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Wrecked 92 Wagon with L05 and towing package

1324 Views 12 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  Sinister
7
Someone slammed into me and destroyed my ‘92 wagon. It had the 5.7 TBI, a brand new transmission, the tow package, all the best stuff, and 102k miles. The junkyard wants to buy it, but this car is my baby. I am a college student and have no way to fix it myself, but I really don’t want it to die. Is anyone interested, or does anyone have any suggestions for where to find a replacement? Really want another with the tow package and everything. Attached below are all of the pictures, including the front frame damage. If someone who actually has the time and money to fix it were to buy it, I would be much more pleased than just junking my poor ol’ gal.

It’s already been taken to the junkyard, but I haven’t given them my title yet. Have like 20 days left.

Located in Indiana

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Another option, since you are a college student.... that's a hard hit but it may not be the end.
Ask a guy with a derby car how often they straighten out rad supports. LOL!

Here's a story from back in my college days, which was quite some time ago, a friend had a 280Z that he cherished. At least 3 wrecks happened. Once he flipped it. His fault. We pounded out the roof and rattle-canned it. LOL. Then two other accidents followed with front hits, both not his fault if I recall. And both times we pulled out the rad support and frame with a come-along and chains. Basically disassemble everything and start pulling. We've also used scissor jacks in the engine compartment to push things around back into shape on other cars. LOL. It's metal. It will move with persuasion.

He drove the Z car for years until it rusted out. Then I convinced him to get a '96 9C1 from auction. But being a manual transmission guy, he grew bored of the Caprice after a few years and sold it.

Anywho, once you get the rad support mostly straight, hammer out the fender and hood.

I mean you could also get a rad support and other parts from a JY as much as budget allows.

Give it a try. Won't be perfect. But might get your baby back on the road until you figure out next steps. Save money to get it professionally fixed, etc. These cars are tough. A rad that's not sitting straight will still work as long as there's no tension/bend on the rad itself and it's far enough away from the fan. Most of the 9C1 cars I've owned or worked on over the years never had straight front ends. They all had tweaked rad supports but drove just fine. A lot happens in police service. LOL. I've seen bent frames with wheels that would still align. So that's all that matters in the grand scheme of things.

I lost a '95 wagon a few years ago from a guy running a stop sign. T-boned me in the quarter panel and bent the whole back end so bad none of the doors closed right. Roof creased. Door jambs creased. Windows broke. No amount of hammering would fix all that. So I had to make the hard decision to scrap it but I saved the drivetrain and interior. And used the insurance money to get my next one which turned out to be much nicer. Albeit more expensive.
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I’ve tried that more than once, it never works out. People won’t buy anything and there is nowhere to store the massive pile of parts. It all ends up in the trash.
Storage is cheap when you have it and expensive when you don't. Bottom line.

"Never" is a long time.
Guys who tossed all of the late 60s and early 70s Mopar parts are kicking themselves now. :)
Same goes for Pontiac parts of the same era. And Ford. And so on.

Could the 90s B-Body be that someday? Maybe? I can't predict the future. It has a good chance. People are much more accepting of 4-doors these days. LOL. And the B-Body wagons were the last of an era.

However, if a guy (or gal) plans to drive B-Bodies for the rest of his life (like I plan to), maintaining a cache of parts is key. Wagons are rare enough and prices are high enough to justify saving parts at this point ---- if you have the means, passion and ability to keep these crazy 30 year-old machines on the road.

I've always had a wish of working with a team to re-pop parts for these cars. I'd donate an entire interior. LOL. But the time still isn't right yet. They just aren't old enough (or popular enough yet?) to be interesting to companies like OPGI, Classic Industries, and so on.
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