240 General: - Bad Valentine's day...

PowerOfTheBlues · Feb 16th, 2013, 09:50

Gentlemen,

I found, to my cost, the performance of my 1991 245's brakes on Thursday. Long story short, I mated the rear of a Zafira. See below.

Not pretty, I know.

The speed of impact was reasonably low, but the front went under the rounded rear of the Zafira and, as you can see, damaged the far-side light assembly, slam panel, lower grille mount strip and of course the grille itself.

The garage here in Switzerland say they could only source new parts, coming in at CHF 1,300 for the parts alone.

Here is where I ask for help.

I'm in need of some LHD light glass, or whole assembly. The indicator assembly is still functioning, just the mounting clips broke. Google is struggling to find spare headlights for a LHD car. Is it possible, at this stage, to install the old style round headlights, or indeed American spec double square lights?

As for the crunched metal, what do you guys advise? Big hammer and pliers, or replacement parts?

Any advice gratefully received.

- Dickie

wooble · Feb 16th, 2013, 11:37

Yowch, sorry to see that, I feel your pain!

The early/american spec lights don't fit with the later front end I'm afraid, the headlight you should be able to source a good second hand one on a european ebay site, ebay.de is good, here's a decent headlight. same goes for the grille, indicator, trim strip etc.

The good news is that with the judicious application of brute force, everything there should be bendable back into shape enough to keep you on the road until spares are found.

The radiator support and lower panel can be removed and replaced when the appropriate spares are found, there are a few spot welds to drill out (earlier models were bolted in, later ones use a few spot welds) but it's fairly straightforward, and there's no need to weld the new panels back in place, nuts and bolts will suffice.

PowerOfTheBlues · Feb 16th, 2013, 13:03

Thanks for the speedy reply.

I'm glad you say I can be a bit Arthur Scargill with a hammer for the metal parts.

I have ordered that light you linked. Thanks!

The indicator hosing I think i can fix, and the chrome bumper trim is undamaged, it just flew off. The car is currently at the recovery place, so next week will be a full assess.

Thanks again,
- Dickie

rusty244 · Feb 16th, 2013, 15:20

Ouch, never good to see an injured 240!

Glad it wasn't too bad an impact and by the sounds of it all walked away uninjured.

Obvious point but ensure the bonnet is firmly fastened shut after the repair. A friend had an old MR2 with a dodgy bonnet clip - he found this out at 70mph when the bonnet flew open and hit is windscreen!

Hope you get it repaired speedily and at a sensible cost..

Feb 16th, 2013, 09:50	#1
PowerOfTheBlues Brother in arms... Last Online: Nov 27th, 2013 16:47 Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Hartland, N. Devon	Bad Valentine's day... Gentlemen, I found, to my cost, the performance of my 1991 245's brakes on Thursday. Long story short, I mated the rear of a Zafira. See below. Not pretty, I know. The speed of impact was reasonably low, but the front went under the rounded rear of the Zafira and, as you can see, damaged the far-side light assembly, slam panel, lower grille mount strip and of course the grille itself. The garage here in Switzerland say they could only source new parts, coming in at CHF 1,300 for the parts alone. Here is where I ask for help. I'm in need of some LHD light glass, or whole assembly. The indicator assembly is still functioning, just the mounting clips broke. Google is struggling to find spare headlights for a LHD car. Is it possible, at this stage, to install the old style round headlights, or indeed American spec double square lights? As for the crunched metal, what do you guys advise? Big hammer and pliers, or replacement parts? Any advice gratefully received. - Dickie Last edited by PowerOfTheBlues; Feb 16th, 2013 at 10:02.

Feb 16th, 2013, 11:37	#2
wooble Stay gold baby! Last Online: Jul 24th, 2022 16:15 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Bristol	Yowch, sorry to see that, I feel your pain! The early/american spec lights don't fit with the later front end I'm afraid, the headlight you should be able to source a good second hand one on a european ebay site, ebay.de is good, here's a decent headlight. same goes for the grille, indicator, trim strip etc. The good news is that with the judicious application of brute force, everything there should be bendable back into shape enough to keep you on the road until spares are found. The radiator support and lower panel can be removed and replaced when the appropriate spares are found, there are a few spot welds to drill out (earlier models were bolted in, later ones use a few spot welds) but it's fairly straightforward, and there's no need to weld the new panels back in place, nuts and bolts will suffice. __________________ Click to see 240 parts I want to give you money for! Last edited by wooble; Feb 16th, 2013 at 11:39.

Feb 16th, 2013, 13:03	#3
PowerOfTheBlues Brother in arms... Last Online: Nov 27th, 2013 16:47 Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Hartland, N. Devon	Thanks for the speedy reply. I'm glad you say I can be a bit Arthur Scargill with a hammer for the metal parts. I have ordered that light you linked. Thanks! The indicator hosing I think i can fix, and the chrome bumper trim is undamaged, it just flew off. The car is currently at the recovery place, so next week will be a full assess. Thanks again, - Dickie

Feb 16th, 2013, 15:20	#4
rusty244 Senior Member Last Online: Apr 21st, 2024 21:01 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: North West	Ouch, never good to see an injured 240! Glad it wasn't too bad an impact and by the sounds of it all walked away uninjured. Obvious point but ensure the bonnet is firmly fastened shut after the repair. A friend had an old MR2 with a dodgy bonnet clip - he found this out at 70mph when the bonnet flew open and hit is windscreen! Hope you get it repaired speedily and at a sensible cost..

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)