Body shop to fix a Trans Am GTA?

[V]

I picked up an '88 Trans Am GTA that was rear ended by a Harley Davidson about 6-7 years ago. The car had been sitting since then.
The taillights, rear bumper assembly, and rear body pan were damaged.
Hatch was ok and the 1/4s did not buckle.
The previous owner included replacement taillights, same color bumper and the back body panel already cut off a donor car.(w/ about 12" of the 1/4 panels)

I think it should all pull out with some effort and not need the donor panel but I haven't looked too closely at it.

Car does need a full paint job but I really dont want to do that at this time. Thats something I would do myself in the future and most shops here would only accept the repair job if the paint is included.

I need someone just to pull the back panel out and get everything to line up where it should.

Getting a donor shell is NOT an option with this specific car.
This car will be basically put into storage and parked until I figure out what to do.

Any suggestions/recommendations?

[qwikz28]

I think any respectable shop with a frame machine can straighten out a hit that didn't cause the quarters to buckle. It will cost serious money, though.

[V]

Problem is, so far the shops I went to, won't give me an estimate until they start and they want to paint the whole car at the same time. I understand the reasoning of not letting any metal sit bare and not doing stuff twice, but I can't afford 5-6k at this point in time. a year, possibly, but not this summer.

I think I may try to fix it myself. Some tools and several hours should have it back in shape enough.


the outside of the taillight mounting holes are fine, the inner hole and key lock are pushed in about 2.5"-3". and trunk floor pan is buckled some but looks like it could be pushed/pulled out easily.
I removed the damaged cover and absorber and fit the replacement parts on quick.

[Punkmaster 98]

Fischer auto body in lakewood should be able to tackle that.

[LTb1ow]

All Time in Point Pleasant Beach, Alan prob will work with you on what you want done.

[SilverDropTop]

If you know where it needs to be pulled, a come along and a telephone pole/ large tree work great. It really doesn't look that bad from the picture.

[V]

Originally Posted by SilverDropTop

If you know where it needs to be pulled, a come along and a telephone pole/ large tree work great. It really doesn't look that bad from the picture.

Lol that's actually how i got the hatch to drop down inside again. Before, the hook was landing on top of te weatherstripping.

This weekend i gotta take exact measurements and compare then to my white 88 gta to see where its off and how much.

The impact bar took most of the hit, bending like a v in the middle. It started pulling the spot wells where the bar attaches to the mounting brackets. It didn't seem that the frame rails moved any.

[PolarBear]

You SOB, you got a a complete Notchback. Is it a digital dash?

The place my cousin works could probably fix that

[V]

Originally Posted by PolarBear

You SOB, you got a a complete Notchback. Is it a digital dash?

The place my cousin works could probably fix that

lol, Analog dash, hardtop, 350. And the original tan interior was swapped out to a black regular gta interior, so I have some work ahead of me to get everything back to stock.

[PolarBear]

You did, didn't you? And a hard top

[unstable bob gable]

Originally Posted by PolarBear

The place my cousin works could probably fix that

2nd this.^^^^ I've been friends with the owner of the shop where Bear's cousin works for 30 years. Great shop to deal with.

[Dudbird113]

How much for black interior haha

[V]

Originally Posted by Dudbird113

How much for black interior haha

Well i found someone with a tan interior, they said to make an offer. So make me an offer.

[3.4 grape of wrath]

Originally Posted by unstable bob gable

2nd this.^^^^ I've been friends with the owner of the shop where Bear's cousin works for 30 years. Great shop to deal with.

What shop? I'm looking for some work done on my car.

[unstable bob gable]

Originally Posted by 3.4 grape of wrath

What shop? I'm looking for some work done on my car.

Showcase Auto Body
38 Old Camplain Rd
Hillsborough NJ 08844

908.575.9000

[V]

Well I finally got around to actually working on this car the past week. It took way too long to get my garage clean enough to fit it in.

I no longer need a body shop to do the main repair. I started by removing all the parts that couldn't be saved, mainly bumper cover, absorber, and metal reinforcement. Then I was able to see where I needed to push out. I spent about an hour or so working on the body today and got a large portion of the damage taken care of. I have to address a few more specific areas and then its all fine tuning with a hammer and dolly. I had found a new trunk pan if needed but it seems like I'll be able to save all my current sheetmetal. And after messing with the hatch for an hour, I found out one good lift strut and one bad one is the reason for the hatch pushing slightly to one side. So that'll be addressed eventually.

When I got the car....




after removing the bumper cover...


with bumper reinforcement cut off (I'll unbolt the brackets once everything is back in position) Notice the bulge of the trunk floor...



And finally, after an hour of work today...

[Punkmaster 98]

doesnt seem as bad not that you did that. good work.

[sweetbmxrider]

Nice work! Do you have a donor car or anything to take measurements off of or just using your eye?

[V]

Originally Posted by sweetbmxrider

Nice work! Do you have a donor car or anything to take measurements off of or just using your eye?

I have my white '88 GTA parked right next to it for reference and I also have a section that is the rear 18" cut off from another GTA that was included with this car.


I guess I'm lucky that the rear was hit almost dead center by just a motorcycle. If it had been a car or hit more towards the side, it would have been a bigger problem.

[Blacdout96]

Paul, excellent job man! Even if you wanted a body shop to correct anything, you took a huge chunk of tje bill out, if anything I say as long as the crash bar fits, hook up a new bunper and start cruising

[PolarBear]

Originally Posted by V

found out one good lift strut and one bad one is the reason for the hatch pushing slightly to one side. So that'll be addressed eventually.

Good luck replacing that, unless you already have a spare.....

[V]

Originally Posted by PolarBear

Good luck replacing that, unless you already have a spare.....

The ones on it are actually "fabricated" already. I'm not sure when it was done or by which previous owner but it looks pretty simple to replicate. If I do it and it works out, I may make a few sets.

[PolarBear]

Originally Posted by V

The ones on it are actually "fabricated" already. I'm not sure when it was done or by which previous owner but it looks pretty simple to replicate. If I do it and it works out, I may make a few sets.

Yeah, I have my idea on how to replicate with standard struts, basically just need to cut the old mounts off and weld them on new struts. Just keep the heat down and cool the main body tube

[V]

Originally Posted by PolarBear

Yeah, I have my idea on how to replicate with standard struts, basically just need to cut the old mounts off and weld them on new struts. Just keep the heat down and cool the main body tube

On mine,the end of what appears to be a standard strut was cut off and a bar with the proper end was added and welded on.

[PolarBear]

Originally Posted by V

On mine,the end of what appears to be a standard strut was cut off and a bar with the proper end was added and welded on.

Yeah, same with mine so that must be how they did it for them