So I am now convinced that i have the worst luck w/ stupid **** happening to me in a car. Last Friday, I filled up with gas at a Mobil One station, drove off, then out of nowhere the RH side of the car jumps up in the air and comes crashing back down. i thought i drove over a VERY BIG curb, then looked behind me and saw my hubcap was rolling away... Then i think...wait a minute...I DON'T HAVE HUBCAPS. So i back up and get out of the car and see a Hole in the freakin ground where a manhole cover should be. Then i see that the 'hubcap' was the cover lying about 20' away. I drove over it and it got dislodged when the tire hit it...it then rolled out and made the car do a 'pole vault' over it. Needless to say the very solid steel cover did not give, and my rocker panel did.

talked to the owner who said no way did the cover do that damage and told me to claim it on my insuance. I wasn't about to go for that and told him I'd call him this week with esimates so he could figure out how he wants to pay me for neglecting to maintain his gas station. The freakin cover wasn't even anchored into the ground at all!!




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The Culprit



And a very sad volvo...


Here's a bunch more pics of anyone who wants to see
http://picasaweb.google.com/russ.sar...98380698905826


So i'm going to try to get the gas station owner to pay for the repairs (which i know is going to be an uphill battle...but one that i will fight for).

I've gotten a few estimates and have a question about the right way to have it repaired. The rocker panel itself is bumped in quite a bit...hard to see in the pics, but it's actually has a small 1-2" crack in the metal. The Front door takes a little more force to shut and probably needs some alignment.
I guess the options i've gotten from a few differnet shops are

1) weld on pull tabs to the dented rocker and try to pull out dent w/ the frame machine. They said this may not work and if not would have to try option #2

2) cut and reweld a new rocker panel section in place.

What do you guys think is the right way to do the repair? Should i be concerned with anything else?

Thanks!

 

Looks like the rocker panel (skirt) just bolts off. Take it off, and put a new one on. Your door not shuting is because the skirt is hitting the bottom of the door from what i can see in the pics.

 

That's true for the outer rocker panel which is just a plastic cover, but looking at the pictures it looks like the metal underneath took a good beating too. It's a damn shame that's for sure. My uncle had this happen to his Saab in Utah, luckily for him the owner took care of it without question.

 

My understanding is that the plastic piece is the rocker cover molding, and the metal behind it is the rocker panel itself. In any case, i'm not concerned so much w/ the plastic piece...that's only visual for the most part. The metal behind that is dented in pretty good and has a small crack in a one spot maybe an inch long. That's the part i'm wondering if it's best to try to let a shop try to pull it out with the fallback plan being cutting the old one off and welding on a new rocker panel. or if i should just go with a new one.

The shop that i trust the most (they have been excellent in many past repairs), is telling me that trying to keep the orignal factory stuff is always better if it's structural integrety hasn't been compromised.

Does anyone know how important the metal rocker panel is structurally?

Thanks!

 

Hello ludeless,

Sorry about the accident at the gas station's fault, except that no one was injured.

I'll provide my personal opinion based on aircraft structural knowledge, with which you can consult your trusted shop as to how to go about repairing the dent.

Yes, as you & everyone say,the side skirt that cracked can easily be replaced with another piece, hopefully at a junkyard for less money (dealer probably wants something like $800 or more but ask anyway). Even ifyou couldn't find one with exact same colour, a good body shop can paint it like it's nothing and match it perfectly with the rest of the car.

As to the damage on thebottom, I would leave it as it is, as long as it does not affect handling. The reason is because if you try to pull it out, it will applymore stress and that part of the car will structurally be weakened even further due to metal fatigue. Sealing the crack/hole may be repaired by good welder andweld a patch on it with a piece of steelwiththe samematerials. If steel with different materials ina patch(different alloy) is used, it will cause what is called dissimilar metal corrosion.But I believe your shop would do it right. I would alsoconsult your shop about stop-drilling both ends of the crack to stop it from widening, before putting a patch.

You probably know this, that many modern passenger cars' bodies are structured as "monocoque", or "unitised", unlike trucks where they use body-on-frame style, and unitised bodies are generally designed to spread impact force to the entire structure in a collision. This is really up to engineer, but as far as I can tell from the photos, the damage would not affect the overall strength of the body much.

Again, I would simply put a patch & weld it just to sealthe crackbut consult your shop to see how they think. I would also do the wheel alignment if you notice handling problem, and check the fuel lines to make surenothing has been damaged.

I wish you the best,


JPN

 

Get a police report. It will help you get money in the long run. Tell your insurance what happend, show them the police report, the insurance co. will go after the gas station owner. Then you can too for the deductable.

Nick

ps. I didn't know you were from Michigan. GR here.