techboy Posted December 11, 2011 Report Share Posted December 11, 2011 (edited) A friend from the board here came over today w/ his porta-power. This is what we were able to come up with in about an hours worth of work. My goal was just to get things shaped enough to get a hatch back on it for the winter months. This also buys me some time to really think about what to do w/ this car and what my options are. All quotes I've gotten thus far have still been pricey for a new roof welded on. I hate to part it though ... too nice a car @ only 58k. BEFORE: http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/5127/dsc04214o.jpg ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________NOW: http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/7981/dsc04392t.jpghttp://img809.imageshack.us/img809/8951/dsc04390o.jpghttp://img825.imageshack.us/img825/5571/dsc04389y.jpghttp://img600.imageshack.us/img600/8186/dsc04387v.jpg To be fair, it looks a little better in the pictures than it does in real life, esp in this last photo. The white hides a lot Edited May 24, 2012 by techboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColdScrip Posted December 11, 2011 Report Share Posted December 11, 2011 Wow Chris thats quite an improvement. Glad to see you may decide to get it alive again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrazilBoy Posted December 11, 2011 Report Share Posted December 11, 2011 Much better... You could yank the headliner and kick the rest of the dents out a bit and see how she sits after that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsi_tom Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 Looks like the doors are sealing somewhat. Do they open and close? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 Any members near you that are handy with a welder? That really does not look that bad, remove all glass and interior, chop off roof and weld new one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techboy Posted December 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 The doors opened and closed just fine even when it was smashed. But the drivers side had about a 1" gap at the top and the passenger had about a 2" gap. If look closely at the first picture listed under the "NOW" photos you can see the drivers b-pillar has come back into position perfectly, there is an even gap all the way down the roof line. The passenger door is still out about a 1/4", which you can see in the second photo, but the tree landed more to that side, so there is more creasing of the sheet metal on that side, so I expected that. Yeah, I do have to yank the headliner, it's busted up now anyway. I'll have to see if I can "massage" some more of the damage. What I'm wondering now is if the roof structure can be saved underneath and just have the car's roof re-skinned, instead of cutting the whole top off the car. I have to make a phone call, I have someone in mind I'd like to come look at it and give me another opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrngwae Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 do you have any air tools???? you can take an air hammer with a nice flat heat and a friend with a dolly aka piece of steel and "massage" it to really decent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metric-man Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 Maybe make a T top, or see how big a sunroof you can find that'll fit ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indiana Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 Put a padded vinyl top on it and don't worry about it. You'll have the first one. I put a vinyl top on an Audi coupe once, it didn't look bad. I put in a sunroof too. You could also put in a huge moonroof out of some SUV or van then all you have to fix is what's left on the outer edge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87TsiOwner Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 That thing is 100% fixable for sure! looks a ton better now, even though you say the pictures do it more justice than it really is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmyers151 Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 That's a pretty miraculous change with just an hour's worth of work. I'd say it's definitely saveable from this stage moving forward. If you decide that it's too much of a project, please let me know ahead of time. I'd love to give it a shot if I've got the money handy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techboy Posted December 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 That thing is 100% fixable for sure! looks a ton better now, even though you say the pictures do it more justice than it really is. Lol ... I haven't had one person whose come to look at the car tell me it's not fixable. The questions is the $$$ to do so and whether or not it's worth it. I personally only have basic welding skills and zero body experience. I pretty much just build motors. Dale - when you drive down to pick up the head you're more than welcome to take a look at it and see what you think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmyers151 Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 Just looking at the pictures, if you can get a hatch to seal, those dents in the roof should be no problem to work out. White hides a lot of imperfections, that could be your saving grace. As for the sunroof, I've toyed with the idea of replacing my glass with a CF panel or something similar. I get tired of sunburn on my scalp, lol. I'd not even worry much about that, and just focus on fixing the existing roof panel. Again, I haven't seen it personally, so I can't say for sure, but the pictures say to me that it can be done without a new roof panel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrazilBoy Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 Im with Dale insert a carbon fiber roof panel ala most super cars, just keep the subframe underneath and get a hardtop headliner.. Most likely that can be done for a couple hundred bucks and it leaves the option to add a metal roof later if it doesnt suit you someday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzord30 Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 Roadster? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burton Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 (edited) Dude, that is cake to fix for the right body guy. What kind of quotes are you getting, if you don't mind me asking? Were they quotes from shops or people who do that sort of work on the side? You can PM me if you want to keep it private. The hatch jamb and seal looks to be lining up great, as well as the driver's side door. The passenger side is a little off but is SOOO close. I'm sure that could be worked back into shape real easy, especially after the roof skin was cut free. Hell, I've seen people fix damage worse than that without even replacing the roof skin. Some strengthening underneath, some filler, and a new aftermarket sunroof could have it fixed up. It wouldn't be the "right" way, and I would never reccomend that, but I've seen plenty of body guys do worse, and have it come out looking just fine. That car is soooo fixable..... It would be a major shame to part a low mileage car like that, just because of that damage. I know it looks like a pretty daunting task, but that could be easily fixed by someone with the right skills, or even by a novice with the right information and direction. Have you seen my online body manual at 26liter? I have a chapter about metal fab and welding in panels that may help you better understand what would be involved. Edited December 12, 2011 by Burton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Convette Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 Just cage it and targa top that bishi. Dont part it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techboy Posted December 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 All in all I'm real pleased w/ the progress I've been making on this. I mentioned before in my last thread about this "situation" I'd really like to use this to my advantage to get rid of the sunroof. The car was not originally a sunroof car and I'm somewhat of a to-the-VIN-number-guy .... I'd like it to be original from the factory. If it had a factory sunroof, that would be different. So, I'm hoping for the re-skin route. I'm not opposed to other options, like a CF roof or targa tops or other creative measures, it really just boils down to - like I said before - who can do it right ... and the cost involved. Right now, I have a blown motor in my other Quest, so that's #1 on the list and is getting rebuilt this winter. This will have to wait until the spring. I was just hoping to seal it up w/ a new hatch before winter sets in. When I get the hatch and install it, I'll take some pictures of the alignment. Burton - PM sent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ucw458 Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 Whatever you do, don't try to make a convertible or targa top car. The roof adds alot of stiffness to the unibody. Cutting the roof off turns the car into a giant leaf spring. The doors wont even close right after you do that. I've seen it firsthand. A SQ with no roof lives a short life before it gets scrapped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techboy Posted December 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2011 Well, I picked up a hatch from a local guy on Thursday and got it mounted up today. I'm super happy. Took a couple of minutes to align it correctly, but it opens and closes real nice. You can see in the 3rd picture I got a very nice straight line along the top of the hatch. Very pleased w/ the progress I'm making on saving this car. I think I might cut a piece of plywood to put over the hatch glass in event I get any more branches that come down off the tree over the winter. Kinda strange, but you can actually see the culprit reflected in the glass of the new hatch. Pretty sure it's laughing at me ..... http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/5017/dsc04446i.jpghttp://img24.imageshack.us/img24/3655/dsc04447tz.jpghttp://img576.imageshack.us/img576/8656/dsc04448o.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmyers151 Posted December 18, 2011 Report Share Posted December 18, 2011 Very well done, Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87TsiOwner Posted December 18, 2011 Report Share Posted December 18, 2011 Looks great man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 18, 2011 Report Share Posted December 18, 2011 I would have taken a chainsaw to that tree already! and used it for firewood just for kicks. But car looks waaay bettern than when that tree was on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coke Posted December 18, 2011 Report Share Posted December 18, 2011 I'd have cut the tree down,.taken the wood from the tree, and built a garage to store the car in. HAH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techboy Posted December 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2011 Lol .... it's not totally obvious from the pictures, but I live IN the woods ... and the trees are huge. We had to have one taken down 2 years ago and it cost 1800 bucks. I think for that money I'll just put a new roof on my car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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