Advice on Fiesta repair ?

Question

My son has an old fiesta, and he managed to hit someone from behind who had a tow bar fitted. This took out the radiator/bumper/headlamp, bent the bonnet and finally badly bent the metal cross member with the VIN attached that goes across the front of the car, under the front of the bonnet, and which holds the mountings for radiator,headlamps,front grille etc.

We would prefer to keep the car going if not too expensive, as it's a good runner. As it's old we are not too worried about the looks of the car, but it needs to be safe.

Most of the parts are pretty easy to get hold of from breakers cheaply, and seem easy to replace, but I'm not sure if the cross member can be repaired ? It is spot welded on either end to the wings. Can a mechanic/garage remove the cross member and weld on a new one ? Is this going to be very expensive ? Alternatively do garages have tools which could be used to straighten it (I don't think a hammer qualifies !)

Tony

Conor · Accepted Answer

You're referring to the bonnet slam panel. Yes it is easily replaced and isn't going to be horrifically expensive to do. If you paint it yourself, work on about an hours labour to change it. It's only a case of drilling out or chiselling off a couple of spot welds and welding it back in place.

My only worry is that the amount of damage you're describing sounds like one hell of an impact and that the front end alignment could be out, especially if the subframe has got bent.

Tony B · Answer

Thanks for the info Conor. Actually the car doesn't look too bad, headlamps weren't broken, wings seem fine., it was particularly the tow bar hook that caused a lot of point damage, catching the bonnet front/radiator and the slam panel you named. I guess my son was braking hard so the front of the car was low down when it caught the tow hook. He had just pulled away from lights in town when the line of cars in front of him stopped suddenly when someone stepped out into the road, and he couldn't brake hard enough so I don't think he was going very fast at the time.

Is there any way of telling if the alignment is screwed ? If it is I guess it not worth repairing.

Tony

Duncan Wood · Answer

If it's only the slam panel & the wings are still straight then it's  probably fine, you can check by measuring & comparing it with another one,  or buy a new slam panel  () & see if it  lines up.

Conor · Answer

TBH, in the light of the above description of the accident, I'd suspect it'll be perfectly fine as it's not been that high a speed impact and like you say, the front end of the car would have nosedived. It's just a bit hard to tell the severity without photos and the written word isn't always the best way to get a point across.

Advice on Fiesta repair ?

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