Interior Exterior
Q:
Long time lurker, first time poster. The inevitable happened and I scraped my clam on a diabolically high gate railing entering a parking garage. My clam has actually cracked at the point where the license plate area meets the rest of the clam. The crack under the clam runs for about 4 inches towards the back of the car while another one is about 1.5-2 inches along the underside of the front edge.
I am wondering if its repairable - can anyone recommend a good fiberglass repairshop in the bay area? I am considering just leaving it as is, is it safe or will the cracks get any larger? The damage happened while I was in LA and I have driven it ~400 miles back to SF with no further deterioration.
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Another pic from underneath - excuse the crappy cameraphone quality
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I am not sure it is the right way to do it or not.
I will duct tape it to prevent any further damage on my way back to SF.
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It is repairable, I had similar damage to mine during an autocross (hit a fire bottle) and more. It was repaired by a local shop, can't tell the diff. Duct tape is very good idea, keeps the pieces from rubbing till you get it fixed.
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Another pic from underneath - excuse the crappy cameraphone quality
Wow, that is really creepy. Your Elise is the same color as mine, and you're wearing the same watch as I usually wear, and I usually run around in a black leather jacket. Are you my west coast doppelganger?
I can duplicate that picture without the crack using my arm/car/watch/jacket, wouldn't that be a great waste of my time
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Find a shop that specializes in Corvette repairs.
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This is fairly common as far as clam cracks are concerned. Yes, I would get it repaired to prevent further damage.
You might try this:
Talked to the shop on the phone and they wanted to bolster the area to help avoid any future problems. It is a weak spot.
- J
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Would duct tape actually help??? I would have thought that it will stretch too much to be any actual help. Also wouldnt it take of some of the chipped edges when you pull it off?
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Would duct tape actually help??? I would have thought that it will stretch too much to be any actual help. Also wouldnt it take of some of the chipped edges when you pull it off?
You may stick a narrow piece of plastic (from plastic bag) in the middle of duct tape before duct tape the crack area.
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You may stick a narrow piece of plastic (from plastic bag) in the middle of duct tape before duct tape the crack area.
Just use painter's tape (blue).... no paint damage.
Replace every few days until you have it fixed (or as necessary)..
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The best place to go is:
BODYSTYLE
524 E. Brokaw Rd.
San Jose, CA 95112
Phone: (408) 436-1616
They have already worked on several Elisetalk member cars. I had a small crack repaired by them. Pefect work. No trace of any damage at all. They will not skimp and will make sure you are absolutely happy with their work. The shop has a great reputation among the Porsche comunity and they are trying to gain a rep with our group. The area repaired actually looks better then the original.
The owner of the shop is a car nut like the rest of us and a lot of fun to talk to. Call and ask for Cecil. Tell him that Abe sent you.
Good luck.
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Thanks for the tip guys. I'll give Bodystyle a call and hopefully post good pictures of the repair.
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Here's what I did. Very fixable.