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Dead End Don	Driving down the freeway at a nice clip the other day, car in front of my changes lanes and bumps a huge piece of tire carcass (tread belt, half the side wall, must have come from a semi) right into my path. No time to swerve, brake or say a prayer...hit it head-on at the bottom of the grill. The results aren't as bad as I thought...the nose cone is cracked where it curves around below the lower edge of the grill, but not smashed to smithereens as I thought would be the case. Also, the point of connection between the lower portion of the grill and the nose cone is no longer intact. Question is: can those plastic nose cones be repaired, or is a crack fatal????? Like to get your guys' take before I talk to the body shop. Anybody???????????
BeWare	I have seen "repaired" nose pieces for sale on Ebay but have no idea how they would hold up.
toys	Don if a body shop can't help you out try going a motorcycle shop some have hot air welders for the ABS plastic fairings & body panels. toys
ALLEY CAT	I don't have the answer either,,,,,,but let's see what Fixuum,,,,BuddyC,,,,and Catfish have to say about it > it's their line of work and knowledge.
GRROWL	quote: Originally posted by Dead End Don: . . . car in front of my changes lanes and bumps a huge piece of tire carcass right into my path. Anybody??????????? If that had happened to me (and it has), it would be considered a "missile" under my insurance policy and is covered under comprehensive, NOT collision. As such, I have zero deductible AND IT'S NOT EXPERIENCE-RATED, i.e., my rates would not go up from a claim. Note that the item must be airborne to qualify (it was, wasn't it?) FWIW -GRROWL
Piddler	The red Prowler I bought that is now Perl had two small cracks below the grill before I painted it. I fixed the cracks as good as any one could, if not better. Painted the car, put the nose back on, drove it a while, 1000 or so miles, the crack came back. Now I wish I had bought a new nose for it. ------------------ Check Out My Scrapbook
tangled up in BLUE	....several years ago I was traveling cross country late one night and hit a tire off a semi at about 90mph....I was driving a new Vette conv and it tore off the front spoiler and took off paint and fiberglass all the way from the front to the back on the passenger side.....quite a lot of damage from a tire...the side of the car looked like it had tar applied with a wire brush....
1buddyc	quote: Originally posted by Dead End Don: Driving down the freeway at a nice clip the other day, car in front of my changes lanes and bumps a huge piece of tire carcass (tread belt, half the side wall, must have come from a semi) right into my path. No time to swerve, brake or say a prayer...hit it head-on at the bottom of the grill. The results aren't as bad as I thought...the nose cone is cracked where it curves around below the lower edge of the grill, but not smashed to smithereens as I thought would be the case. Also, the point of connection between the lower portion of the grill and the nose cone is no longer intact. Question is: can those plastic nose cones be repaired, or is a crack fatal????? Like to get your guys' take before I talk to the body shop. Anybody??????????? Yes, a crack in the Plastic Nose can be repaired but it takes a really talented Body Technician to do the job properly. The problem is, most Production Bodyshops dont have someone with the skill level to do a perfect job, as most Bodyshops replace those plastic parts rather than repair them (too time consuming). Your Insurance Company might go for a New Part as they will be looking for a quick repair time and what you describe is a time consuming repair process. A few tips, make sure your Insurance Rep knows that anything other than perfection wont be accetable to you, as the car is a Collectible Vehicle. Also, be sure to claim the loss under the Comprehensive portion of your Insurance Policy rather than letting them stick you with a Collision Claim.. If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me and I'll try to help you out. Good luck, Buddy.
onecatnodog	WOW CUZ! Great advice... Can't wait to meet you here in Colorado in June of 2008 and talk shop... onecatnodog
Kala	quote: Originally posted by tangled up in BLUE: ....I was driving a new Vette conv Shame on you... If you had been driving a Viper, it would have been a Zaino buff only
catfish	the frt facia,is urethane and can be repaired,unless its really destroyed.it's not plastic,do not take to a motorcycle shop,they have no idea on how to repair it,a reputable b/s should be able to repair it,most bumpers these days are some form of plastic.the frt facia is not, its a yellow urethane.same material used on very early mustang/firebird frt bumpers.one more thing,if its repairable,make sure the shop removes the facia from the car for the paint process and also use flex in the paint and use ppg for a good match. ------------------ This message has been edited by catfish on 11-03-2007 at 03:33 PM
Drew	Mine has been missing that connection point at the bottom of the grill since I bought it 2 yrs ago, grill is held very firmly without it, actually don't feel it needs it imo. Lost a windshield to a semi tread a few years ago, no time to check blind spots for a safe lane change, had to take the hit, lucky it didn't come through.
IM IN XTC	I feel your pain dude I hit a tire on Christmases eve the year I got my car and it destroyed my nose ... had to replace it .. sorry about the bad news but that's life in a Prowler... just gotta drive and enjoy
Dead End Don	Thanks to all for the good advice.... Knowing the material is the same as typical bumper covers, I will try the body shop that repainted my rear deck and see what they say.