Advice on fixing 1991 318is

[Teenager]

Hey all! It’s been years since I’ve been on here as I wrecked my e30 about 5 years ago unfortunately. I stilll own it and wish to get it finally back on the road as I love it too much to see it go to waste. I wasn’t paying attention and ran into the rear of an suv. I swerved left right before the impact and hit it with my passenger side front. It pretty much caved in the top front. Luckily I had it pretty low at the time, so I think the bumper support base was not damaged. It did crinkle in front of the strut tower completely and slightly more damage behind it. The drivers side is not compromised.I know this is usually a case of just get another and move on, but I want to fix it if not completely out there of an idea. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated. I have access to an e30/vintage/part out business near by and seeing what you guys think before I go buy a front end. Thank you for your time

[Andrew325is]

It's fixable, but it's a matter of how much time and money you want to spend on it. I would find someone or a shop who can do the work and go from there. You might want to ask a local auto paint store if they know someone. Sometimes even the paint shop workers do work on the side out of their garages.

[lukeADE335i]

The damage there is structural, so it won't be a cheap fix, but if you love the car then anything is possible. Good luck with it! Find a shop with a chassis jig so they can measure properly and pull everything straight.

[E30 Wagen]

It's hard to see how deep the damage is, but the kinked cowl panel at the base of the A pillar and everything beneath it is definitely where the major headache is. Instead of relying on our opinion you really ought to have a body shop look at it. I bet they'd quote a huge number to deter you from getting it fixed, so sadly I think you're better off letting it go and moving to another car.

[Stanley Rockafella]

Buy another e30 and use current one for parts.
After you consider the time and headache to make this one "right", you'll realize you could have used that money towards another one.

[ccsdo5]

Yikes that's a pretty bad one. It's fixable but it'll be a lot of work. Definitely going to need to go on the frame machine much like my car. best bet is to probably cut a section off a straight car, pull that car as close as possible then cut it off and weld on a whole new section. It's a big job honestly and probably not worth it unless you plan on doing it yourself. But anything is possible my car was twisted before my buddy pulled the frames back straight. It still isn't perfect but it's been good enough for a track car.

[e30vert]

Yeah, the time and money involved will become a headache. Find a good shell and swap.