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I own a 00' ws6 and recently got into an accident. What I believe happened was I hydroplaned the rear wheels going about 60 on the highway, rear end kicked out into the right lane (2 lane highway), tried my best to correct it but I ended up fishtailing twice and landed my nose into the concrete median. Luckily all the damage is to the front end. No engine or transmission damage. Front bumper is mangled, air-box pushed in, radiator support pushed in, hood not a scratch haha!
Anyways, insurance totaled it. Im getting 12,000.00 for the car, and to my amazement they are letting me buy it back for 1,100!!
If by some miracle the frame isnt bent or damaged what structural parts are the same from other firebird models? What is ws6 specific? I would love to fix her up, actually that would be ideal.
Sorry to hear, but luckily you are OK and the insurance is taking pretty good care of you it seems.
Originally Posted by Gemss
If by some miracle the frame isnt bent or damaged what structural parts are the same from other firebird models? What is ws6 specific? I would love to fix her up, actually that would be ideal.
Nothing structural is WS6 specific; that package only includes the hood, lower air box, front sway bar & bushings, muffler & tail pipes, wheels, rear jounce spacer, power steering cooler, badge, and decals.
You certainly do have a good insurance company. Fair on both ends. Those wheels alone look real nice.
Sorry about the accident. May I ask about your tires?? Were the tires almost bald, or lots of tread left still? If lots of tread, what brand? PSI you use? Did you do anything driving (like too much throttle) to break the tires loose? Thanks
Glad your ok. You could always part the car out. The motor,trans would bring you a fair amount. Take you money and buy another Fbody and use all the goodies from this one and put um on your new one then go from there
Im getting the car back hopefully tomorrow, and bringing it to a frame shop to see if the frames in bad shape. If it is, Ill keep you guys posted.. Well either way ill keep you guys posted!
From ur photos in and see the left rail
stuffed hence part of why ur fender is smashed into
drivers door. Can also see ur reinforcement it is stuffed into washer bottle and the drivers side is smashed into apron. Get another car and swap parts or part it out. I am a career body man and body shop estimator. Ur pictures are actually pret Y good just yank the bumper er cover off and u willnsee it all
This thread pains me. (I had a similar experience but was able to run my car up over a low center median instead of crashing the nose. We still did $4K of damage...)
Originally Posted by Gemss
What I believe happened was I hydroplaned the rear wheels going about 60 on the highway, rear end kicked out into the right lane (2 lane highway)
From the pictures, it looks to me that you hit some black ice on that elevated roadway. Even if the temperatures were slightly above freezing, water still gets slippery as it gets near the solid phase.
I think your financial situation hinges on the condition of your hood. If it's undamaged, then you are in great shape. That's the most expensive WS6-specific part and worth most of the salvage cost that you bought the car back from. If you can re-use the hood, you should be able to purchase the front end off any Trans Am and put your WS6 back together.
+1 what wssix99 said, if you really are ok on the hood I'd go ahead and put the car back together. Also if the hood were to have any damage you could go about parting the car out and could for sure make your money back there. Sucks that happened to you but you look like you will turn out fine with what insurance is giving you. When I wrecked my car I was not at fault and damages came out to 8,200 just under salvage and I took the money and fixed it on my own. One thing to look at is how much a shop will run you to do simple parts. They had my hood, stock z28 hood for over 2 grand to fix. I found a hood for like 150 bucks off parts car had a buddy who could paint do it for 50 and I turned a 2000 + dollar fix into a 200 buck fix. That's my own history I've had with wrecked cars and what to do. I say fix it if that hood is ok, if you do it on your own you will save $$$ in the long run.
+1 what wssix99 said, if you really are ok on the hood I'd go ahead and put the car back together. Also if the hood were to have any damage you could go about parting the car out and could for sure make your money back there. Sucks that happened to you but you look like you will turn out fine with what insurance is giving you. When I wrecked my car I was not at fault and damages came out to 8,200 just under salvage and I took the money and fixed it on my own. One thing to look at is how much a shop will run you to do simple parts. They had my hood, stock z28 hood for over 2 grand to fix. I found a hood for like 150 bucks off parts car had a buddy who could paint do it for 50 and I turned a 2000 + dollar fix into a 200 buck fix. That's my own history I've had with wrecked cars and what to do. I say fix it if that hood is ok, if you do it on your own you will save $$$ in the long run.
Agreed again here, that hood is the make/break honestly, ludicrous how expensive they are. The thing that will eat into your pocket the most will be trying to get the frame repaired, that's a lot of damage. Good that you're okay though and still here to repair or buy another!
The hood is fine. The latch looks like it came undone and bent out of the way. There is a tiny amount of fiberglass tearing where the release latch was, but it doesnt look like it affects anything.
The shop owner where the car was loves it and thinks it is fixable. He warned me about the headache of going through the salvage registration and inspection process. Im going to pull the bumper cover and fenders if it warms up this week and try to get an idea of what I need.
Hopefully I can find a parts car, and get this thing back on the road where it belongs!
Agreed again here, that hood is the make/break honestly, ludicrous how expensive they are.
The more I drive my WS6 in to oblivion, the more I realize that the original hood is THE thing that is really special about the car and rally worth something. (The original 17" wheels are worth some coin also, but it seems that the original hoods are harder to come by.)
Originally Posted by Gemss
The shop owner where the car was loves it and thinks it is fixable. He warned me about the headache of going through the salvage registration and inspection process.
If you are going to keep the hood, I'd explore it and consider the pain to keep the VIN and the original WS6 parts together. If you had to scrap it and go to an aftermarket hood (or something like that) it may not be worth it.
Originally Posted by Gemss
Another question. Anything I can salvage off a lt1 car? or even a v6? Frame the same? radiator support the same?
Since you need so many bumper parts, I'd think you'd be best off finding another totaled T/A car with rear end damage and taking the front parts from it. ... Or you could upgrade to a Formula front bumper!
Another question. Anything I can salvage off a lt1 car? or even a v6? Frame the same? radiator support the same?
The core support is different on the 93-97 cars and won't work. 98-02 V6 core supports will.
It seems to me that the job will involve a lot of cutting and welding not only of the core support, but frame rails and inner fender - at least on the driver side.
If you can't find a V8 roller, it might be easier to find a V6 car with good body and paint (and perhaps a bad motor) and transplant your V8 powertrain, fuel system, interior, and hood to that car. Sure, you'd lose your WS6 numbers, but they will be compromised by a salvage title if you repair your car.
You would need to use a V8 K-member on a V6 conversion, so you'd need to verify whether yours is good or not.
If you can't find a V8 roller, it might be easier to find a V6 car with good body and paint (and perhaps a bad motor) and transplant your V8 powertrain, fuel system, interior, and hood to that car.
I think I'd rather buy this,
Originally Posted by RevGTO
Sure, you'd lose your WS6 numbers, but they will be compromised by a salvage title if you repair your car.
than this.
Originally Posted by RevGTO
You would need to use a V8 K-member on a V6 conversion, so you'd need to verify whether yours is good or not.
This reminds me... My K-member is out of sorts/mangled from my similar spin (like this) three years ago. Note to self - save up for a new one...
This reminds me... My K-member is out of sorts/mangled from my similar spin (like this) three years ago. Note to self - save up for a new one...
I vote for buying a firebird in good shape since theyre dirt cheap, pull all of your drivetrain and swap it over, go ahead and just buy an aftermarket tubular k member (will make a world of difference fitting long tube headers in there). and swap over hood and whatever other pieces you want from the TA..and part the rest out..never know you might make a few bucks off the deal in the end.
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Wrecked 
