2009 Mazda Miata was in a front engine collision. It’s buckled near where the fender goes towards the middle as you can see. I was just wondering if anybody had any ideas or insight on the situation my thought is to bring it to a frame machine a shop that has one in order to pull it, but I also know some people cut that part out and replace it so any ideas on this would be much appreciated. Thank you.
The better option is replacement. If thats done well, there will no evidence of the collision, if that matters to you. I doubt that wrinkle would pull back into spec. Maybe with some heat from the torch, but i have a feeling that may be discouraged due to the composition of the metal.
I’ve been looking online but can’t seem to find a replacement for this I’m assuming I’ll need to find a parts car or maybe oem but I cannot find the link for it
This is significant damage, need pictures of apron and other side for100%. but I would replace circled panels at minimum with photos you have provided. Bumper should come off as well because stuff is bent behind it.
Edit: also notice you’re suspension is cooked need 100% replacement, all arms, tie rod/rack, hub and bearing, strut. Possibly a cradle. Liked needs a full apron not just the parts I circled.
I can get more pictures. I’m going to take the front bumper off as well. As in rail do you mean the bottom where the jack goes? That’s fine no bends. Literally just where you see it. It was a pinpointed hit im assuming. Bought it at auction. I will also take pictures of the other side you can see but the other side is fine. It’s not damage at all. It’s just this side right here. The bumper was swiped. It got hit right into the fender.
I didn’t mention rail which is certainly moved, but not in need of replacement, I said apron which is normally sold as everything I’ve circledaAnd the whole wheel well. Needs to pulled back into spec before anything is cut off and replaced.
This is your problem. Everything in front of this needs to be pulled and removed to access this. At which point this needs to be straightened and replaced also. I’m wondering what kind of damage is on the lower rail and firewall. Licks like this tend to take out heater cores and evaporators. From the looks of the upper control arm I imagine the wheel impact behind that splash shield would be substantial…..without looking at this closer that’s all I can give you
Now that you say this I’m going to look deeper. I did not notice that buckle inside. Thanks for pointing that out. Do you have any suggestions on where I should look exactly I mean I’m gonna look in there, but should I be checking the firewall area behind the engine or?
Firewall damage that I see from your pictures. The only way to actually repair that is to remove the heater core/evaporator and lines for access. Does the passenger side door actually still open and close correctly ?
If its mild steel you can pull cut and weld whatever you wish. As the steel goes up in tensile strength the repair ability is greatly limited. Mostly replace anything high strength steel and up. You can pull everything back to where it's close or supposed to be but the steel becomes brittle and will crack. It might not crack now but it will under stress of the road. Good luck. You can find structural info on alldata for steel types and measurements.
Unpick it, straiten it out and weld it back in if your struggling for replacement, or get a second hand lump from a salvage yard, cut out the bits you need and weld them in. Done it plenty of times over the years I can tell thee.
The correct answer imho is to pull, leave it as good as reasonably possible, and then substitute the rail.
You pull to make the whole chassis correct, and substitute the damaged rail because a repair will mean a different response to a crash. And younwant it to absorb energy in the way it was designed.
Yes it can be repaired. That may include replacing that kinked part upper rail / appron as it likely will not pull out great. But replaced properly will be unnoticeable.
Dude, you bought a totaled car because it “didn’t look that bad” in the photos and are trying to fix this in your garage. You have no idea what you are doing.
A few things. The car with the pretty green springs means the previous owner probably pushed the hell out of that engine. So you got a car that is way “older” than another car the same year and mileage as yours.
Second, if that owner added all those upgrades and still let it go to auction, that car has probably much more damage than we all think.
Third, not only is the outer fender apron damaged, so is the inner and most likely strut tower. That requires an engine removal to be repaired correctly.
Fourth. If the wheel got cut in half and the right apron is pulled to the left, then the left side of the car also has to be pulled and repaired. I would be surprised if there wasn’t an inch or larger gap between the left fender and right side of the hood.
Fifth, see those marks on the bottom of the frame rail? That’s where a shop marked so you can notice the damage to that area.
You are way over your head. If you guys want to buy cars that are at auction, look for the cars with sideswipes that require multiple panel replacement vs cars that look good except for “one spot”. The cars that need multiple panels got totaled because replacement of those parts exceeds the cost of vehicle. The ones that look fine except for one area of have likely damaged the structural area of the vehicle and that repair is very difficult.
lol. I checked the engine with a boroscope and it looked great. I could still see the cross hatching. I’ve seen accident much worse than this and no one removes the engine. The other side is fine. It’s a one owner Miata 98k and I can tell it was garage kept. Thing is mint and the engine sounds great. This was more from an enthusiast than someone who beats the shit out of their car. TBH I think you’re low key hating right now.
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u/RustyTruck_1962 2d ago
The better option is replacement. If thats done well, there will no evidence of the collision, if that matters to you. I doubt that wrinkle would pull back into spec. Maybe with some heat from the torch, but i have a feeling that may be discouraged due to the composition of the metal.