End of the road for old reliable.

[Daca214]

Full coverage, accidental fire....and replace

 

[pontiacgp]

Throw some fiberglass over the hole, and drive it til the struts pop through the hood.

I would add some resin to that fibreglass so it'll stick better.....

 

[spidereyes455]

I'm sure you could get something out of it from someone who races 4cyl class roundy rounds.

 

[CopperNick]

It burns oil, and you can still get a val-sticker for it?? HUH! +1 on the thought to find a corpse in structurally good shape and do an engine swap. After that, I'd wonder about the notion of making a pair of horse collars out of flat metal a gauge or two thicker than original that fit around the flange for the upper strut rod and which would cover over the decay plus some. Then cut away the rot and mig the collars in. Do a lap joint to get a double seam and add periodic plug welds for extra strength and then spray the whole thing with some kind of anti-rust black paint to make it look factory. I get that this beast apparently rivals the dinosaurs for age but hey, it's your call and your old friend. Borrowing liberally from someone who said it first, " Do not go gently into that cold dark night, or that cold miserable field of hulks and clunkers."

Nick

 

[-83MONTESS-]

Pics of the damage?

From the sounds of it, I'd just run it. Bounce the car a bunch and see if the shock towers move. Sure the shock towers and inner fenders are structural, but most cars have a bunch of meat in those areas. Crash bars, subframe mounts, etc.... I had a Buick Century with similar (sounding) damage. I even collapsed both pinch welds with a jack at different times. I drove it til it gave up, scrapped it and bought another one.

 

[pagrunt]

Options:
1. Buiral at sea in the Ohio
2. Take it to Brighton Heights & make someone feel like they got a deal of a life time
3. Find my brother & sell it to him at 3x's the value, he'd drive that thing for 3 months with bad stickers & no insurance
4. demo car
5. This time put it on a raft in Ohio, shot flaming arrows at it, send it to Valhalla
6. Give it to the Pitrates & tell them it's a good luck charm that'll get them the first World Series win in ages
7. Trade it in at your favorite bone yard for parts for the Regal
8. Get Jay Leno to buy it after telling him it's a rare 1 of 1

 

[565bbchevy]

Sure I could slap some kitty hair over the holes but that won't keep the struts from popping through the hood.

Weld some reinforcement plates to the underside of the hood then weld the hood shut and then plasma cut an access hatch for checking fluids

 

[joesregalproject]

Options:
1. Buiral at sea in the Ohio
2. Take it to Brighton Heights & make someone feel like they got a deal of a life time
3. Find my brother & sell it to him at 3x's the value, he'd drive that thing for 3 months with bad stickers & no insurance
4. demo car
5. This time put it on a raft in Ohio, shot flaming arrows at it, send it to Valhalla
6. Give it to the Pitrates & tell them it's a good luck charm that'll get them the first World Series win in ages
7. Trade it in at your favorite bone yard for parts for the Regal
8. Get Jay Leno to buy it after telling him it's a rare 1 of 1

Your brother sounds like my kind of guy 😂

 

[ck80]

If we're allowed to get creative, why not just remove the front cradle/drivetrain, remove the rear suspension, and drop the sucker on to a light duty truck frame of similar wheelbase by fabbing up some custom body mount brackets?

 

[pagrunt]

Your brother sounds like my kind of guy 😂

Since he abused option 3 too many times Pa & Florida refuses to give him a license. Trust me you wouldn't want him to be your kinda of guy.