[Modified35]

Meet Russell. I found him at a car lot one evening while taking my daughter to dinner. The car lot was closed so I went back the next morning and made a deal. I've loved these cars ever since I was a kid. I'm the guy that would circle the parking lot just to get another look at one of these. Pretty crazy, I never thought I'd be starting a complete car build post.

I got hit by someone who stopped at the stop sign but didn't see me in the intersection. They went, not seeing me at all and drove straight into the passenger side of me. Insurance paid out and I bought the car back, as it was deemed a full loss.

Now my adventure starts. I am currently in the process of finding a donor car and also a body/fab shop to repair the b-pillar with. Any advice on body shops would be much appreciated. I am up in Idaho but am not against transporting the car if it's the right move.
There is a car or two on this site that could make for good donors, but I don't want to call out any names. I haven't levelled up enough to reply to for sale posts yet. Thanks for any advice y'all throw out.

Here are some pictures of the wrecked side of the car:

 

[Fix Until Broke]

Welcome and sorry to hear about your accident.

This might sound silly, but don't overlook the possibility of looking for another car and parting this one out. There's hundreds of hours of work to fix all the damage there and not end up with water leaks, wind noises, etc. Not including all the parts you'll need to replace that are not available anymore.

You can spend $20k on a different car and come out ahead.

 

[shakenfake]

I agree, this is gonna be one tough SOB to repair

 

[95wagon]

Yeah , buy this

96 Impala Project For Sale-California Car

1996 Chevrolet Impala SS · 249k miles Clean CA Title in my name on hand. It is currently on non operation so it has no back CA fees. Car has been sitting for over a year. Turns over but doesn’t start. Perfect for an LS Swap. Original CA Car so it’s Rust Free which is always a plus! Body is...

www.impalassforum.com

Move all the best parts over , sell the left overs

 

[Fix Until Broke]

Just for entertainment - look closely at the drivers side door gaps and how the doors open/close. I wouldn't be surprised to see some "flexing" on that side of the car too. Same with the underside, transmission cross member, frame rails, etc.

 

[95wagon]

As above ,,,,,
I wouldnt be suprised if the tunnel was pinched.
Problem eluded to by most all the above posts, if you have to pay a shop to repair this , it is going to eclipse the value of the car, SOOO fast.
Add to that the branded title will further decrease its value.
Opinions of coarse

 

[Modified35]

No hurt feelings here, I understand all of this and appreciate the constructive feedback. I almost did a poll with this post for "Does this car need a donor, or IS this car the donor?"
I'm not at all looking for any kind of resale value and I'm planning on keeping this, or another if it makes more sense, for a long time. The salvaged title is rather appealing because I will have less internal guilt cutting it up. The salvaged title opens up drivetrain changes and I've justified throwing way too much at this while I lost sleep deciding on whether or not to buy it back. I do want to do something that makes the most sense though.

Again, thank you for the feedback. It is greatly appreciated.

 

[Modified35]

Yeah , buy this

96 Impala Project For Sale-California Car

1996 Chevrolet Impala SS · 249k miles Clean CA Title in my name on hand. It is currently on non operation so it has no back CA fees. Car has been sitting for over a year. Turns over but doesn’t start. Perfect for an LS Swap. Original CA Car so it’s Rust Free which is always a plus! Body is...

www.impalassforum.com

Move all the best parts over , sell the left overs

Haha!! That's the post I can't reply to because I don't have enough exp. in the forum. It won't let me PM him either, but I am very interested in that car.

 

[95wagon]

I'll do it for you

 

[el_demonio]

Haha!! That's the post I can't reply to because I don't have enough exp. in the forum. It won't let me PM him either, but I am very interested in that car.

That’s my for sale post. Let’s make this happen, text me. 7144889331

I'll do it for you

Much appreciated! 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼

 

[Purrrfect]

Good luck on getting your SS fixed up again.

 

[Triple BBB Body]

Ouch, that's a tough hit. Bummer. Reminds me of the guy who was looking for a "rear clip".

Wtb rear clip

I just wrecked the rear end of my 94 ss. I’m looking for the rear end clip(quarters,trunk lid,bumper,lights,).

www.impalassforum.com

As others have said, you are better off getting another and swapping over/parting it out. Anything can be fixed, but at what cost? It will never drive the same, look at one of those slow motion videos of crash testing. The whole car gets bent out of whack in a wreck like that. Sometimes you've got to know when you are beat, and who knows, a "new" SS may be an upgrade and you could make out on the deal.

 

[Modified35]

I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving! All the input is great and I am not set yet on which direction to take. Right now I've turned the pressure down a bit. The 96 that was linked earlier in this thread sold a day or two before I hit him up. Thanks for letting him know I was interested. That car would have been a good one to swap out my interior with.

I've looked into pulling the lever on a nice, complete SS from a dealer or private party, but would have no need for the one I have now, there's too many good parts on my wrecked one to just scrap. There isn't enough parts for these cars as it is. It would need parted out, or sold to someone else if I went that direction.

I'm doing more research online and talking to body shops/fab. shops. I've been trying to get a body shop to look at it, but nobody around here has the time until spring or they just want to do insurance work. I understand this is way more labor of love than it is smart, but need to go through the motions to know how stupid it is. I've been known to be a little stubborn at times. I do normally make decisions not based on emotions, but Russell for some reason is a tad different. I don't know what I'm going to do when my dog dies.

I enjoyed the rear clip link, thank you for the read...and some lost hope. lol!

 

[shakenfake]

Body work is the worst group of people to talk to. They only want to do insurance jobs.

 

[NiteOp]

If you are looking for another SS, please contact me. 1996 DCM SS, one owner, 150K miles.

 

[Modified35]

If you are looking for another SS, please contact me. 1996 DCM SS, one owner, 150K miles.

I am not able to DM/PM yet, my account is too rookie. Is the car still available? I'd be interested, for sure. My cell number is 208-871-5763, if you wanted to send pictures and start a convo on this. I may need to start a WTB post.

As an update on Russell himself. Out of all the shops I've hit up so far, only one has talked with me seriously. After a couple back and forth emails they decided they don't want the project. They are worried of underlying problems associated with a side hit like this. Totally understandable on their part. I'll keep digging but also have some work things coming up, so this whole thing may sit for a couple weeks. In the meantime I will be taking the car apart in my garage so I can see exactly what is bent and also make the job easier for the body guy to quote. I will get pictures up as I do this.