KerryS Posted February 26, 2007 Author Posted February 26, 2007 QUOTE When you get it fixed..............move your freezer !!! All changed now, Westy only shares garage with the two scoots and the trailer; drive in forwards onto the tailer. QUOTE Will you be doing it or the factory? Depends on assesor I guess. First choice would be factory. I cannot face the toil of stipping it down and re-build. Body was not the most pleasant bit of the build. Quote
Gooders Posted February 26, 2007 Posted February 26, 2007 Back in June i had a young lady run into the back of my westy, the spare wheel tool most of the impact which was very minor i was stationary she just nudged me at a roundabout. The damage appeared to be nothing but in summary new lower valance new number plate assembly spare wheel repair new fuel tank and the stinger a new tub The quote to my insurance company was about £4200.00 which i was glad not to be paying. However the tiny crack in the gel coat behind the spare wheel was enough to scrap the tub. If you could have the money and fix the car yourself this is the way to go but sadly things do not seem to work like that. Best of luck Rich Quote
chazpowerslide Posted February 26, 2007 Posted February 26, 2007 Bad news Kerry. I had much the same with mine last year (though the dammage was more sevear. Mark Walker confirmed that any cracked gelcoat on a GRP part is enough to scrap it. If you want to retain the old tub it'll probhably cost you 20% of the new price (that's what the insurance company will charge for the "salvage", bear that in mind if you intend on retaining it to sell on. YHPM BTW Chaz. Quote
oioi Posted February 27, 2007 Posted February 27, 2007 a mate of mine, pulling onto the drive missed the brake peddle, drove through the garage door (without opening it!) and into his missus car, shoving that forward into a work bench. was an interesting insurance claim. i still havent stopped taking the p1ss out of him (dont think i ever will) Quote
Man On The Clapham Omnibus Posted February 27, 2007 Posted February 27, 2007 Kerry. I really don't get this. Gel coat is not part of the integrity of the tub - it's a decoration only. I made a sheet of glass reinforced polyester at college (National College of Rubber Technology, Holloway Road) as part of the first year of my course. There was no gel coat and it was tough as old boots; you couldn't break it. Okay, the gel coat is brittle, bonded intimately to the substrate, and it will progagate cracks along its surface by stress concentration. However if you can arrest the cracks in the gel coat by, say, removing it back down to the laminate and replacing it with a face applied gel coat system (I think such a system is available for repairs, a search might reveal the details), it should be possible to restore the surface to a semblance of its original finish. If the laminate itself is cracked you need to lay-up a few sheets of woven mat over the back of the damaged area. Access might be a problem and getting the new surface flat and glossy will be a challenge but it ought to be possible. I have an old friend who teaches airframe technicians how to repair aircraft structures. He will certainly know if it's practical - I'll bang off an e-mail to him today and seek his wisdom. He might just tell me I'm way up a gum tree but I'd be surprised if it is not do-able. Quote
John Loudon - Sponsorship Liaison Posted February 27, 2007 Posted February 27, 2007 How bad are the cracks? Is the shape intact? I take it that you dont have a spare wheel carrier? The reason i ask is that there may be a possibility that one of thiose large Westfield sunburst logos applied to the back will hide it? Silver would look nice on your car Worth a go? Quote
Westy1700 Posted February 27, 2007 Posted February 27, 2007 hope the freezers OK......all that beer will need to be chilled for a rebuild and the long nights in the garage Quote
KerryS Posted February 27, 2007 Author Posted February 27, 2007 hope the freezers OK......all that beer will need to be chilled for a rebuild and the long nights in the garage Not a mark on it There was a cry of pain from the frozen cow in there Quote
Westy1700 Posted February 27, 2007 Posted February 27, 2007 hope the freezers OK......all that beer will need to be chilled for a rebuild and the long nights in the garage Not a mark on it There was a cry of pain from the frozen cow in there I don't let my missus in my garage !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote
KerryS Posted February 27, 2007 Author Posted February 27, 2007 How bad are the cracks? Is the shape intact? I take it that you dont have a spare wheel carrier? The reason i ask is that there may be a possibility that one of thiose large Westfield sunburst logos applied to the back will hide it? Silver would look nice on your car Worth a go? There is a spare wheel but the way I was keeping the car in the garage at the time meant that it never touched it. So it was a perpendicular freezer panel hit by the fog light, which sacrificed itself but presumably pushed in the whole area around there. There are complex curves in that area and cracking is essentially circular rings radiating away from the fog light with some radial ones wondering off to the wheel arch joint and side/winker light pod. It really wouldn't show up in a photo, in fact it was only when I polished the car for Nigel's calendar the full extent became clearer. Then all he used was the front 3 feet of the car So the bit under the spare is fine except for one crack. Quote
Rory's Dad Posted February 27, 2007 Posted February 27, 2007 It all seems a lot of work to me. Cracks in the gel coat for dinghies usually fixed by chipping out the crack a bit with the corner of a screwdriver to give the gel coat something to grip, carefully dobbing on some new gelcoat with, say, a cocktail stick, sellotaping over the repair while it cures and then giving it all a rub down and a polish to complete. Provided the colour match is good, usually hard to spot. Some insurance work just seems like 'jobs for the boys' Rory's Dad Quote
Asterix Posted February 27, 2007 Posted February 27, 2007 Gel coat repairer makes cracks, small or big, better* than new. * and slightly heavier. * depends on the craftsman's patience Quote
chairemangeezer Posted February 27, 2007 Posted February 27, 2007 Sorry about the tub Kerry, it’s unbelievable that such a small tap resulted in having to have a new one. Quote
Mark Mason Posted February 27, 2007 Posted February 27, 2007 Sorry to hear that the tub can't be repaired. Quote
Jenko Posted February 27, 2007 Posted February 27, 2007 Must admit...I too can't see why a tub would have to be replaced based on what I have read here.............. HOWEVER, I've been sat here rattlling my brains trying to think of what fun you can have with the car before the tub is replaced........... When I used to need a new rear tyre on my motorbike, I used to go to a car park and do burnouts :-) - ohh what fun........so, any one anyideas on how to celebrate the passing of the tub.....I'm thinking hand break tuns into cones.....oooooooyes.... Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.