I got this car from a kid who trashed it so I'm looking to get some advice on what to do. Since I've grow to respect the opinions of these members I'm hoping to get some good tips. First of all I have an alignment issue with the back hatch. Crappy pictures sorry guys, it's dark when I leave for work and dark when I get home. I will try to get more this weekend.

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the hatch is lower on the left than the frame and there is a huge gap on the right side.

Now the worse part


This is gonna suck but I think my best option will be to pull it as straight as possible and mold the bumper to rear fender. I have some experience with fiber glass and I'm not in a hurry on this project. One more thing the front bumper is toast and I can't find a used one at a junk yard. Don't really want to go with a aftermarket front end but don't know if I have much of a choice. Polyurethane? Don't want anything too busy. Let me know guys. Thanks.

Certifit or eBay is your friend for the front bumper. 50 from Certifit if you have one local, or 100 shipped off of eBay.

As for the hatch, loosen the bolts at the top and adjust to fit. There are also the black bumpers on the edges where the spoiler pieces at in the channel. adjust those as well.

As for molding the bumper in, bad idea IMO. Just remove rear bumper, pull, fill, sand, paint. Evercoat is sold at NAPA and is a EXCELLENT filler.

I agree with everything Tim recommended above. I would not consider molding the rear bumper to the quarter panel. Remove rear bumper, pull as best you can, fill, and then repaint.

As far as the front bumper, my first suggestion was going to be eBay which Tim already recommended. Good luck!

Thanks guys pullin that mess will be my first priority this weekend. Just sucks being a perfectionist. Never used Evercoat, I'm guessing fiber glassing rules apply, ruff up the surface, apply in coats? I don't have a ton of experience in body work, however, that will change when I'm done with this piece. Plus this car is a lot like my wife the more I drink the better she looks. :beer Thanks again.

Pull the panel out as much as you can.

The less filler the better.

Evercoat is like bondo, but a hundred times better.

Originally posted by teklein
Pull the panel out as much as you can. The less filler the better. Evercoat is like bondo, but a hundred times better.

This. I'm so anal about my "bondo" work that I'll be using Evercoat Rage Gold on my Halo armor.

Back to the hatch alignment. If you adjust the bolts at the top, but the hatch still falls into the same place, you can adjust the lock instead. I recently went through this exercise with my car. The hatch would come down perfectly centered and then the lock would kick it back to the side. After adjusting the lock to the side, everything lines up again. My car was rear-ended a couple times and had damage similar to what yours has.

Corbin
'95 ESI-T

Now with more power and fewer leaks



Humble servant of the Wiki

Originally posted by Corbin
Back to the hatch alignment. If you adjust the bolts at the top, but the hatch still falls into the same place, you can adjust the lock instead. I recently went through this exercise with my car. The hatch would come down perfectly centered and then the lock would kick it back to the side. After adjusting the lock to the side, everything lines up again. My car was rear-ended a couple times and had damage similar to what yours has. Corbin '95 ESI-T Now with more power and fewer leaks Humble servant of the Wiki

Thanks I'll take as much advice from the ride of the month owner as I can. Yeah I can tell I will have to adjust the lock as well. The tail lights are out of alignment also so I might strip the backend and see if I need to hammer anything out. Im guessing a higher truck hit it because the bottom of the frame is pretty straight. Once I get this and the dent takin care of I will post new pics so everyone can make fun of my body filler skills.

Checkout Rockauto.com for the front bumper also for parts and partsdinosaur for parts also jnztuning for oem dealerparts.

Thats how mine was.. and i completely molded the side skirts and rear into the body... lots of time, bondo and sanding.

but the result is soo worth it

Just thought I would update. Its taken me forever to get back to work on my project. I have been plagued by problems with my other cars and house repairs so I am way under the gun on this thing. Going to try to paint by veterans day. I still have a ton of body work and a spliter to build be heres some pics.











I did pull the dent as best I could without a stud welder (forgot to take a pic though). Then because the deepest spot is about a 1/4 inch I built it up with fiberglass and will finish with filler. Would have liked to get it closer but there is really no good way to hammer out underneath the gas cap area with out fubaring the 2 inch metal piece. I will be spraying an epoxy primer, build up primer (to catch my little ripples everywhere), sealer, and then the base and clear. I can't wait to get this crap done so I can get back to what I know and start my engine rebuild. Thanks again for the support guys.

I would go to the junkyard for a bumper. my local junkyard charges 35 for one. They are usually in pretty good shape too.

Originally posted by xxsoccerguy55xx
I would go to the junkyard for a bumper. my local junkyard charges 35 for one. They are usually in pretty good shape too.

In my original post I said that I couldn't find one in a junkyard but since then I have decided to go a different route on this because I am adding a splitter and possibly a rear diffuser down road. Back on topic though I was just adding what progress (or lack thereof) i have made to the thread. Thanks for the advice, though, but be sure to read the whole thread before replying.

Looks good so far. keep up the good work