That didn't go well

[700rpm]

I headed out this morning for a 100-mile tour with my grandson for IMAD. As I pulled out of the gas station a guy came around a corner and hit my front bumper from the side. No sheet metal damage, but the bumper is torqued and the ds support is pretty bent too. The bumper moved to the right and the ps seems untouched. Fortunately, we both have insurance, I can make a claim. He probably will too, but I'll let the adjusters figure that out. We parted ways, but when I got into my car to start it, the ammeter was pegged on full discharge. I disconnected the battery and checked under the hood, and the spark rod had detached from the distributor, but otherwise everything looked OK. I reconnected the battery and there was no discharge. The battery was pretty weak, though, and I had to coax it some to get it started. Got home OK, but as I pulled into the garage I heard something like a low wheezing sound from the front of the engine. I tightened the exhaust nuts, but the head nuts were good. Water pump and pulley didn't seem out whack, and I couldn't place the sound with a sound stick.

So, what might have caused the wheezing and the battery to discharge? Here are three photos of the damage.

[Mitch//pa]

ray i am sorry to hear this and glad nobody was hurt
take a good look at the frame horn where the bumper ext attaches... it does not take much to bend the ends of the rails... ck fender alignment and so forth near and around the radiator apron..

[700rpm]

Thanks Mitch. Will do.

[Fred K-OR]

Ray, sorry to hear about your messed up tour.

Could that "wheezing" sound be a electrical short somewhere or a messed up ground?

[700rpm]

Originally Posted by Mitch//pa

ray i am sorry to hear this and glad nobody was hurt
take a good look at the frame horn where the bumper ext attaches... it does not take much to bend the ends of the rails... ck fender alignment and so forth near and around the radiator apron..

Yep. DS frame horn is slightly bent. PS is straight. Fenders and brackets appear untouched and fit OK.

This was a relatively low-speed collision. Still will probably cost $1000 to fix it, though.

[700rpm]

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Fred, it could be that, though it goes away when the engine is off.

[Mitch//pa]

ray
the fender is bolted to the horn as is the rad apron... the sheet metal could have tweaked also

[700rpm]

Thanks Mitch. The horn is bent just forward of the front cross member and the point where the fender bracket attaches to the frame. The fender might be pulled a little where it attaches to the horn. I'll let the frame shop make a determination on that.

[Mitch//pa]

okay good move on that get your frame // body place to check it and estimate ,,,then have the adjuster meet there and discuss with shop. some of these classic car adjusters are knuckle heads. they may most likely have to pay to R&I fender /// sheet metal etc
good luck

[Y-Blockhead]

Ray, Sorry to see that.

[H. L. Chauvin]

Ray,

Even though life always has challenges, & letting you know we all share in your disappointment, just glad to hear you did not give up & were determined to make the trip come hell or high water.

Your grandson will always remember this trip & always respect a grandfather who feared nothing.

One day he may ask himself, "What would my grandfather do in a case like this?"

Thanks for sharing.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Yep, you do have a bit more damage. On the third picture, look at the spacing of the headlamps to the radiator. Disconnect the battery until you make sure you don't have a short somewhere.

[redmodelt]

Ray;
Real bummer! Not the best way to start the day.
MarkG

[700rpm]

Mark, I think you'll be working on this!

Tom, thanks for the suggestion. The DS headlight is about 1/2" closer to the radiator than the PS.

[Steve Plucker]

Ray,

So sorry to see the damage on such a beautiful car but on top of that I am so glad no one was hurt!

Hope you are back on the road soon...keep us posted on the progress.

Pluck

[heneste]

Ray,
Sorry to hear about this. I hope you can get it back to shape without much hassle.

If the impact was heavy enough to knock the spark rod off did you check the headlight switch pod at the end of the steering column? Maybe you got a short if the connectors are out of alignment.
Good observation by Tom regarding the headlight spacing and possible shorting through there.

Not sure about the wheezing sound though. Hope it's not too much damage.

[700rpm]

Originally Posted by heneste

Ray,
Sorry to hear about this. I hope you can get it back to shape without much hassle.

If the impact was heavy enough to knock the spark rod off did you check the headlight switch pod at the end of the steering column? Maybe you got a short if the connectors are out of alignment.
Good observation by Tom regarding the headlight spacing and possible shorting through there.

Not sure about the wheezing sound though. Hope it's not too much damage.

The first things I checked when I reconnected the battery were my lights and horn, and they worked fine. The electrical circuits all seem intact, but I disconnected the battery when I got home just in case.

[redmodelt]

Ray;
If I got hit like that I would be wheezing too!

[Michael M]

Ouch!

I'm glad that was all that happened and that you could drive away and weren't hurt!

[Tom Wesenberg]

I'm thinking the frame shop can put it back straight with no paint or chrome work needed. Probably the hardest part is to reshape the front bumper with the curves in the ends.