Hello,

Just had a question/s...I put in a bunch of 350z pics that probably look bad as im terrible with taking pictures. Anyway, just thoughts on what to do next for this car. I hit a small post that was on the triangle section of an exit ramp *no indication it was there but it was my fault i tried to fling thru an exit that i had passed while it was pitch black and no lights on highway* So it immediately shot my airbags and stopped. The aftermath was that the rack & Pinion was cracked by the front subframe which was also cracked. I had turned off my full coverage during covid and its now been sitting 2 years. The Parts damaged were specifically the front subframe, rack & pinion, and it took my exhaust with it including the Y pipe but left the cats in tact and fine. It was a really low post it actually was removed shortly after..I honestly think they were removing the whole thing and left the post to be removed at a later date. Anyway the car has 120k and ran perfectly great. I took it apart and removed the old parts and then today went out to see why i gave up. So the subframe no longer sits or appears to sit where it should. I have 2 jacks on it and i dont think i can just bang it into place. Can someone tell me if this is worth finding a place to pay to fix or if its not fixable? i just hate to see it wasting a way with me not trying to fix it, I was going to sell it and buy a manual but then i hit that post. I tried reaching out via fb here locally in dfw but none of the shops/people even reply back after i try to explain lol. Not even getting a quote just ignore probably have alot of work. Anyway finally decided to join here and see if I should get a junk yard to pick it up..I bought the interior bags & stuff but it doesnt matter if I cant get this subframe back in. Funny part is I work for a collision center office but I have no experience in repairing cars just oil changes, I am just to worried about judgements on my dumb mistake of not having coverage but it was a tough time. I dont have very high lifts just regular jack stands all around so I can buy a better lift but if its nothing I can do with this I should probably not throw more money at it...if this is something I can get fixed then I would love to put it back to its old self at least. Appreciate any help on this.

I didnt want to make a huge post of pictures..hope imgur link is ok. Last 2 pics are before i removed the rack & Pinion to show the extent of damage in that area and you can see the trans/engine were not touched.

https://imgur.com/a/dQVphOi

 

Jeebus....you made an ahole move by not going to next exit, wrecked your car, and its junkyard material now

 

Welcome- your pics show some extensive damage to the front of this Z. With 120K on it and no way to evaluate overall condition, my guess is the repair will be equal or more than the selling price of the car. The cost of the airbags themselves would have written off the car had you had collision on it. Since you work for a collision center, see if you can get one of your shop associates to come over to inspect the Z. They may be able to cut you a deal on repairing the damage that nobody else would get. Good luck.

 

yea its my fault, their was no traffic or cars on the road was like 5 am just didn't think about consequences at all that day, sucks no body damage though i just didn't want to part it all out but junkyard and ill at least get my garage back at least...I just wanted to at least try to see if it was worth saving and then just upgrading the parts. I bought the rack & Pinion/subframe and the front lower subframe which all got damaged right in the middle...body all was fine, i didnt expect to run into it not fitting right back on lol its not clear to me where its bent but RIP

 

Just based on the block-of-text description and pics that are somewhat undiscernible, I'd say that while anything can be repaired with enough time and money, there's a lot more than meets the eye here. You also have to consider all of the suspension components and ancillary engine components that are probably bent/distorted that will need replacement. And, the car may/may not ever track/drive the same as before even with new subframe/frame rails, etc.

I would suggest you swallow your pride and have a pro shop (even if not your own) evaluate it before making any decisions that require mechanical evaluation since you say you are inexperienced on that front. So what if they think you don't have a clue. As a shop manager in a previous life, I can tell you that while I have had thoughts about the downright idiocy of some customers, five minutes later, it's completely forgotten because "it's just another car some poor sap tried to fix unsuccessfully."

Harsh? Nah, just the reality of the business. Don't take it personally. Make a decision and move on. It's not like a 350Z is an irreplaceable classic Ferrari 250 GTO.

 

In the photos you can see the crinkle in the front frame rail. That thing is going to need the front frame rails cut off behind the subframe. Its pretty much gone. You might be able to get a new subframe to bolt on with extensive time on a frame rack, but it will need a really good frame guy to get all that straight again.

 

If you have to ask you can't fix it. I'm sure some back-yard mechanic could attach a chain to the frame rails and pull them with a truck(I've done this before on a less rigid vehicle and I wouldn't of trusted it going 100+mph) but if you're re paying someone to fix this it wouldn't be worth it. Part it out

 

It's hard to let it go, I know, been there. In my case, I purchased another vehicle, same year and color as my old. I pulled all the parts of value and swapped the good stuff over to the new chassis. These are unibody cars so straightening them out is a task that will be not only expensive, but time consuming. The car will never be the same again, best to start fresh.
Good Luck!
-Icer