Guest MOPARNUT Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 I had one of my 66 Dodge Chargers towed recenlty due to brake failure. However when the tow guy went to hook up the car he used the wrong hooks, and tore a 3 or 4" hole in the front frame on both sides does anyone know a frame or restoration shop in Illinois that can fix it correctly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 That guy may have totaled your car. You should turn it over to your insurance company and let them go after the tow compny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 Would the car not roll easily? Sounds flaky! If the tow company damaged the vehicle, there needs to be somebody's insurance company involved--period.Was this one of the "roll-back" flatbed two trucks, where they use an electric winch to put the car on the flatbed?I realize this is not the type of vehicle they might usually encounter, BUT that's no reason for them to hook their cables inappropriately and damage the vehicle. IF the car's brakes were stuck "applied", then that would have called for a different method of towing using a "sling" and another mechanism to cradle the other end of the car's wheels as one end of the car (via the sling) is elevated for towing.Regards,NTX5467 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MOPARNUT Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 I did call my insurance, but I still need to find a shop that can fix it. The brakes are failed in the applied position but the tow guy said "I'm in a hurry and it will be fine." So he hooked up the winch and car did not want to go foward. He just kept pulling until we herd a loud clunk and the hooks tore the frame rails. Then he hooked it up differently but the damage was already done. So now I'm stuck trying to find a shop that can fix it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 I take it the adjuster has not looked at it. Its his job to deal with it, not yours. You are the customer and you pay him thru your ins premiums.Although it sounds like you were moving a car with the brakes locked up (I suspect from sitting someplace wet), you probably didnt have it insured. You need to lean on this tow company real hard or you will be dissapointed. Frame damage usually means total. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MOPARNUT Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 The car has always been insured and in a heated and air cooled garage. The insurance guy looked at it and said that is fixable but I need to find an excellent restoration shop, that can fix it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 Normally, from my experience, the tow truck dispatcher usually inquires if the vehicle is "moveable", "runs" or "doesn't run", which would have generated conversation about the brake issues, I would hope. Back when the sling wreckers were common, they all ususally had a "dolly system" they used. It was two tubes with wheels on the end of each tube. The rear of the car was elevated first, so the dolly could be assembled (with click pins) and positioned to carry the weight of the rear wheels. Once that was installed, then the car was let down on it at the rear and the driver then positioned the truck to use the sling to pickup the front of the vehicle (as normal). The hooks and chains were attached and the sling contacted the front bumper as the car was lifted. In the case of a car with locked brakes and the newer roll-back tow trucks, you'd need TWO dollys, one for each end of the car. But I don't know if the newer tow truck drivers know what they are any more!AS the Charger is a UNIBODY car, with a bolt-on K-frame, it's not going to be the same as with a body-on-frame car in getting it fixed, possibly. This is why the location of the "holes" are important! I also suspect it will require some welding and metal work, plus paint to get things repaired as they need to be. There are several Mopar clubs in your area of the country, plus some high-calibre restoration shops. You might contact some of them for guidance.Be sure to use your insurance agent/carrier as much as you might need to! I have no doubt that the tow truck company might try to waffle as much as they can (the lowest default mode, I suspect, with all due respect) should you provide them with a several thousand dollar estimate for repairs. Key thing is to request "as manufactured" rather than "restored to show quality" in the related metal and paint work. As much as the car might mean to you, all you can reasonably expect is a great repair job with very little or NO evidence of repair should somebody look at it, but still not what some might term "show quality" work . . . although some "normal" work can approach that level more than others might. PLUS having all of the welds properly metal-corrosion-treated before any paint is applied, including inside any boxed sections of the structure.Just some thoughts,NTX5467 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 Sounds like MOPARNUT simply wants a recommendation for a body shop in Illinois that can fix his car.......anybody?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MOPARNUT Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 In case anyone cares the car is fixable. Since I can't find anyone that works on just old classic mopars, It's going to my local dodge dealer. They can fix everything but the interoir lights. I guess if I ever want to restore a car though I just have to sell them since their is no one that restores mopars. No wonder they are so hard to come by noone fixes them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostymosty Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 My brother does restorations on old mopars but is in Louisiana so that doesn't help you at all! He does the body and paint work for SEMA, magazine, and show cars for Matt Delaney in Shreveport, LA and just finished a white 68 Coronet R/T that is being featured in Mopar Collector's Guide-I haven't even seen that issue yet or the car since I am in SoCal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 NO ONE WORKS ON THEM ANYMORE???Network with the many Mopar enthusiasts and clubs in the Chicagoland area. Check the "CLUBS" listing at www.allpar.com for contact information. They ARE out there AND have been for decades! As for popularity, over 50K+ people in one weekend attending the annual Mopar Nationals hardly supports that idea! www.moparnats.org Nor the popularity of Mopar Action magazine, or the other similar Mopar magazine or Mopar Collectors Guide (published in LA).Reproduction parts? More than you can shake THREE HEMIS at! Started with YearONE in the 1970s and hasn't stopped expanding since. Every vendor that's "anything" has ads in Mopar Action, usually. The restoration part of the Mopar hobby is at least as intense as it is for Corvettes or Mustangs, too. Granted, these many clubs (one for EVERY Mopar vehicle platform built, including front wheel drive vehicles!) are somewhat out of the "mainstream" antique vehicle realm, but it is a WHOLE 'NUTHER GALAXY OUT THERE! Not just "world", but "GALAXY", even "UNIVERSE"!Even the Mopar Performance group at Chrysler started doing reproduction parts AND licensing the production of other reproduction parts many years ago.Respectfully,NTX5467 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSayak Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 (edited) I have no connection to the following, but these might be of help:Muscle Car Restorations, Inc. - Classic Car Restoration SpecialistsMo-Par Cityhttps://www.autometaldirect.com/ Edited August 21, 2012 by RSayak (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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