greetings...

5 minutes before deer strike...

5 minutes after deer strike...

was inspected by 3 corvette folks... 1 says new front clip spray whole car... 1 says cut out damage and repair and spray front clip blended into doors... 1 says find used oem body parts sourced from donor car and spray whole car...

what say you...

johnny

I say, it's gonna be a long journey, and a big job. Have ta see it in person to make an evaluation,  but a complete respray is the way to go. If a "Top Notch" body man can match it, more power to him. What avenue you take is whether you want a clean car, or patched one. Parts are available, and can be matched with a lot of time and patience. 

Click on image for full view

greetings...

i want a clean car... a summer driver here in cheezeconsin... not show car...

i gotts this 70 because it had been woman owned and driven since 1988... im the 3rd owner and the woman knew the original owner and history... and more importantly it was low miles mostly original except for tires shocks brakes water pump fan clutch...

it was a clean car and i want to keep it that way as much as possible...

one c1 c2 c3 only shop 40 years in business said cut and repair and blend into the doors... because new panels are not simply sand and spray... they said they are thin and have to be built up and will appear wavy... they claim nobody will detect the repairs because they are really good at fiberglass repairs... this shop has 1 old guy who does the fiberglass work... another old guy who sprays... two more old guys who wrench... 

they have about 15 vettes in there now... their finished work looks killer to my unskilled eyes... 

my insurance told me yesterday they will pay up to 30k for the deer damage... anything beyond that i have to pay...

without reference i thought it maybe 20k to repair and total respray...  have not got the estimates from the 3 shops yet... 

johnny

I agree on a clean car. It may be easier to totally strip the front clip, purchase the parts and reassemble. There are good O.E.M. parts available. If I were you, I'd find a well removed front clip and replace everything. Can you do the work? Paint is NOT cheap! Hope you have a comfortable place to work in the cold cheesaconsin weather. 

Click on image for full view

OUCH...!!!  😲  Beautiful car and I sincerely hope it can be returned to beautiful again.  Critters are a constant worry driving up and down the valley from my place.  Have had several close encounters but so far (appendages crossed) no thumps.  GOOD LUCK...!!!

Jim Olson 

"The Toys"...!!!  Save the Wave!

Where I've been in a Corvette...!!!

My sincere condolences my friend. When I lived up in Whidbey Island, it was never about police radar, but rather all about the deer.

If you've been with your insurance company for a good long while, maybe it's time to take them up on that repair. If you aren't worried about being dropped by them come renewal time, why not? $30k and let them handle it, IF it's a reputable body shop. 

Again, I'm sorry for ya, and of course the car.

Steve

greetings...

spent 20 years traveling the west coast for work... deceptive pass is quite spectacular... absolutely love the blueberries and skagit speedway up there... 

20 something adjuster was here yesterday... only adjusted 1 corvette... a newer one... and only 1 classic car... a 69 road runner... both were deer strikes... he said the road runner was bumper and grill and was $20k...

he said if the estimate is more than $22k they will total the car at $30k and i would be 1st in line to buy it back...

the corvette connection in milwaukee will be doing the work either way... it was going there soon for suspension refresh anyway...

in the waiting mode now...

johnny

Wow Johnny, that IS an eye opener. 

A lot of damage to the beautiful Vette, so sorry.

I would guess better results if you do a front clip, maybe a bit more but it will be good again instead of patched up. 

Down the road I could see more cracks coming back in new places (?) on a patch up. 

I had someone hit me pretty slowly head on in the snow about 1977 and it was a patch up repair.  To this day it looks OK but you can see the repairs if you look close. 

Best of luck my friend.

Bruce
72 Coupe L48 4sp
Custom Blue/Silver/Pearl

(Click for a larger pic)

Disheartening! I'm in the process of restoring a 1970 Coupe, including replacing the front clip. It's a slow process!

Keith

greetings...

im driving it local... was gonna take it to indy last week and atlanta in a couple weeks... butts dont wanna with only one side headlights operational... and the patriot side pipes are as high as they will go butts still scrape... need to getts those off before next spring...

its interesting folks wanna know what happened... i show them the deer fur and being in cheezconsin they start talking about their deer strikes... a neighbor has 4 deer strikes since 2017... the roads are littered with blood spots and deer parts... kinda whack a f...

me and the adjuster have not come to terms yet... butts are close...

johnny