General Cinq body damage- repair or break? :(

[Steve70]

I recently saved this Cinq, mainly as there aren't many suvivors in turquoise (which I believe is officially known as 'Festival') I originally saw this one come up for sale back in 2018 in ebay and missed out. It appeared again this year, having been customised, subjected to so some off roading action by the looks of it and then left in a muddy yard so I took a gamble and bought it very cheaply. Pic 2 shows the kind of life it had with the previous owner. Having binned the snorkel, roof rack and other tat (the passenger door has been painted yellow), my plan was to really go to town on it and bring it back to factory spec. However having removed the front bumper to access the radiator, I was gutted to see the car has had a clout on the front (I guess the bumper must be a replacement). I noticed that the o/s headlamp and indicator sit a bit recessed and that the bonnet is mis-aligned, being tight over on the o/s with a large gap on the n/s. It goes on.... The driver's door doesn't seem to sit flush with the body. At the back, something is very amiss with the rear suspension as the gaps between the tops of the rear tyres and the wheelarches are very unequal. Looking under the car you can see how it's not sitting correctly, almost as if one coil spring is broken or mismatched. I'd be grateful for other opinions on the state of the body. What would you do? Its a shame as the engine and interior are excellent and I was really hoping the car was basically sound. Now I'm wondering if its more of a donor vehicle for my other Cinqs.

 

[Terry899]

Quite fixable depending on yourtalents, bits are dirt cheap. Incidentally my driver side door doesn't fit well so maybe it's a trait of the cinq I have to do the clutch kit on mine tomorrow as it went bang today

 

[porta]

There was someone wanting a cinq engine n box not long ago on here…maybe one of you could make one good out of two dodgys?

 

[purf]

Good oppotunity to create an upgraded fun car without the guilt of spoiling a good one? 1242 + exhaust and sports supsension?
Thats what I'd do! Front radiator support should pull out again with some persuasion.

The doors always shut very poorly when the cars are up on a jack, maybe the rear suspension is twisting the shell a little bit in a similar manner?

Snapped coil spring should show up with a quick inspection? It's not uncommon for that to happen.

 

[Steve70]

Thanks for the replies and advice. I'd really like to save this car if I can. As an update, I took the back bumper off and unfortunately the rear of the car has had a smack too, which has distorted the back panel and slightly bent the n/s chassis rail. I think the previous owner was a bit over-enthusiastic with his off-road antics! I suppose I'm just being a bit cautious in case the whole car is no longer sitting square. I did check the coil springs by the way and they are intact as far as I can see. Good point re the door gaps- I've also noticed the doors on these cars sometimes don't shut properly when they are jacked up, which probably doesn't say a lot for the integral strength of the shell.

Really wish I'd bought this car back in 2018 before it was customised...

 

[purf]

Looks good on the corrosion front anyway - rear bumer brackets etc

Perfect oppotunity for a fast road cinq