wrecked 52 wayfarer

[58prostreet]

Just got my 52 warfarer (sdn) on the road 2 weeks ago. Every thing new on front end plus fatman dropped spindles and plydo disc kit. New rear springs with 4" lowering blocks. Converted to 12 volt, langdon hei dist, new froor boards, new stainless gas tank, new brake and gas lines.I started sanding car and had left fender and door and hood in primer. Making nice headway.

I go to breakfast every saturday am to Boneshakers biker bar and meet a few other old car guys.. On way there this am a 2007 3500 chevy pulled out in front of me and i knocked the u know what out of it. Not sure yet whether frame is bent, but need whole new front clip. Rad pushed into fan and bent fan. Plus i got a knot on my head and sore back, neck, and elbow.

What a bummer. I'll get some pictures and try to post.

In meantime, isn't there a parts interchange book to cover this car? If any one knows, I would appreciate the info.....Also if u know of any available parts I may need them. I bought this car out of Jefferson,N.C in june of 2006. It has 50357 miles on it as it sits in my driveway now. Really a sad day for me.

Bob

[mackster]

sorry to hear about your accident, glad you are still with us. I hope the frame is not bent and you can put it back together soon, let's see some pics. iam intersted to know how it handle a collision. MK!

[Heavy Flat Head]

I am so sorry to hear that . I pray that you will come out alright in all ways with this tragedy. Back in 67 my first car was a 40 Desoto coupe and had about the same thing happen to it. Mechincal all fix and was getting ready to have the body work done. When a 16 year old girl pulled on right in front of my Desoto. After al these years I still shed a tear over the loss of my first beloved car.

Good luck and will keep my eyes open for parts.

ED

[58prostreet]

here are some pics

[YukonJack]

Not sure, but from the one picture the frame horn looks like it might be ok. Looks like it peeled the sheet metal back.

[John Mulders]

you can't tell from the pics whether the frame is straigth.

Good to hear you are ok (except for the pain).

Did you wear seatbelts? Seems like a big collision to me.

[rearview]

That sucks.

Last week I gave away my parts car (52 wayfarer). New mexico body.. but lots of dents. The guy who has it is in West Bend, WI. I can see if he still has it if you're interested.... let me know. There's also a guy on ebay who has been listing a lot of body parts:

http://myworld.ebay.com/ebaymotors/cse25thta/

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1952-52-Dodge-GRILL-ASSY-Wayfarer-Coronet-Meadowbrook_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ140704QQihZ019QQitemZ290160366957QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

Auctions end very soon (30 minutes) but try sending him a message.

[58prostreet]

I had seat belt on. The plydo discs locked em up. about 30 foot skid marks.

Rearview, appreciate the heads up on ebay 52, but I think I need to make sure I am going to fix before I buy any parts.

Does anybody know what year front clip parts will fit. I'm thinking 49 to 52 may work, but not sure about coronet or diplimat parts. I'm not opposed to ending up with different grill etc.

Guess I'm lucky didn't have the bumper, gravel shield, etc on yet.

Appreciate ur help and concern

thanks Bob

[RobertKB]

That is brutal. What happened to you is every old car guy's nightmare. Got in an accident with my '63 Fairlane once which did some damage and bent the frame. Got everything straightened out and the car is fine. I sure hope you can find parts and that the frame is straight but if not it can be straightened. Your car looks worse than mine did but if you can get the parts I know you can fix it and get it back on the road. Sure hope you are OK and look better than your car. Please keep us updated on your car's hospital stay.

[rearview]

Front clips are different for 49-50 and 51-52. You need parts from any 51-52 Dodge.

[Jeff Ivan]

Total bummer. I hope you are not hurting worse tomorrow or the next day, some of these injuries can creep up on ya in a couple of days. Can't tell from the pics if the frame is bent or not. If it is tweaked a little, you should be able to find an old timer bodyman/bodyshop to pull it to the the correct specs OK, tho he will probably want the replacement sheet metal when he pulls and aligns it. On a slightly positive note, it ain't been painted yet. That sheet metal on the 1951-52 Plymouths and Dodges ain't as heavy as some folks think it is, because of the cost cutting during the Korean War, they cut costs on the quality of the chrome bumpers those couple of years too. My '51 Cranbrook is not the tank ,sheet metal wise, that most people think it is. So hopefully it just looks worse than it is. What about insurance? Hopefully you get some kind of reimbursement from either yours or the other guys insurance co. It helps a lot if you have receipts to prove all the work done recently. Good Luck man, I hope it all works out for ya, without suffering a financial loss because of some yo-yo in a new Chevy.

[58prostreet]

rearview, I did send the guy on ebay a pm. Asked if he wants to sell whole front or maybe car. Also thanks for info on 51 or 52 sheet metal. I have it insured thru Grundy for agreed value of 10 gs, but the other guy was insured thru geico so I hape I am ok. He got ticket for failure to yield.

Thanks again for everybodys help

[Normspeed]

What a shame. Looks fixable once you round up the parts.

[rearview]

No problem, glad to help. I've been studying the pics and I think you're lucky it was a high hit. On the old cars the frames are so rigid that the driver takes a beating sometimes. This way the sheet metal gets whipped on, but absorbs the shock. Also, the high hit probably saved the frame ( I hope)

You'll still probably be a little stiff in the morning. Take a couple Advil before bed.

Bob

[PatS....]

A poster on the DeSoto forum was involved in a similar incident when he t-boned someone running a red.

He was having problems with the insurance company but they finally relented and are letting him repair the car.

[BobT-47P15]

Boy, that's the pits......

If the frame horns are bent, they can probably be straightened.

I had my right horn tweaked by a local shop with frame machine.

You may be more sore in the next couple days. As someone above just said, take a couple advil or something....probably will help. Glad you're OK.

[rearview]

price is right...

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=210557

[Don Coatney]

Sorry to hear of your collison. Glad you were not seriously hurt. What did the other vehicle look like?

[Norm's Coupe]

Sorry to hear about your accident. At least it sounds like you are ok, cars and car parts are much easier to replace than people.

Looking at your pictures, it looks like the frame may be ok. (at least in the photo). Looks like primarily just sheet metal and the grill, etc. that got mangled. That could be because you hit a truck instead of a car. That put most of the damage up on top of the frame. Tire doesn't even look like it's hurt. From the pictures, looks like you may only need the front clip and bolt it on.

[crosleykook]

Man oh man... that's a nightmare come true. Glad to hear that you're ok, and at least you hadn't painted it yet... good luck!

[Jeff.P_46]

This was on craigslists in my area today, $200, said it was a '52 Meadowbrook?

Jeff

[greg g]

Awwwww Crappppp!!!! What a shame, hope you can locate the parts reasonably and the underwear ain't to crunched. Glad yer OK.

[rearview]

more parts:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=210931

[62rebelP23]

what i'm seeing is that both the Plym and the Desoto recieved sheetmetal damage to the front clip; versus the whole body taking it as in modern cars. we got in a Toyota today that had been rear ended, pushing the decklid PAST the rear wheels and displacing the rear seats into the front seat area. the rear bumper bar and trunk floor were INTACT..... everything sheared off the floorpan in a neat bundle of crumpled tin. crush zone? tell me about it. that whole car was a crush zone. give me a framed steel body any day.