PLEASE HELP! I smashed my car!

[GNRick]

Here is one on craigslist in Illinois, if that helps:

BUICK GRAND NATIONAL HEADER PANEL

 

[pmoore4321]

Man, I would pull the trigger on that one if I was not afraid it would break during shipping. I see many on ebay, both new and used, but they all have the holes for the hood ornament. :frown:

 

[GNRick]

Drive on up to Illinois! Weather is finely improving, will be in 50's this week.

 

[pmoore4321]

I'm sure I will find one sooner or later. I just hate looking at the hole in my car.

 

[streetwavesauto]

I have one here in Austin off a T-Type that has small crack at the mounting point that is not visible once the headlight bezel is installed.

I can sell for $100 - a buddy of mine is heading to Houston this weekend and I am sure he can meet up with you somewhere down there if you are interested.

 

[pmoore4321]

I have one here in Austin off a T-Type that has small crack at the mounting point that is not visible once the headlight bezel is installed.

I can sell for $100 - a buddy of mine is heading to Houston this weekend and I am sure he can meet up with you somewhere down there if you are interested.

I will send you a PM...

 

[Mark E.]

Fix it. Fiberglass is not too bad to work with. I fixed mine and it was hard to tell. It was worse than yours.

 

[pmoore4321]

Now I have to figure out what the next step will be. Fix or replace?..

 

[st1nger]

just a thought

If you are going to shipp a header or that type of part you have to take it to a packing company and use foam spray packing which totally incases the part will not break if box is intact. I ship neon art pieces base and glass all the time 500 to 700 dollar piece and roll them in to fedex or ups never had one break have even shipped to europe and canada you have to crush it impact wont do it 50 bucks to foam it just a thought

 

[T- Type Tim]

I ordered one from brian last year(fiberglass) and it did not have the holes for the hood emblem. I did take a LOT of work to get the thing to line up correctly, but overall it worked out great. have pics of it in my photo gallery before and after paint.

 

[mikes86ttop]

fix it....everything is repairable!

 

[challengermike]

I would fix the one you have,its a east spot to fix.Just taper all the edges out,get some fiberglas and resin and goto town.Mine i took 2 header panels and made one good one.I did it 3 years ago and it still looks good.

 

[turbodave231]

The GM header panels are not fiberglass rather SMC (same as Corvette)

If you have the pieces that came out of the hole, It is an easy repair. A good body guy can repair it using a Fusor product made for repairing SMC (Sheet molded composite) It can be knitted back together and minimal filler needed to smooth and finish the repair. It can be reinforced from the backside and be stronger than original.


A quick related story: When I was building my racecar I installed a new GM header panel. The brakes were not finished, but the engine/trans were working. I needed to move the car for some stupid reason. Long story short: Engine surged and the car hit the bench in front of the car. Almost made me sick to my stomach to see the new part mashed. My friend repaired it using the material I mentioned above. It looks great to this day. Moral of the story:

FIX IT!!!!

 

[pmoore4321]

The GM header panels are not fiberglass rather SMC (same as Corvette)

If you have the pieces that came out of the hole, It is an easy repair. A good body guy can repair it using a Fusor product made for repairing SMC (Sheet molded composite) It can be knitted back together and minimal filler needed to smooth and finish the repair. It can be reinforced from the backside and be stronger than original.


A quick related story: When I was building my racecar I installed a new GM header panel. The brakes were not finished, but the engine/trans were working. I needed to move the car for some stupid reason. Long story short: Engine surged and the car hit the bench in front of the car. Almost made me sick to my stomach to see the new part mashed. My friend repaired it using the material I mentioned above. It looks great to this day. Moral of the story:

FIX IT!!!!

Excellent! Thanks for the info and I did manage to save all the pieces. I think I found a place that can fix it. They weren't open today, so Monday I will drop the panel off.

Thanks again for all the suggestions.

 

[pmoore4321]

I picked up my header panel yesterday. I took Nicks advice and sought out a place that specializes in Corvette bodywork. Richey Collision in north Houston did the work and the panel looks absolutely perfect.

 

[1fast6]

replace. No chance for body work to show thru...

 

[GNBRETT]

wow. looks better then new. how much?????

 

[pmoore4321]

I agree. The panel looks better now than before it had a hole in it! I couldn't resist and went out and installed it with a few bolts. Paint matches perfect. If I ever decide to get my car repainted, I am going to have that place do it. They had some serious rides at that place! They had several Corvettes they had recently painted black and the finish was unreal. I left there wishing I could take my whole car in for a paint job.

Oh, it was a costly repair at $400. I was so happy to see how it turned out it didn't bother me a bit. I guess only time will tell if the repair will last.

 

[monte4ever]

WOW.......that's a very nice repair.