Almost from the start, State Farm wanted to total my Midget for two crunched
front fenders, a bashed grill, poked front valence panel, and the small bits
associated with what to me seems a very minor fender bender. Talk about a
racket. Anyway, I've been insisting over the course of three weeks that I
would not accept any settlement that meant that my car was totalled. Finally,
they decided to hire an independent firm to appraise my car. The first
appraiser didn't seem to have a clue, he was more of a muscle car guy, but
after about 15 minutes it dawned on me that I had pre-accident pictures posted
on the web, so I emailed him the link. Once he saw the pictures, he started
to get it. The next day, his boss called me who was very well qualified on
british cars, and asked me very specific questions about my car that only
someone who had owned an MG would know. Well, today I got a call from State
Farm, and the car will NOT be totalled, and on top of that, the appraisal came
in at $14,500!
So here is my plan as of now.
1. remove dented parts and assess if they can be repaired.
2. get the car to the body shop to have the frame rails straightend and the
front end aligned.
>From there, I am fairly sure I am going to need a driver's side fender for a
70-74. I noticed that Victoria British Fenders do not have the holes drilled
for the side marker lights. That would save me the labor for welding and
filling those holes back up. The fenders from Moss seem to have the holes
drilled. I could go with a good used fender too, if I can find one in good
shape. I would consider replacing the fenders with fiberglass ones, but all
the ones I've found are flared.
The front valence I will have to assess. If I can get by with just replacing
the front panel, I'd like to use one from a 1500 midget that has the extra
cutouts. If I have to replace the whole assembly, I can't go that way because
the heater air duct is on the wrong side.
Anyway, there is some wind back in my sails, so to speak.
David Riker
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