Car damage oddity

#1

As a result of the second off between T1 & T2 at RA this past weekend I have one badly bent wheel (left front), one very slightly bent wheel (left rear), and a car that sits lower on the left side. A quick check at the fender arches reveals that the left rear is about 3/4" low and left front a bit less. Nothing is obviously damaged, but something must be. Trailing arm perhaps?

A slightly odd and worrisome item is the dimple in the fender well in the picture. I know it wasn’t there before, don’t think I hit any thing, and can’t find any evidence of a impact anywhere on the car. So I have to wonder if the lean and the dimple are related, though I don’t see how they could be.

Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions? I’m well aware that an off there is not a good idea, so don’t bother.

Oh yeah, during the first off I proved that you can seriously flat-spot all four tires if you slide sideways far enough on track with everything locked up. I slid a long way!

#2

Not to be too unhelpful, but how do you know the car is sitting lower if it is either riding on bent rims, or on jackstands? If the bent rims are off, is your floor that level and your jackstands that true that you can get a good measurement?

I have to beleive the off and that dent are not related. Somebody lean against it and dent it? There have to be other ways that dent could show up.

-Scott

#3

Jim,
did the wheel not jam up and into the inner Fender causing the crease. Look for a black scuff inside?

#4

That buckle in the quarter would be typical of being hit in the rear corner (bumper). Look for a bulge in the trunk floorpan along the line where the ‘frame’ rail runs. My guess is that side of the car has been shortened up a bit. I can’t see damage like that coming from a suspension impact. My job is looking at wrecked cars every day and I’ve never seen damage like that that wasn’t from an external body hit.

#5

Thanks, that is the expertise I was hoping for. Although I can’t find any signs of impact on the rear and there is no other damage that I can discern, I couldn’t think of any other cause for that buckle. I took a quick look this morning but didn’t see anything in the trunk. It is probably there, just too subtle for me to see.

#6

I’ve been in your position before… The front end of the Miata took a hit on a large curb (front right) and after replacing the shock, wheel, upper and lower control arm, tie rod and ball joints the car would not align… It also handled like a wild pony…

The subframe was very subtly damaged and had to be replaced. Very simple job, but a huge PITA… Ironically the entire subframe was the same cost to me as the new tie rod - everything else was sourced from recyclers and therefore dirt cheap.