Fate is sometimes a harsh mistress . . .

[tekenaar]

. . . proceeding south in the outside lane of 3-lane wide Avenue K in late August, I was abruptly reminded by the driver to my right that she could not talk on her cell phone and drive a car at the same time . . . successfully, even at just 30 miles per hour!

How absolutely rude of me to be in her way when she suddenly wanted to turn left . . . without even looking left! . . . Bah-dah-BANG!



CRAP!! . . . just had my Kadett sprint painted 45 days ago!! "Please don't turn this in to my insurance company . . . my grandfather has a body shop in Richardson, I'll ask him to fix everything for you."

Took it by GF's shop a couple days later and GF suggested replacing the door rather than trying to repair the very deep dent. Chrome strip behind the door was completely unsalvagable too, so I called Rodney to see about spares . . . luckily he had some and we briefly discussed door replacement options.

Turns out there's really only one way to do it if you want it to "hang and close right" . . . remove the door hinge pins. Checked the FSM for door replacement procedure and it showed that a "special tool" was required to do that.

Posted my "special tool" dilemma to several members by PM and in a thread and was answered by Kevin that he had loaned his tool to Gary at Carlisle earlier. Contacted Gary and he sent Kevin's hinge-pin tool to me after completing a class he was attending.

Received an answer to my posted query about this tool availability from GTJim in the meantime about an Aussie e-Bay listing for that very tool, so I bought it for "back-up". It finally stopped raining here long enough to go up to Rodney's to "un-hinge" a door and find a chrome trim part.

Took my Kadett in last week Thursday with the parts from Rodney and Kevin's tool for removal and installation. Went to check progress earlier today and here's how it looks so far . . .



. . . more to follow as work progresses . . . quickly, I hope!

[Phoenix]

Can you post a pic of the tool?

[ungermm]

I guess she was young and cute and she sweet talked you into not filing a accident report and turning into the insurance.

There is supposed to be a crack down on hand held cell phone use while driving. I still see it happening all the time though. I personally never use a cell phone while driving. I don't own one.

Jerry

[tekenaar]

Originally Posted by Phoenix Can you post a pic of the tool?

. . . here's the pics and "use" instructions from the Aussie e-Bay listing:





HOW TO USE

1. Select the correct size pin for your hollow door hinge
2. Unscrew the removable pin end, slide pin all the way through the door hinge pin (top hinge from below, bottom hinge from above), screw pin end back on pin
3. Use the handle and locate the end with the cut out over the head of the pin which has been fitted to the hinge (below top hinge, above bottom hinge)
4. Now hold the handle at 90 degrees to the pin
5. Using a hammer hit the handle to force the pin out of the hinge (upper - downward, lower - upward)

. . . tool may be used for Kadett, Rekord, Commodore and perhaps other Opels.

[tekenaar]

Originally Posted by ungermm I guess she was young and cute and she sweet talked you into not filing a accident report and turning into the insurance. There is suppose to be a crack down on hand held cell phone use while driving. I still see it happening all the time though. I personally never use a cell phone while driving. I don't own one. Jerry

. . . young, yes . . . cute, no! - and not my type, in any case . . . and pregnant! . . . yeah, she's married with another 10-month old already . . .

[hrcollinsjr]

Originally Posted by tekenaar . . . . successfully, even at just 30 miles per hour! How absolutely rude of me to be in her way when she suddenly wanted to turn left . . . without even looking left! . . . Bah-dah-BANG!

Been here before and made $. Had an embarassingly crappy looking vehicle after that but didn't care as the money helped buy a new vehicle. Glad you AND the vehicle are only slightly worse for wear and I can honestly say after meeting you that you couldn't stand much more wear.

Hope it's better than new when done!

Harold

[tekenaar]

Originally Posted by hrcollinsjr Been here before and made $. Had an embarassingly crappy looking vehicle after that but didn't care as the money helped buy a new vehicle. Glad you AND the vehicle are only slightly worse for wear and I can honestly say after meeting you that you couldn't stand much more wear. Hope it's better than new when done! Harold

. . . HEY! I resemble that!!!

[LASERMAN]

...so did you make a claim on her insurance?

[tekenaar]

Originally Posted by LASERMAN ...so did you make a claim on her insurance?

. . . nah, her Grandfather is fixing it in his shop . . .

[dallasmanta]

Otto, glad you and the car escaped with only minor stuff.... the best part of this deal is that you still have it .. Women still want to throw themselves at you. Way to go

Ron

[tekenaar]

Originally Posted by dallasmanta Otto, glad you and the car escaped with only minor stuff.... the best part of this deal is that you still have it .. Women still want to throw them selves at you. Way to go Ron

. . . yeah, it's tough, but somebody has to do it!!

[tekenaar]

. . . stopped by the shop a bit earlier and car is just back from the painter . . . really well done repair and paint job (forgot camera ), and just needs some clean up and final check . . . probably finished tomorrow!

Just sent back Kevin's Hinge Pin Tool via Priority Mail, should be there by Friday. Thanks, Kev!!

[tekenaar]

. . . got my Kadett back today . . . . . . all appears "good as new"!!

[Gordy]

Glad it all worked out and did not take forever to get it right!

[BQS4]

Originally Posted by tekenaar . . . got my Kadett back today . . . . . . all appears "good as new"!!

Otto;
Did they have to paint the whole car, or did they just blend in the side?

[tekenaar]

Originally Posted by BQS4 Otto; Did they have to paint the whole car, or did they just blend in the side?

. . . paint was only a couple of months old and shop just blended in the right side, Gene.

[Aardvaark]

Good thing Gramps knows what he's doing! It does look as good as new.