Failed State Inspection?!

Yes,well,it is complicated. My go-to body shop may get to look at it,anyway it is driveable,the main question being: is the base of the A-Pillar repairable? And as all may be aware,we are freezing and under piles of snow here! And the registration will expire 31 Jan. So,time crunch. I think my salvage yard would have the fender and two doors. Those I could replace myself. None of the damage is covered.

 

If it is the Lower part of the A pillar, I would make sure the surrounding metal is straight then I'd cut out the damaged section then fit and weld in a replacement from a donor.
If you can access a donor vehicle then replacing the damaged metal is pretty straight forward, just time consuming .

 

Boy,that would take some doing as the donor car would be several towns away,and the body man and the salvage yard guy would have to somehow get on the same page,and...lots of snow. That crumpled base of the A-pillar is the biggest problem. Tomorrow's the day the body man gets a look at the damage and we'll say "Save the car or...not."

 

It's $500.00 to pull out the damage & maybe that would correct the fender/hood relationship as well. The salvage yard is supposed to call and say they have the parts (2 doors and the fender). The body man would rather cut & weld but who knows how easy it would be for the boneyard to cut out the piece needed? Anyway,when they call,I'll know what they have and what to do.

 

If they let you bring your own torch, you could go out there and harvest it yourself

 

Not like the old days when the old man was in charge & I harvested a driveshaft for my '56 Ford Ranch Wagon (1984) or when I harvested an auto/std. conversion for my '57 Ford convertible (1980). They out front told me I wasn't going up there (2018). If I save this car,it'll be thousands...

 

If they're all running their yards that way, they're probably worried about small timers commiting petty theft. I was once refused entry into a scrapyard, in the late 70's, because I suspected them of harboring the car they allegedly stole out of a garage I was renting

 

This is driving me nuts! Nobody's getting back to me. I can't decide what to do until I know how much the parts would cost. And the damage to the B pillar is subtle,but evident (door is too low). Dogleg,rear quarter,she hit me like the Titanic! I did call this other guy in Ohio,left a message,I know he has the parts.

 

Too expensive to fix! They hauled the old girl away yesterday...

 

*TAPS plays mornfully in the backround*
Micheal Dolence
Sorry to hear you had to put her down...

 

Aw man, my sincerest condolances. And after all you did for her. Hopefully, you stripped her like a boiled chicken before she was towed.

 

Now I'm hoping to find a Ford with a 7-or-8 passenger configuration, maybe an Explorer before they turned it into a car.

 

Eating the outside edge of the tires indicates towed in- tires biased towards each other, also positive camber tops of the tires lean out. Possible tie rod wear or just alignment. Also make sure the wear is even ALL the way around, I've seen belts shift, only wears part of the tire. Be glad they inspect the tires, could get somebody killed. I still HATE