Time to update this I suppose, it has been a week since the slight mishap, and repairs are underway. But before going into that, here is a taster of the damage:
Looks bad, doesn't it?
Well, in truth, it really isn't the end of the world. The way the car hit the tree could not have been more lucky, as the car didn't hit head on, and there was a large rock to the left of the tree, now the front wing took the majority of the impact, along with a slight dent in the A-post and a pushed in sill panel. Also, after getting the car home, I noticed there was some (quite minor) dents in the bonnet as well. But all in all, as long as the car would be straight, it wasn't going to be hardest fix in the world.
Started sourcing parts immediately after the crash, and I already have reserved a used front wing, and I found a brand new windscreen for 180?. The A-post will be straightened, as will the sill panel, so no need for repair sections for those. The first thing to do regarding the repairs was to get the smashed front wing off to see if there was any actual damage to the bodyshell. Though with the way the panels still fitted I was quite confident the body was fine:
Started by dismantling the front end:
And getting the spot weld drill out (I still hate Ford for spot welding panels on to their cars back in the day.. Makes removal a total bitch.
)
Like a can of beans!:
Suspension is still there..
Next job was to clean up the metal to see how much rust there was to fix on the wing rail and headlight bowl, both of which are common rust spots on these cars. Cleaned up the spots with a wire wheel:
..And it's mint.
Makes the crash a bit more of a shame as there really was no reason for having to remove the wing due to rust issues, The panels are in exceptionally good condition.
Next job was to put some temporary zinc paint on the exposed metal pieces in preparation for the new front wing. Also fitted a spare bonnet I have as I can't be 100% sure the original one is straight after the impact, So I will use this one (which I know to be straight) for fitting the front wing in the correct place.
And this is how I left it today:
I'll get the new front wing on friday, after which I can start seeing how well it fits, and start work on the A-panel and sill
All in all, no nasty surprises, and a good bit of progress on the car. I'll post more when work proceeds.