454 MH, maybe she's coming home real soon.

Hello everyone. Well I had the engine removed and a new reconditioned 454 installed. Now I have to travel out to pick her up and bring her home. I am hoping she will kind to me and not get to give me any new problems. When she was towed the opperator went over the meridian to a road and created a problem with the rear moulding that covers the rear bumper.
On both sides of the MH I have cracks going up the walls from the bottom towards the top of the panels.

Is this glassfiber or old aluminum? I was so upset with events that I did not check when it happened. How can I fix it so it does not rip right up the panel if it is glassfiber as I am travelling back?

Wish me luck.

[ALANSD]

where do you mean?Near the back walls, or??
On the inside the woodgrain looking stuff is for the most part aluminum with vinyl over it. There is some plastic in the trim around the cabinets and such. Sounds like the tow operator owes some repair money.

[thenewkid64]

Glad to hear that the engine swap is nearly complete. Take it easy and checkthe oli often as well as keep an eye on the oil pressure.

As to the damage. The tow company should have to pay for the repairs. The lower front and rear wraps are made of ABS. And as far as I know are NLA (No Longer Available). They can be repaired with fiberglass and paint. Unless you signed a damage wavier they are liable for any damage they cause on your vehicle.

You may want to have it estimated and at the least get a check. It can help offset the Enormous repair costs that you have incurred.

I would not let them ( a bodyshop) drive my brand new motor.

The damage is to the body shell in the rear. It seems that the bumpers touched the ground as the MH was towed over the verge and the moulding split. On the 24 Argosy there is moulding that goes over the bumpers in the rear this is what got damaged.

Thanks very much for the help I knew it would quickly come. I will get onto the towing company tomorrow. Let you know how it goes.

[74Argosy24MH]

I know there were a lot of changes from 74 to 77 but mine has a heck of a hitch welded to the frame. The cover between the bumper and body was 3 pieces of aluminum. Check it all carefully from beneath, it almost had to bend the hitch to bend the cover.

John

I did not see the body tilt both ways as she went over the grass only the results. The bumper does not seem to be bent but pretty level. The damage seems to be about 24 inches on each side. On the drivers side is the outlets for the water and waste pipes I am hoping that they have not been damaged. I am more concerned about the body. There is a hitch at the back which might have helped preventing major damage.

[thenewkid64]

When they towed my 78 in Dalas they HD wrecker did not have a working wheel lift, so they lifted it by the A arms. It is an acceptable way to do it according to the manual, but it creates a very low clearance to the rear. I now need to weld some aditional metal on the bottom of the receiver. But the frame and all else seems undamaged. The ABS gets really brittle. If he hit the bumper it could have flexed enough to crack the ABS. The other thing to find out is if the bumper was pulled off by the median. This could explain the cracks too. The bumber is held on with 4 big phillips head screws. They thread into the top and bottom of the frame rail ends.

[thenewkid64]

I was posting as you did. I did not know you saw the event.

Are the cracks running up and down, or front to back?

The ABS goes up to the lower rub rail. If the cracks run higher you are not going to like the answer.

The cracks are running up towards the windows from the ends of the bumpers. Its been awhile so I was gussing on the lengths of the damage might be less than 24 inches.

[74Argosy24MH]

The bumber is held on with 4 big phillips head screws. They thread into the top and bottom of the frame rail ends.

I know this is getting off topic and I promise only this one question, but I have been trying to decide what to do about this. Did either of yours have any type of reinforcement off the side of the frame to back up the bumper? Those 4 screws look more like pivot points than anything to me.

John

[thenewkid64]

John.

Neither of mine have/had any additional frame or reinforcement from the frame to the ends of the bumper. The bumper I am sure met the DOT rules at the time. BTW the front and rear attached the same way.