Bending a folded hood back for short term use?

[PandaBear]

90s Integra, 280k miles, probably worth about $2-3k max but at least $1500 for crushing for emission buyback.

Accident today in a small fender bender. Rear ended a CRV in a sudden freeway stop and wheels already locked up, my fault. The CRV seems fine other than a light cracked. The top of my front bumper is pushed in a bit and the hood bent / folded about 2 inches. Hood still closing, top of front bumper is pushed in but the bottom is fine. I think the hood latch is pushed into and slightly bent the AC condenser. Drivable still but will need to fix it.

The problem now: every body part is out of production, junk yard has maybe a couple here, and a couple there, and not the same color. 10 years ago I would see rows and rows of them I can choose from if I want parts, but today almost all the ones end up there are front end damage.

So my question now is:

1) I know that once a hood fold it loses a lot of structural integrity and it won't absorb as much impact next time. For now I want to see if I can straighten it back enough to use till I find a matching hood in the junkyard or ebay so I don't have to paint it. Is it ok if I just bend it back?

2) The "bulkhead" holding the front together seems to be "welded" on. I don't know how to weld, nor do I want to invest in a lot of stuff just to DIY. Is there a way like using rivet to put things back in place? or "pull" it back to close enough?

3) Can you "bend" an AC condenser back and expect it to work still? The one there is starting to have some rust after these years and if I have to replace, would likely be $300 to recharge and $150 for a Rockauto condenser. If I can bend it back without leaking I would probably do.

4) Some shops won't fix car this old, what do people typically do if they are not worth fixing but still drivable? Bending them back to close enough? Sell it to junkyard?

 

[Lubener]

Pics??

 

[Donald]

Well if it passes inspection and runs as it should some will drive it as is. Doubt you will be able to bend the AC condenser back to straight and have it work. It may not work now.

Being a 1990s with close to 300K miles it does not owe you anything.

Not sure of your finances but even if you did not get into an accident it's time to plan for a newer vehicle.

 

[Kira]

Sounds like "You're the man" on this one.
Muster your talents and have at it.

If you can bend the hood back to where it opens and closes, you'll be well under way. Paint it with rattle cans. You already said the selection is gone from yards.

We used cable (wire rope) and chains and a tree or a come along...when we were younger.

Does your AC cool?

 

[Nukeman7]

1) I know that once a hood fold it loses a lot of structural integrity and it won't absorb as much impact next time. For now I want to see if I can straighten it back enough to use till I find a matching hood in the junkyard or ebay so I don't have to paint it. Is it ok if I just bend it back?

No problem bending it back, but it might not be worth the effort if it opens & closes now and you plan to replace it with a salvaged hood.

2) The "bulkhead" holding the front together seems to be "welded" on. I don't know how to weld, nor do I want to invest in a lot of stuff just to DIY. Is there a way like using rivet to put things back in place? or "pull" it back to close enough?

You can use a come-along winch or ratchet straps anchored to an immovable post or large tree as discussed in Post #13 in this BITOG thread.

3) Can you "bend" an AC condenser back and expect it to work still? The one there is starting to have some rust after these years and if I have to replace, would likely be $300 to recharge and $150 for a Rockauto condenser. If I can bend it back without leaking I would probably do.

Don't touch the condenser if it is not leaking now. Every time it is stressed/bent will increase the likelihood of compromising its integrity.

4) Some shops won't fix car this old, what do people typically do if they are not worth fixing but still drivable? Bending them back to close enough? Sell it to junkyard?

Your options are: to drive it as is, fix it up and driveit/sell it, sell it to a salvage yard, dismantle it and sell the parts yourself (after recycling the catalytic converter for $$), or donate the car to a charity.

 

[zzyzzx]

We used cable (wire rope) and chains and a tree or a come along...when we were younger.

I also would be doing this.

That and car-part.com might have something.

 

[ka9mnx]

It took me a year to find a body shop that would repair my 2005 Ford Ranger. They all gave me quotes and scheduled a date. When I arrived on my appointment, They all said my truck was too old and couldn't work on it. In pristine condition and 105k miles I wasn't about to give up.

I had parked the truck after the accident. After this disappointment, I bent back the bumper and other things so I could and put it back on the road.

A friend said he knew a friend from church who had a small body shop so I went to visit him. He said it was "theoretically" totaled because of scarcity of parts and cost of repairs. He said he would have to use used parts, if he could find them, and I said ok.

The bed needed replacement because it was irreparable and the one he got was white (truck is grey). He repainted the bed and it looks great. Took him two weeks and I'm very happy.

Patience...

 

[Cujet]

A funny and stupid story that may help:

At 7 AM I parked my car with windows down, under the hangar door to keep it in the shade but outside of the hangar floor space. Closing up the hangar after a long day of work, I put a straw in the 'down' button to hold the button depressed, and went to wash my hands. About 4 minutes later, I hear an awful crunching sound. I spun around and watched my Jaguar roof being crushed down by the hangar door. OMG.

The car was squashed down hard, the roof caved in and the roof structure around the doors bent down. All 4 rims were bent.
Good thing the windows were down! (Florida heat is awful)

I kicked the roof back up so I could get in the car, and drove it home holding the door closed with a claw hammer.

Once home, I used a floor jack and a 4x4 to push the door frame back up into place. After some serious force on the roof frame and door frame and detailed 'correction' (haha) I got the door to close. Yay. Then I had the dent wizard guy fix the wrinkled roof and kinked roof frame structure for $600. He did a great job!!

The hangar door in question, my friend and his BMW, and my 2003 Jaguar many years after the hydraulic jack + 4x4 repairs! This happened more than 150,000 miles ago.

 

[D60]

See:
Post in thread 'What are you working on today?' https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/what-are-you-working-on-today.331303/post-6519618

And:
Post in thread 'What are you working on today?' https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/what-are-you-working-on-today.331303/post-6272401

Note if you must replace the core support/header panel you could do all the tear down, including cutting out all the spot welds (the cutters are relatively inexpensive and the concept is similar to a diamond tile bit). Fit a new one, clamp it up with some Vise Grips and call a mobile welder. It's all formed such that there's really no adjustment: it fits in one place or not at all.

As for your last question, you bring it to a hack like me. I'd never work on anything that matters, but for old stuff when it just has to not stand out (again, like when you clean Marvin's brains from the back seat in Pulp Fiction), I can make it look mostly normal from afar.

Ask around at 4x4 and hot rod (esp rat rod) shops. Both are automotive subcultures that like to get old stuff cheap and make it "good enough"

 

[D60]

It took me a year to find a body shop that would repair my 2005 Ford Ranger. They all gave me quotes and scheduled a date. When I arrived on my appointment, They all said my truck was too old and couldn't work on it. In pristine condition and 105k miles I wasn't about to give up.

I had parked the truck after the accident. After this disappointment, I bent back the bumper and other things so I could and put it back on the road.

A friend said he knew a friend from church who had a small body shop so I went to visit him. He said it was "theoretically" totaled because of scarcity of parts and cost of repairs. He said he would have to use used parts, if he could find them, and I said ok.

The bed needed replacement because it was irreparable and the one he got was white (truck is grey). He repainted the bed and it looks great. Took him two weeks and I'm very happy.

Patience...

That's crazy. I just did an '04. It was cheaper and easier to buy an entire '07 donor with straight body and take what I needed. I had the panels painted once installed. Post in thread 'What are you working on today?' https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/what-are-you-working-on-today.331303/post-7519296

 

[IndyIan]

I'm pretty sure the whole body of the car is mild steel so a bit of slight bending isn't changing the strength very much, might even increase it! If you can do some controlled pulling with a come-along or 10k ratchet straps and get it close enough to put on a straight hood when you find one, that's good enough IMO. Have a look at the spot welds, just to see if any have popped, but I doubt it.

 

[Kira]

I put a straw in the 'down' button to hold the button depressed, and went to wash my hands. About 4 minutes later, I hear an awful crunching sound. I spun around and watched my Jaguar roof being crushed down by the hangar door. OMG.

You parked under the door, jammed the down button, walked away ....and it took 4 minutes for the door to hit your car?

I'm puzzled.

 

[Cujet]

You parked under the door, jammed the down button, walked away ....and it took 4 minutes for the door to hit your car?

I'm puzzled.

The car was parked under the hangar door all day, so it would be in the shade.
I worked a very long day and was tired and hungry. I jammed the down button (as always) but forgot to check and simply walked to the back of the hangar to wash my hands.

Not my finest hour

 

[georgemiller]

4) Some shops won't fix car this old, what do people typically do if they are not worth fixing but still drivable? Bending them back to close enough? Sell it to junkyard?

Throw a chain around front latch hood and secure under fender. The car has nearly 300,000 miles and is over 30 years old don't sweat it. The same happened to my son except his frame bent a bit but hood was secured with chain.

 

[crashz]

This is a good time to perfect your body-work skills with chains, straps and soft-blow hammers. I had done something similar a few years ago with an old car and was able to made it look like it never happened. A heat gun helped to re-shape the bumper cover and I couldn't even see the damage after.

BTW - Rock Auto also has some body parts too. I was able to find core support parts and plastic retainers on there for a 20 year old car.

 

[RooflessVW]

You parked under the door, jammed the down button, walked away ....and it took 4 minutes for the door to hit your car?

I'm puzzled.

Some (most) doors are sloooooooow

 

[SC Maintenance]

Hoods are designed to bend so they don't get shoved through the windshield. If you need to bend it back to drive wire the thing shut, because as much as it looks like the latch will hold you need to assume it will not.

If the radiator support is bent you might be better off replacing that also. If you can't get that staight nothing else lines up.

Car-part.com is your friend. I just got done doing this with the Xterra. I promise more is damaged than it looks like, but also its easier to replace than it looks like. Bolt off / bolt on.

Exactly what year and model are we talking?

 

[PandaBear]

More info and pics will follow.

As said, 97 Integra RS automatic, was $19k new back in 97 so you can say it will never be rare or even collectible, just base trim dime a dozen. Financially I am well off enough to buy another car with cash immediately new, but this car is more of a sentimental value and I need a beater. Interior is clean and I do steam clean it every couple of years taking the seat off. Air bag light is on so I think they won't work anymore. Suspension rattles a bit but it is ok drivable. Steel wheel with 14" tires relatively new, Maxxis in the front and Firestone in the rear, neither are high performance maybe that's why I can't stop. Currently getting about 25-26mpg, no problem with smog and no CEL. Was garaged till about 15 years ago so the paint is a bit dull but not peeled. Power steering pump is leaking, one or two engine gaskets are leaking oil constantly, exhaust 2>1 gasket is leaking and pre-cat donut gasket is leaking (I bought them but haven't have time to install them yet), no ABS, have brake pads and rotors ready to install but currently about 6 months away from worn out. About 5 years away from the next timing belt job. Axles replaced about 8 years ago. Door hinge squeak LOUD, auto door lock doesn't work anymore, window won't go down when cold in the winter morning, trunk lid strut is leaky but still mostly support.

So basically, what you would expect from a typical 15-20 year old average beater on the street despite being about 29 years old and 280k miles. It is my first car and my only connection back to the 90s still, so that's probably the main reason I drive it weekly. I typically drive a Prius V these days due to the oil price after military situation, but before that I was mostly driving this beater.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Hoods are available on car-part for $100 to $200. Worth driving for if you can find the correct color.

The rich men North of Richmond should be sending us carbon offset credits for keeping this old junk on the road.

 

[PandaBear]

It's really not too bad right? I know it is not going to be as safe if I "bend" it back and "pull" everything straight, but I would hate to total a car because of this.