAD you are OK!

can you please just CHECK MY OTHER THREAD TO YOU? I HAD A FEW NEW QUESTIONS. TYIA, KEVIN.

I will as soon as I'm free today.

 

[Junkman2008]

I got some more updates. I've been dealing with all the wiring that was torn up. The tire that flew into my bumper pushed the fog light off the bracket and through the bumper. It took some wiring with it.

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I got my grills installed inside my Tiger Shark.

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I also installed my side markers (DRL's).

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Got my replacement fog light mounted. This is how you have to bend and straighten the stock mounting bracket so that it works with the mounting bracket that comes with the Tiger Shark. The fog light option that comes with the Tiger Shark is about $150 extra.

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I finally got all the wiring fixed on the wrecked side. Now i'll dress it all down and make it look a lot sweeter, although you won't be able to see it. That's the anal Marine in me. I'll know that it is neat and that is all that is important to me (wow, that was a grammar cluster bomb).

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Got my new overflow tank. It was split at the seam from the wreck. I got mine from Rock Auto for around $60.

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High beams are in place and working. I had to buy a new one because the city light socket inside the lens was cracked and and ripped out f the light. That is not a item that you can purchase alone. That sucked because that headlight was around $80.

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My HID's will arrive tomorrow and the Tiger Shark goes back on by this weekend. Then the massive detail begins. That's going to be fun.

 

[AFL in NJ]

Very nice job on your repairs; sorry to hear about your accident and glad it was just car parts that needed repair.

Regards,
Aaron

 

[DeceptioN]

How much would you charge for a full repaint with color change? I'm sure a lot of us would be willing to let you paint our cars. The money will help offset your vette repairs, and maybe even get you towards a Viper

 

[Junkman2008]

How much would you charge for a full repaint with color change? I'm sure a lot of us would be willing to let you paint our cars. The money will help offset your vette repairs, and maybe even get you towards a Viper

In reality, I don't have the facilities to do that type of work. By doing this in a garage, I will create more work for myself by creating a condition where trash can get in the paint. That means that I will have to deal with that after painting. This takes quite a while and I don't think anyone will want to wait a month or two for me to finish their car. I appreciate the offer though!

 

[Junkman2008]

Well, I finally got all the headlight wiring figured out and repaired. Everything is nice and bright again. First, my halos or "angel eyes".

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Then the high beams, which I changed over to HID's...

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And the low beams...

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Now here's something that you have to consider if you are a C5 owner and decide to go with all HID's in your high's and low beams. When switching from low to high, the high beams need a few seconds to reach their correct brightness. That means that when you first switch over, you'll practically be driving in the dark!

This of course is not good. Thus, I needed to make sure that my low beams stayed on whenever I switched over to my high beams. This can be done by what is known and the "4 on or high four" mod. It can easily be done by changing the circuit design in the following manner.

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Now I have enough light output to land a 747!

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Next, I installed the brake cooling ducts...

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Then came the fun part. Installing the bumper was an adventure to itself because you had to keep the fog lights and brake ducts in place as you did the install. This was a PITA! I must have spent 3 hours trying to get that darn thing back on!

After getting the bumper on, I kid you not that I spent about 6 hours trying to get the alignment perfect. There's obviously a trick to it at the factory and trust me, I don't know the trick. Thus, I had the fun experience of learning it. I have it presentable right now, but I know I'll spend a couple more hours messing with it again. At least it's straight.

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Next, the lights went back into the car...

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I still need to enclosed the headlights with their shrouds and add the covers but hey, that was 18 hours worth of work that you just looked at!

 

[01sapphirebob]

Keep up the great work A.J.!!

 

[AbsolutHank]

Great job on getting the car back together!

I hit a re-tread in my C6 a few years back...everytime I see them on the road, I'm pissed they are still legal!

 

[Junkman2008]

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Well folks, the "Junkmobile" is rolling again! I want to thank all the well wishers in this thread and all those who jumped in just to have a look. I must say that I am very happy about the way it turned out, much better than any dealership could have done. My alignment of the body panels is better than it was at any point. I still want to tweak it a bit but hey, I'm always trying to go for perfection.


The first thing I needed to do was get her back into the garage and put a 2-bucket wash on her.

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After that, I took her out for the post-wreck cruise.

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Now I have a lot of detailing to do to the paint and engine compartment but hey, that's what I do. At least I can take advantage of the summer weather now. Total cost for the repair was around $3100 with me providing the labor and food for my buddies. It's the small things that nickle and dime you to death. I am not looking forward to ever having to do this again!




The Junkman

 

[JohnnyViper]

well if you have a itch to do it again find a deal on a banged up one, fix it and flip it for a profit

 

[VIPER GTSR 91]

Wow thats a lot of work and I admire your diligence. Looks good now. Must of been USAA that fell through.

 

[Junkman2008]

well if you have a itch to do it again find a deal on a banged up one, fix it and flip it for a profit

Ha! I want no part of that job again!

Wow thats a lot of work and I admire your diligence. Looks good now. Must of been USAA that fell through.

Actually, it was State Farm that fell through. USAA is who I went to. They allowed me to claim all my aftermarket stuff in the policy.