Plan of Attack

After a closer ‘surface’ examination, it’s obvious there are some problem areas. The window rims are troubling, as is the bottom of the ‘A’ pillar on the passenger side. It looks cancerous. Once I dig in and start disassembling the whole thing, I’ll be able to see the extent of the damage. On the brighter side, there aren’t a lot of parts that are missing.

Up next, I want to do two things to the car:

  • Make a list of what parts are missing.
  • Make a list of what areas are damaged.

Then I can price the missing parts and come up with an estimate for purchases, and I can start to get an idea of how much repair work needs to be done.

A Closer Look

I think the first thing to do is determine our patient’s condition. Photos will help document my starting point, and will help if I forget where something goes — I can always look back at pictures. It’s surprising how quickly you forget how/where some part was attached. When I start to clean and disassemble the car, I’ll take more photos as parts are removed. Then I can really do a more thorough damage assessment. But first, I want to get a record of how it looks, as-is. Then I can start to put together a list of missing parts, and a list of focus points for repairs.