Re: body work on my squareback

[Steven Ayres <comwest@well.com>]

Elli=> it was rearended.  There was no frame damage but when I took it 
=> to a body shop they said that if they tried to pull the body out it 
=> would basically fall apart.  

If the rest of your body is reasonably good and this guy is telling you 
that you should switch to whole different body, gut feeling suggests 
shopping around a bit for another shop. You imply that your engine is 
OK, which tells me it wasn't hit very hard; a good body with that sort 
of damage should pull out fine. If the rear is really beyond hope, it 
will be much easier and cheaper to cut off the smashed bit and weld on a 
section of another body than to replace the entire body. Maybe that's 
what he has in mind, and he wants you to find a donor car?

If he's telling you this because your body is shot for reasons other 
than the collision (usually terminal rust), I'd say it'll probably be 
simpler and way cheaper to look for another car with a good body & pan 
and a blown engine, since if your body is that far gone it's unlikely 
that the pan is really worth salvaging. 

=> would a '67 body fit?

It can be done, but why complicate your life? Later cars are easier to 
find anyway.

=> how difficult would it be to switch the bodies?

With the right equipment, two *very* straight cars and luck, it's 
merely messy, frustrating, time-consuming and outrageously expensive. 
Not meaning to be a wet blanket, but unless there's some *very* special 
reason to do this or you have the wherewithal to do it yourself, it'll 
cost more than the car will ever be worth.

Finding a rear clip and welding it on, however, is a reasonable 
proposition if the car is otherwise good. You should expect it to cost 
over $1000 for a mediocre job, including cheapo paint, not including 
parts.

Steven Ayres, Prescott AZ
'66 & '64 T3 Ghias
'79 Campmobile