hopefully, rumors of its demise are premature...

[DieselSpider]

Many times if the fault is clearly against the other guys insurance they give a bit more latitude then if you were in a one car accident or partially at fault especially if there is a chance that you will get an attorney to litigate a low ball offer to total the car and stand a good chance of racking up diminished quality of life and enjoyment payouts while their at it.

[autotransgression]

5 hours seems a bit excessive to loosen 4 nuts enough to slide the washers out and go back to shims however if the other guys insurance company is paying for it then at least its not coming out of your pocket or going against your policy.

As long as you have say as to the quality of the repairs and such its great that your getting to keep the car.

i don't understand about loosening the nuts. as i understand it, they had to pretty much disassemble the front end to pull the bolts in order to get the washers off. guess i will look at the manual tonight. i am more than decent with engines, but have never really learned any suspension with hands-on.

and yes, i am glad to be able to keep it.

[autotransgression]

Maybe the insurance companies are beginning to see the declining number of remaining classic Spiders as valuable collectible rather than a disposable member of the masses like some of its modern contemporaries.

OR - maybe it's just that particular insurance company rebuilding it where another would have totaled it. Either way, it seems that you get to keep your Spider. I sincerely hope you find a body shop that believes in pounding out and welding sheet metal rather than buttering it full of bondo.

thanks. sorry i wasn't able to get back on here during december...end of the year is basically nuts. anyhow, i hope you are right about spider values rising in their eyes. as for the body shop, i took it to a guy recommended by an old buddy of mine. this guy is real old-school. does a lot of american muscle car repair and customization. i am very happy with how the fender turned out. he is not big on using bondo, except as a very last stage of filler. he does a lot of sheet metal and fiberglass work. will get some pics up soon, as the left front corner of the car looks brand new.

[autotransgression]

Many times if the fault is clearly against the other guys insurance they give a bit more latitude then if you were in a one car accident or partially at fault especially if there is a chance that you will get an attorney to litigate a low ball offer to total the car and stand a good chance of racking up diminished quality of life and enjoyment payouts while their at it.

i was kind of thinking that might be the case. i can't help but think that my own company would have totaled it for how much the repairs and rentals would have cost. so glad it worked out. still have to do a trans rebuild, though...

[DieselSpider]

5 hours seems a bit excessive to loosen 4 nuts enough to slide the washers out and go back to shims however if the other guys insurance company is paying for it then at least its not coming out of your pocket or going against your policy.

As long as you have say as to the quality of the repairs and such its great that your getting to keep the car.

i don't understand about loosening the nuts. as i understand it, they had to pretty much disassemble the front end to pull the bolts in order to get the washers off. guess i will look at the manual tonight. i am more than decent with engines, but have never really learned any suspension with hands-on.

and yes, i am glad to be able to keep it.

Most would loosen one of the nuts and then place a jack under the arm near the other nut, remove that nut and pry the arm away from the bolt to slide the washers out and then put the nut back on loosely doing the same with the other one until they had all 4 done. Depending on the mechanic it might take 30 minutes extra time for the alignment maybe an hour if your generous.