Oops - Can this be undone?

[OntarioJeff 5]

So the unthinkable happened today, and my son had an error in stopping distance judgement. 
 

No injuries.  No airbags deployed.  Front end absorbed the impact as designed.  But can it be repaired?  Anybody with similar experiences?  Anything to look out for on the front end other than twisted plastic body panels?

 

 

[MikeT 744]

No problem. My son did something not too dissimilar in my BRABUS Canada 1 in 2018 although it didn't look as dramatic.

 

New RF fender that I supplied, repainted white, repaired grille, new (used) headlight unit, new crash bar, done.

[Willys 747]

Everything is repairable if you have the time and money, that looks relatively easy imho.....Unless the strut towers are bent and even then they can be pulled back enough to use them I'm sure.....just need to find the right guy to do the work.

 

[OntarioJeff 5]

1 hour ago, MikeT said:

No problem. My son did something not too dissimilar in my BRABUS Canada 1 in 2018 although it didn't look as dramatic.

 

New RF fender that I supplied, repainted white, repaired grille, new (used) headlight unit, new crash bar, done.

 

Thanks for the positive outlook - and knowledge that the crash bar can be replaced.  Looks like we'll be learning car assembly.

 

Thanks

[OntarioJeff 5]

1 hour ago, Willys said:

Everything is repairable if you have the time and money, that looks relatively easy imho.....Unless the strut towers are bent and even then they can be pulled back enough to use them I'm sure.....just need to find the right guy to do the work.

 

 

Thanks for some positive outlook.  Strut towers are all still straight, gonna be a long journey, but it might just get back on the road.

 

Thanks

[Nigel 287]

You might want to call Glenn in London.  He often has a couple of cars being dismantled. 
 

Nigel

 

 

[Leadwing 565]

@ OntarioJeff - If you can find a smart parts car in your area, replacing the entire front end is a relatively easy job.  Finding one in the right colour might be a challenge, but if you can find a donor part, it can be painted by your local paint shops. MB can give you the paint code needed.

 

[Willys 747]

Looks like he made a hell of a mess of that Jeep...lol.    Did it at least rub the dirt off the rear bumper...?...lol....Sorry to chuckle but.....lol.

As for the reassembly process, simply look at it as an adult jig saw puzzle....in reality it is very simple once you accept this concept.   Take plenty of picks of each piece before you remove anything simply to know what bolts go where and also what attaches to what even bent it will be valuable knowledge!
I also agree, search high and low for another rear end crashed car or one that doesn't run....for cheap....they come up all the time Check all the classified adds everywhere and under strange descriptions as sometimes that off beat description gets you another avenue that shows more vehicles. Research what years, models fit your year and model, not sure what colour yours is but looks black or some off beat very dark colour which if not black may be hard to find.

Remember, it's just an adult jig saw puzzle and a great learning process for all concerned, especially the younger generation.  Enjoy the process.

[Mjolinor 91]

Plus: Do not throw anything away until you have finished reassembly. Even the broken bits of shrapnel that you think could never possibly be any use.

 

 

 

[LooseLugNuts 557]

didnt even get to use those center caps yet

 

if theres a kenny upull in your area you can check online to see if they have any 451 smarts in stock to pick front end parts off 

[Mjolinor 91]

One of mine suffered the same fate last year.

 

https://rollingpast.com/john/smart/damage/index.html

[OntarioJeff 5]

On 10/29/2022 at 11:37 PM, Leadwing said:

@ OntarioJeff - If you can find a smart parts car in your area, replacing the entire front end is a relatively easy job.  Finding one in the right colour might be a challenge, but if you can find a donor part, it can be painted by your local paint shops. MB can give you the paint code needed.

 

 

Thanks Leadwing.  I'll start searching, it might be the way I need to go.

 

On 10/30/2022 at 8:35 AM, Willys said:

Looks like he made a hell of a mess of that Jeep...lol.    Did it at least rub the dirt off the rear bumper...?...lol....Sorry to chuckle but.....lol.

As for the reassembly process, simply look at it as an adult jig saw puzzle....in reality it is very simple once you accept this concept.   Take plenty of picks of each piece before you remove anything simply to know what bolts go where and also what attaches to what even bent it will be valuable knowledge!
I also agree, search high and low for another rear end crashed car or one that doesn't run....for cheap....they come up all the time Check all the classified adds everywhere and under strange descriptions as sometimes that off beat description gets you another avenue that shows more vehicles. Research what years, models fit your year and model, not sure what colour yours is but looks black or some off beat very dark colour which if not black may be hard to find.

Remember, it's just an adult jig saw puzzle and a great learning process for all concerned, especially the younger generation.  Enjoy the process.

 

An adult Jigsaw puzzle ... could be useful.  Of course having one assembled (picture on the front of the box) could help lol.

 

21 hours ago, LooseLugNuts said:

didnt even get to use those center caps yet

 

if theres a kenny upull in your area you can check online to see if they have any 451 smarts in stock to pick front end parts off 

 

Centre Caps and winter tires were planned for the afternoon, car didn't make it back from the library.  Still here and hopefully to be installed.

 

I hit up the U-Pick at lunch but it looks like somebody beat me to it.  The smart they have is stripped down of all front end components and body panels.  Only thing left was hood (ours looks OK) and washer fluid bottle (I grabbed that)

 

14 hours ago, Mjolinor said:

One of mine suffered the same fate last year.

 

https://rollingpast.com/john/smart/damage/index.html

 

Ooh, that's nasty too Mjolinor.  Did you get it going again?

[OntarioJeff 5]

On 10/29/2022 at 5:21 PM, Nigel said:

You might want to call Glenn in London.  He often has a couple of cars being dismantled. 
 

Nigel

 

Thanks Nigel.  I reached out to Glenn for advise.

[Mjolinor 91]

Easy to get going again. Couple of hours work and some ebay bits. I reckon I spent maybe £150 in total.

 

The most difficult bit is the radiator support panel. If that is broken enough to have to be replaced it is hard to find and generally expensive.

https://www.mbonlineparts.com/v-2009-smart-fortwo--pure--1-0l-l3-gas/body--radiator-support

 

You need to check the length of part 4 in that diagram as they are supposed to collapse under impact to protect the occupants. I doubt that yours will be damaged with that sort of impact but easy enough to check.

 

Mine was broken but I pieced it back together with some stainless steel plates that I made. When I land on the big bit at a reasonable price I will replace it.

 

If you need to remove the left side wing then start squirting the radio antenna with WD40 now and keep doing it. I reckon there is normally about a one percent chance that you will unscrew it without breaking.

 

 

[OntarioJeff 5]

The cocoa is looking a little candy coated on the front end, but it certainly looks better than it did before.

 

A BIG THANK YOU to everybody here for their encouragement and advise.  A wonderful way to spend a beautiful afternoon, and it appears to be driveable once again.  I did notice a future repair while in there, but opening the car up a second time should be much easier with this one under my belt.

 

Thanks!

 

 

[LooseLugNuts 557]

looks great

 

im really surprised those airbags didnt go off though....it looks like it was a good hit 

[Willys 747]

22 minutes ago, LooseLugNuts said:

looks great

 

im really surprised those airbags didnt go off though....it looks like it was a good hit 

Just a question, was the air bagt light on in the dash or not before the hit...?   IF it was maybe this inabled the bags and he was lucky it wasn't a bad high sped rear end where the bags would have saved him any damage...?   My beater's air bag light is on and this has always made we wonder, are my air bags even operational when the light is on...?  I think someone had said way back that if it is on then the bags won't deploy in an accident.  Just curious?

 

[LooseLugNuts 557]

if the srs light is on that means the airbag system has detected a problem and most likely will not deploy

 

abs is the same way...if abs light is on that means you only have conventional brakes (and most cars these days will disable the stability systems and traction control because they rely on the same sensors as the abs)

[OntarioJeff 5]

On 11/7/2022 at 8:24 PM, Willys said:

Just a question, was the air bagt light on in the dash or not before the hit...?   IF it was maybe this inabled the bags and he was lucky it wasn't a bad high sped rear end where the bags would have saved him any damage...?   My beater's air bag light is on and this has always made we wonder, are my air bags even operational when the light is on...?  I think someone had said way back that if it is on then the bags won't deploy in an accident.  Just curious?

 

 

No lights on the dash prior to accident or after. The impact bar had no damage, hit was above it.

[LooseLugNuts 557]

thats probably what saved the airbags then...if the plastic took most of the hit and missed the impact sensors

 

these car are notorious for airbags though...ive seen them blow from just nudging a curb with one tire during a u-turn in a parking lot at very low speed