Firewall crinkled - saveable?

[Das Delfin]

About a month ago, I was on the freeway, it was rainy and dark, and I hit a massive U Joint that had broken off a semi truck. It took out my oil pan and steering rack, and sent my car into a concrete barrier. The front left of the car has been pushed in. I had full coverage, and didn't have much of a problem with the insurance company. I retained ownership and my options are to try to have the car pulled right, or buy a shell and move everything over. I just did a frame up restoration on the car so everything is only a few years old.

Here are some pics - the drivers frame rail is bent, the inner fender is crinkled in front of and behind the shock tower, the shock tower itself is pushed in, and the firewall cowl is crinkled. I've talked with a few body shops and they need me to bring the car in so they can attempt to pull it back into shape, but I want to see what you guys think first.

[E30 Wagen]

Not worth trying to fix that, just get a new shell.

[Das Delfin]

I've been gathering parts and have a new: oil pan, subframe, steering rack, drivers control arm, drivers strut housing & shock tube, drivers trailing arm, and I'm about ready to take the car to the frame shop and see where it goes from here. I've had the car a long time and I'll do whatever I can to save it. Of course this happened during covid when prices for parts were crazy but I've been able to get it together on the cheap. I don't want to put very much into it if the car isn't savable.

[varg]

Not worth trying to fix that, just get a new shell.

Is it though? It's no longer 2005, or 2018 for that matter. A good rust free shell is
A. hard to find
B. expensive
So he's probably going to find a shell that needs restoration just like this car did. Doesn't look like an easy fix to me, but I'm not a body man. Financially, pulling it straight and fixing the body damage and finding a new shell then restoring that to the same standard and swapping everything over may be a wash.

[E30 Wagen]

Is it though? It's no longer 2005, or 2018 for that matter. A good rust free shell is
A. hard to find
B. expensive
So he's probably going to find a shell that needs restoration just like this car did. Doesn't look like an easy fix to me, but I'm not a body man. Financially, pulling it straight and fixing the body damage and finding a new shell then restoring that to the same standard and swapping everything over may be a wash.

I've torn down multiple e30s to bare shells, though never a cabrio, and the firewalls on every one had weak spots. Since his frame rail also got bent I'd be scared to see what the deeper damage is. Deep scars like that ruin the vibe of the car for me, but that's just me. Rust free e30 coupes are highly sought after but maybe it's still possible to find a neglected early convertible that was driven in mostly nice weather for a fair price? I guess it all depends on what the frame shop finds.

[packratbimmer]

Make an appointment with a shop that will work with you and get their opinion. Some are just about the money and will not want to be bothered - there are plenty of late model insurance jobs for them to make the bread and butter. It's going to be a lot of work either way, but it seems like you are up for it.

[Panici]

It's no longer 2005, or 2018 for that matter. A good rust free shell is
A. hard to find
B. expensive
So he's probably going to find a shell that needs restoration just like this car did.

Financially, pulling it straight and fixing the body damage and finding a new shell then restoring that to the same standard and swapping everything over may be a wash.

My thoughts too.

As long as the body shop is confident they can make the car straight again, go for it.

[Mike36]

My thoughts too.

As long as the body shop is confident they can make the car straight again, go for it.

It may take a couple months but you should look for another shell. I can't imaging it being less than 2k to pull and you would still need paint and parts. Early model vert deals are still able to be found. They're the last of the e30s in terms of demand and popularity in my opinion. I went through the same thing and got lucky finding a shell right as Covid started seeing that prices were getting out of hand. Good luck with whatever you decide.

[Panici]

It may take a couple months but you should look for another shell. I can't imaging it being less than 2k to pull and you would still need paint and parts. Early model vert deals are still able to be found. They're the last of the e30s in terms of demand and popularity in my opinion. I went through the same thing and got lucky finding a shell right as Covid started seeing that prices were getting out of hand. Good luck with whatever you decide.

I guess it depends on the area. Can't even get a rusty shell for 2k around here (Canada, land of snow and salt).