My tear down, and rebuild thread.

[Kolk1]

Well, as some of you might remember I hit a deer pretty hard about 2 months ago. Now that the holidays have come and past, Ive started ordering parts to rebuild it myself (minus paint). Today I started a quick and basic tear down just to make sure I have a complete parts list on order. So now that almost all of the stuff has been ordered, I ordered the Fenders, hood and bumper a couple days ago so the parts that need painted will be here first. Ive talked to Bob at Versa Speed about some OEM headlights, Ive also ordered the radiator supports assembly, radiator, AC condenser, and Fan assembly. Just remember today I need a coolant overflow bottle.

I didnt pull out the radiator since I realized today that it also has transmission lines going to it, so im going to wait until the new one shows up.

Probably this thursday, the car will go up on jacks, and the fenders will be coming off.

Im also thinking about going ahead and replacing the stock springs with some lowering springs while at it.

The airbag part of the steering wheel is going to be fiberglassed, and we are going to make a OEM looking replacement but with no airbag. At the same time im going to go ahead and fiberglass my Apillars to allow for a 3inch components.

My goal is to have it on the road, 100% done before Valentines day.

So I guess onto the pics.

Heres a couple pics the morning after I hit the deer:







This is after I pushed out as much of the door as I could, almost the whole door was smashed in.

And heres some pics as it sits this morning after a quick teardown to check I have all the parts on order:

[BBISHOPPCM]

That is the first set of aftermarket rims I have EVER seen on ANY car that I believe makes an improvement on the cars' appearance! Seriously, they are very nice. Not showy, flashy, ghetto, or chung. I love them. Why didn't your passenger side airbag go off? Does not not go off if it doesn't sense an occupant?

[Kolk1]

I actually had those rims on a Del sol about 8 years ago, and they sat in storage until I realized they would fit the versa. I took off my OEM tires and just put them on the rims. They are only 15s too.

The passenger side air bag might not of gone off for 2 reason, 1 being there was no passenger, and 2, I was recently redoing the stereo(again), and the air bag light was back on and flashing, since I turned on the car while the dash was out.

[Sure_Shot]

Your passenger airbag didn't go off because you didn't have a passenger. I had to do the airbags in my Versa, as well, and I found lots of Vs with only the driver bag blown. Good luck with your rebuild! I did one similar to this, so if you have any questions or hit any snags along the way, let me know. I may be able to offer advice.

[Shad0wXCalibur]

That sucks about the car but I will say those wheels actually look good. I'm tired of all the flashy oversized multicolored wheels I see people use today.

[Andrews Chalmers]

how did you push the dents out of the door? remove the interior?

[Kolk1]

Thanks guys.

Yea, I just pulled the door panel off and pushed from the inside. Problem is, there is a piece of the door frame in the way to get out the dent around the handle. Oh well. I can live with it.

[Johniboi]

Srry you had to go through all this but good luck with the re-build-hope everything goes smooth for ya

[Andrews Chalmers]

Thanks guys.

Yea, I just pulled the door panel off and pushed from the inside. Problem is, there is a piece of the door frame in the way to get out the dent around the handle. Oh well. I can live with it.

How did you remove the panel? I've been pondering doing the same to knead a dent out.


Modified by Andrews Chalmers at 12:39 AM 1/19/2009

[matttail]

After being in a crash and having the airbag help to make sure you came out of it safe, why are you replacing the wheel without an airbag?

[Kolk1]

I've been in 3 accidents where the airbag has gone off, the other 2 way worse than this, and the airbag has never done more than just piss me off and cost me more money.

[manvan]

how much is insurance giving you to fix it?

[Kolk1]

how much is insurance giving you to fix it?

0. Not turning it in. I plan on driving it until it's not worth anything so I can put more money into project cars/bikes. Not worth risking my insurance going up on something I can fix myself.

[manvan]

well i aplaud you then sir, if jersyville wasnt so far id go help you, or if i still went to siue, well good luck to you

[Kolk1]

Thanks, my Fiance graduates from SIUE with her Pharm D in May. I worked at the Best Buy in Edwardsville since before it opened, but got offered a much better job over in Fairview Heights, so now im over there. Just passing time until she graduates and starts making the big bucks.

I just realized, last week was the 2 year anniversary that Ive owned the Versa. It has over 45k miles, which you may not thinks thats alot, Ive put 10k on my bike, about 6k on my Turbo Laser, and around 4k on my 79 280zx. I spend way too much time on the road.
Modified by Kolk1 at 7:54 PM 1/20/2009

[manvan]

i went to siue for pharm too but decided that id rather go to uic, but i actually met you before, i forgot, you worked audio at bestbuy. but good job on picking the right girl, time to live your life as a gold digger, thats what i would do if my gf was a pharmy. and i know how you feel about milage, iv had my car for a year and a half and i have 55k......its depressing

[Kolk1]

Parts started showing up, not much so far has got here, but its a start.

Hood, fenders, and the radiator showed up. Front bumper and coolant overflow tank are supposed to be here monday, then all the parts that need paint will go in for paint the same day. Hopefully ill get them back by thursday(my next day off) so I can start putting the car back together.

AC condenser, and fan assembly should be here any day too.

The one thing I havent ordered but have talked to BOB about from Versaspeed, he has 2 OEM headlights im buying, and im picking up Tanabe springs while im at it. Probably order that Monday.

So far I think im still on schedule to have it done by the 14th. Im off tomorrow so im going to spend a couple hours making sure the car is torn down completely and ready for the rest of the new parts as they show up. Probably go ahead and pull the front struts out while the car is up in the air too.

Im also ordering 4 new tires while im at this week too. Figure these tires are low on tread, and since im lowering the car, ill be getting a alignment after the springs settle, so I might as well do new tires at the same time.

[Johniboi]

Nice progress...I bet those parts are costin you a fortune huh? lol

[Kolk1]

With paint, Ill be under $2,000. Ive managed to get all the parts, plus a couple random add ons, for around $1200, then Ill get tires, $200, paint is looking to be around 4-500, plus mount and balancing the tires blah blah blah, around 2 grand. And when this is done, my turbo laser is going up for sale for around....... You guessed it, 2 grand. lol

[TrustME]

Good luck to you. I hope that everything works out correctly.

[reyes1212]

where did you get the fenders for cheap

[Kolk1]

certifit, hood $120, Fenders $55 each.

[manvan]

how do you like certifit? when i fixed my accord(totaled front end) i used them and all there parts didnt exactly fit together. i had to nig rig it all. i got both fenders, bumper, hood, some random mounting stuff and headlights. but it worked out in the end... kind of frankenstienish

[Kolk1]

The pieces seem to fit perfect, I havent bolted them on since they arent painted, but I test fitted them. They all seem to be exact matches to OEM, or at least I cant tell a difference yet. I guess Ill find out when I put them on. But the other fenders I ordered were $190 EACH and im mailing them they, and they look identical to the certifit fenders.

Got more parts in the mail, but I think ill wait to post pics when ALL of them are here. Im taking the parts in for paint here on Monday, and they want about week, so after the paint is done, that gives me about week to have the car finished, which 1/2 of it is done, just need to put it all back together. lol

[LeroyBrown]

That sucks about your car. what about insurance?

[Kolk1]

That sucks about your car. what about insurance?

Didnt turn it in. This is my gas mileage car I plan to drive until its worth nothing. So I dont care about resale value, as long as it gets me to work.

[Kolk1]

Little update, as far as the rebuild goes, im done until the panels come back from paint, only thing left I could work on is start swapping out the OEM springs for the Tanabes.

So heres how it sits right now:





I also got bored the other day, and built a sub box, not sure if Ill put it in the Versa or not, but I did bring it home for a test fit to see how it looks. Or I could just put it out on the sales floor and sell it, who knows. Im moving to a different state for 1 year while my wife does residency, so I started taking pics of my work so I have something to send employers when I start looking for a new job.



This pic is before the actual fiberglass chop mat, bracing, and sealing.

[reyes1212]

how much for the subs...?or they speakers?hahadude ebay sells the fenders for 80 somethin, can you post a link to certifit versa fenders?

sorta p.s. question, but what tools do you use to make that stuff? more specifically, what do you use to cut out and make the shapes n stuff

[Kolk1]

you have to call certifit and ask what your local one has in stock.

The fenders, oh the long story, Basically, I finally got the conformation code to send them back for my refund (minus 20% restocking fee) and I have to mail it back in the same box, UPS wants almost $200, due to the box being 6ft long, 4 foot tall, and 15inchs deep. Doesnt weigh much, but it takes up a LOT of space, so after my restocking fee, and shipping, ill get about $50 back. So I might as well keep them, or sell them to somebody else who needs them. Thats the long story short on that one.

On the sub box, The subs are JL audio W1V2s, I think retail is like $120 each or so.

Basically, I made the back and floor of the box out of 3/4 inch MDF wood, then using a rotter, I cut out 3 rings that fit the subs nicely, and attached them to the floor and back using a nailer, then this is where the skill comes in, You stretch fleece over the box to the backsides without any creases, and pull it tight, then use a staple gun to hold it all down, then use fiberglass resin and soak the fleece. Once hardened, you can cut out the rings where the subs will fit in, then on the inside of the box, you add actual fiberglass chop mat, and add layers on the inside of the box to give it its actual tinsel strength, add bracing, add sealant around all the edges, and the inside is done. This box was only getting carpet, so I just smoothed out the outside of the box a little bit. Then once again, the hardest part I think, stretching the carpet around the box to where you dont have any creases or folds. Mount and wire subs, and your done. lol

Im planning on building a box thats more vehicle specific for the versa. A low wedge box that fits all the way against the bench, that very shallow, and very low, but goes wall to wall up against the seat. Should take up a very minimal amount of trunk space.

I did spin the box I just made, and I think it looks better in the corner.

[Kolk1]

Well, today I spent about an hour and pulled the front struts, tracking number says the new ones will be here tomorrow so thats as far as I can go, and the guy doing the paint said probably monday I can pick up the panels. Im only off on sunday and thursday, so unless I can pick them up before work, I wont be able to get them until Thursday.

So right now, im at a 100% stopping point until I get my panels back from paint, or my springs show up.