Should I fix this truck?

[20nickels]

92 Dakota 2WD.  Texting idiot hit me last fall.  100k miles 318 V8, ran great.  Stretched the frame back out with three massive forklifts from work, lol redneck, and eyeballed the front horns in place.
Fix it, scrap it, make a trailer, sell the engine/tires?  All suggestions welcome.

[barmandr]

Was it covered by insurance?  To be honest, unless there is some sentimental attachment to it, the repairs are going to be more than the value of the vehicle.  NADA lists values at...

Low Retail  1750        Average Retail  3725        High Retail   $5,375

I would call what you have as a total loss.  Sell it for scrap.

[gsd]

You sell it for scrap let me know. My dad has a 92 and could probably use a spare parts rig.

[SemperFiGuy]

Buying a Truck One-Part-at-a-Time is Pricey.

You'll need a hood, left fender, left front door, bumper, grill, some lights, wiring harnesses (no doubt), radiator, maybe A/C condenser, and a few boxes of small parts, fasteners, cross braces, and assorted other stuff sorta on and on and on.

Plus Labor.   And Time.   Time without a truck.   Plus alignment.   Maybe struts/shocks, whatever's under there.   Rotor & brake.

Plus a million trips to the Parts Department, such that you closely bond w/Parts Guy on first name basis.

Plus all the stuff that will turn up as problems after you put the parts back on and start driving it again.  Like alignment didn't work; need tires now.    Plus all the stuff that goes wrong on a 22-year old truck, even including one with only 100K miles on the odo.

Selling to a truck boneyard seems like a very workable option in this case.

Surely there was some kind of insurance settlement somewhere in this wreck.  So then you get to get a Buddy and go shopping for a New(er) Truck.  That's fun right there.

FWIW, since you asked.

sfg

[newfalguy101]

Money wise, its not even close to worth rebuilding.

I would suggest parting it out and scrapping the rest

[altheman2]

I would scrap it. I think you could go junking and find a lot of parts for her but in the end you will have a lot invested in her and with frame damage, once you get it put back together she might never drive right again.  To bad with 100K miles I bet you could of gotten a lot of more miles out of her. My 91 chevy has close to 375K on her and she still gets me to work and back

[SemperFiGuy]

My 91 chevy has close to 375K on her.......

Holy Cow!!!

And I've been pushing my wife to buy a new SUV* because her '98 Acura SLX is 16 years old and has 123,000 miles on it.............

sfg
[*A reliable vehicle is preferable for hunting trips wayyyyy out in the boonies.  My trips, not hers.]

[Gary]

Take it to esteps wheels (spelling)

They are always buying totaled vehicles and putting them back together again for a couple dollars.  Might save yourself some money letting someone do it that does it all the time for a living.

[FarmerRick]

Holy Cow!!!

And I've been pushing my wife to buy a new SUV* because her '98 Acura SLX is 16 years old and has 123,000 miles on it.............

sfg
[*A reliable vehicle is preferable for hunting trips wayyyyy out in the boonies.  My trips, not hers.]

That IS a lot of mile for your Isuzu-built Acura.  I'd sell it while it's still running. 

To the OP:  Sell the truck to GSD's dad.

[Dan W]

They are always buying totaled vehicles and putting them back together again for a couple dollars. 

You actually condone putting a shoddily repaired vehicle back on the streets, not to mention foisting it on an unsuspecting car buyer?

[tstuart34]

I know several people that have purchased vechical from these guys. There work seems to be good quality.  There is a lot of good deals on newer damaged vehicles.

I am with everyone else. Sell the truck op. It will never be the same. You will fight getting it back into full working forum.

Another thing to look at is you have a good running truck. Find a truck with a blown motor and do a engine swap.

[zofoman]

Find a truck with a blown motor and do a engine swap.

I've pulled wrenches since my days of youth on the farm...built & raced several drag cars and did auto repair on the side to fund that expensive "hobby".  So, by judging on what I see & hear of this situation, there is too much work & money in what is needed to get that rig roadworthy again.    The engine swap scenario makes more sense.   Find a vehicle that needs a new motor or tranny & do the swap yourself in less than a weekend (or hire it done) AND you have a parts vehicle to rob all the good stuff off of to make one good ride out of two.   Scrap/sell whats left and recoup some of the cost.   Craigslist is your friend in a situation like this.

[newfalguy101]

As for pulling the motor, as hard as that hit appears to be, I would pull the motor and look it over very very closely BEFORE springing for  a donor vehicle to put it into.  Before you actually pull the motor, its really hard to tell what exactly may have been damaged either in the accident OR when hooking up forklifts to pull the frame.

[tstuart34]

As for pulling the motor, as hard as that hit appears to be, I would pull the motor and look it over very very closely BEFORE springing for  a donor vehicle to put it into.  Before you actually pull the motor, its really hard to tell what exactly may have been damaged either in the accident OR when hooking up forklifts to pull the frame.

Very true. I have seen motors that look ok until you pull them out and the motor mount holes are ripped off the block... very disappointing. 

[SemperFiGuy]

That IS a lot of miles for your Isuzu-built Acura.  I'd sell it while it's still running.

You and I both would.

However, Beautiful Wife is attached to it like a starfish on the pier.

Maybe I'll buy 20nickels scrappable pickup truck and repair it for my own hunting rig.  Not have to borrow wife's SLX.

sfg

[shooter]

buy another truck that will take the parts, probably the same model as you have,
 build a trailer out of the back half, it will match your truck
 save the front half as a parts truck

[20nickels]

buy another truck that will take the parts, probably the same model as you have,
 build a trailer out of the back half, it will match your truck
 save the front half as a parts truck

Unfortunately, I have nowhere to store the front half. 

I am concerned, very little albeit, about engine damage.  Not from the frame stretching but from the accident but nothing appears damaged after several gearhead friends looked at it.

[Gary]

You actually condone putting a shoddily repaired vehicle back on the streets, not to mention foisting it on an unsuspecting car buyer?

More of a dig than an advertisement.   

I have no problem with someone repairing their own stuff as long as it is safe to drive.  I do not like folks repairing totaled vehicles with out of state titles, repairing them as never wrecked, to sell to unsuspecting buyers.  That should be against the law.

[Dan W]

I do not like folks repairing totaled vehicles with out of state titles, repairing them as never wrecked, to sell to unsuspecting buyers.  That should be against the law.

Then we are on the same page where the title washing business is concerned.