Bad News...

[Young Gun]

:banghead:

So I got a call today from my mom. Apparently Houston has had some pretty rough weather lately. Well my mother ran out to get some dog food this morning and came home to find a beam laying across the roof of the nova, putting a huge ding down the center of the roof and bending it pretty badly apparently. its all soaked and sheet rock is everywhere in the garage. Apparently the last owners of the house did what they needed to make the garage look good aesthetically. I am having a friend go by to look at it, but from what my mom described, Im afraid the body is toast. It really irritates me. Worst bit is the insurance covers neither the roof nor the car. What makes it worse was one of my dads co-workers was going to be doing the body work for us for free (minus the cost of beer lol). so instead of about 800 bucks in sheet metal, I need to start gathering funds to get a new nova... It really just pisses me off that insurance is not going to cover anything. And considering the price of Nova's has gone up decently its gonna be even harder to find anything. I was gonna have it up here in Chicago over christmas to start mock up once all the metal work was done. Now I have nothing to show for it but some twisted metal that is being hauled off for scrap this weekend. It also scratched my dads car that was parked in the stall next to it. The dents in that were not as bad and can be pulled but either way it is really irritating.

/complaining

[BA.]

That really sucks man, I feel bad for you. I'm still hoping it's repairable until you find out for sure otherwise!!!

I had a similar 'car damage at the house' situation.....more than once. I recall some grey area's about whether the car is moving or in a garage, etc.
Wouldn't the home insurance have personal property damage coverage that could help you?

I recall someone on this board trying to sell a nova shell with no drivetrain in the last couple of months. Maybe one of us can find that thread for you. You could swap your stuff over to it!

Either way man,.......good luck with getting something going again.

[gmjj13]

dang, sorry to hear that. that really sucks...won't the homeowners insurance cover anything?

[69Nova]

Man that sucks dude. I'm sorry to hear that. Could you try to get a picture of it? Are you 100% sure the car is toast, I hate to see cars trashed.

[Young Gun]

no, since it is titled it is considered a vehicle, but it is not insured and therfore is not covered...i am hoping it is not toast but my mom said it had a big crease down the roof and it the b pillers are bent outwards as if they are buckling. I am gonna try and get a picture but my camera is up here with my. I am trying to get one of my friends to go by, but most of them are off to college now. My dad is gonna have his co-worker stop by and evaluate it since he can tell if it is legitimately toast or not. I hate the fact that im not home to deal with it and wont be for another 3 and a half months...ugh

[Chevrolaine]

Bummer man and you're right, it's all the worse that you can't even see it. My sister had a tree crash into her living room yesterday in Florida due to the nasty weather from Fay.

[Motown 454]

Sorry to hear this I hope its not as bad as youv'e been told.

[Memphis]

Damn that sucks, I hope its repairable.

[trapin]

Sorry to hear about that. Just hope for the best.

[6'9"Witha69]

Hey, there are a TON of talented people out there who have fixed worse. When you get pics post them up and some of the guys here could easily tell you if it can be fixed.

[novanutcase]

If all you have wrong with the car is the roof and the b pillars that can be easily fixed. Take a look at the car before you scrap it.

John

[TonyHuntimer]

That really sucks! Hopefully it can be fixed.

How's the rest of the house? Was it hit by a tornado or something? Or was it just insulation that got wet from a leak that caused the ceiling to fall?

I can't believe renters or home-owners insurance won't cover damage done by a house falling apart.

Tony Huntimer
RaceHome.com

[Spiffav8]

That sucks big time! I'm really interested to see the pictures when you get them. Keep the faith brother!

[Jim Nilsen]

With the tools we have at our access these days you should be able to fix it. Yes it will take more time but you should try just for the experience of at least getting it close. I can remember practicing on an old fender that I got crunched and it amazed me how much I learned and was able to use the techniques I learned on something repairable like the front lower valance that only needed a little spot putty to make look perfect after all of my hammering and dollying.

This is also a situation my insurance man told me can be remedied by having comprehensive insurance on any car that is parked. You have to have another car that you insure is usually the basic requirement for them to let you have comprehensive only policies on parked vehicles. the cost of insuring the 89 Camaro in my garage is only $30 a year and will cover it up to the current resale of the car in the condition it is in before the accidental damage. It will cover broken glass from break ins along with a STOCK stereo system along with falling objects like trees and structures and a total loss.

This should be a good lesson for all of us as to how to be prepared for the worst at a very low cost.

I am hoping this will have a sunny side to it and you will be able to show people the pic of the damage and smile when they say they would have never known if they hadn't seen the pic.

:fingersx:

[Mr.VENGEANCE]

ooooooohhhhh... that sucks man..

[viper11]

new project
1st nova convertible or roadster???
jason

[paul67]

I would have thought find a replacement roof panel use the glass as a datum for straightening and height, it's no more than if it was a roof chop, actualy it should be easier. If you take the headlining out you will see where it was originaly welded as it not spot welded I think, saturday roof off sunday welding new 1 on, tools needed sawsaw,or hacksaw , mig welder. Freind chopped his roof off he's car while I was on the phone asking a friend how to weld it back on,as he wanted a roof chop, cut the 2" out and welded back on the same day no draw and 1/4 needed for his chop , older car's are a lot easier to work on than late stuff. Post the pic's when you have them.

[oestek]

Roof panels are made to be repaired like any other part of the car... they are spot welded in the window seams, the quarter seams, and rain gutters. A competent body tech can swap 'em in a day. Our man John has made a killing doing hail repairs, and on new cars, he can swap roof skins faster than the glass guy can swap windows. It's not the end of the world. Check www.dvap.com for a donor Nova roof skin - they usually have a bunch down there. It sucks, but depending on the rest of the car, it could just be a minor setback! Let me know how we can help!

[GetMore]

Sorry to hear about the damage.
Check with your parents. Their homeowner's insurance should cover the damages to the car. They will probably want to place a claim for the damage to the garage, so there shouldn't be a problem getting the insurance company to fix your car.

[WS6]

sorry for your misfortune Colin. Hopefully it will work out for the better one way or another

[MrQuick]

crap, glad you weren't there when it happened and hurt.

Did you call your insurance yet for your 70 SS 396 Nova with the $10K paint job yet? j/k


sorry to hear about this.

[larknut]

If the car isn't salvagable, you should be able to find a decent Nova for a decent price. There are out there, it just might take some time. Good luck with with whichever direction it takes you.

[Benoit23]

So sorry to hear about this, I hope it turns out to not be as bad as you think.
Like said before, roof panels can be fixed.

[TonyHuntimer]

Any new news on the Nova?

Tony Huntimer
RaceHome.com

[Paul_J]

Someone in Houston actually bought and fixed my Dad's truck! I don't think I would want to own it but this just shows that just about anything can be fixed.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2008/08/Truck1-1.jpg

[Benoit23]

Any pics of the nova yet?

[gearheads78]

Sorry to here about the damage. As for repairable it should be doable. Last year we had a Lexus LS430 come in the a city worker backed into with a backhoe. It took out the 1/4, decklid, sail area and all the reinforcments and the roof. Once done looked just like any other LS430 on the lot.

Rebuilding your Nova is a lot simpler car to work on. In right hands it will be fine.

[Young Gun]

Any pics of the nova yet?

no, no pictures yet, apparently my brother was able to pop the big ding out of the roof so it looks good mostly, but at the front windshield there is a ding that is pretty significant, so luckily it was not as bad as it initially appeared but there is some damage that cant be popped out...
my dad an I will be talking to some shops at Chicagoland good guys...but I dont want to say more on that until I have a definitive answer

[6'9"Witha69]

Sounds like it can be fixed. I think I saw roof skins in a repop catalog recently.

[72Z/28]

That sucks man, hope everything gets sorted out for you.