I'm going to try to be as detailed as possible, include pictures and updates as I go along. A bit of a back story behind what happened. There is an S curve with no lights out near my house. One night a couple weeks ago, it was very cold, and a water main broke. It flooded the road and then froze. There was a solid sheet of ice across all 4 lanes. I slid across the road and hit a pole with the front end of my baby. Insurance totaled it, but I kept it to turn it into a project car. These things are just too fun to drive :P. Any suggestions or advice is welcome, to include where I can find parts.

It start off in the repairs, I know I need new headlights on both sides, full front bumper, and fog lights. I have already removed them.

I then removed the front impact beam to get a closer look at what needs to be done.
http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...psf48b544b.jpg
From what I can tell, all 3 of the condenser, intercooler, and radiator are going to need to be replaced.

 

that doesnt look to bad. i would have kept it to and made it into a track **** :P

 

Once you get that bumper crash support off, check out the crash shocks on either side. I have dealt with this on my own, so if you need any further help, pm me..

 

I have removed almost everything damaged from the front minus the air conditioner. I'd rather not open that thing up until I can find out if it's empty or not.


Both of the crash bumper brackets are bent in on the inside. It's not that bad, but if you have an idea on how to replace them, I'm all ears.

 

I'd say you were very lucky and I woulda bought it back too.

 

Any suggestions on replacement parts? I want to play around with this a bit, so I'm looking to go stage 2 in the future. I figure I can plan that way and not have to buy twice. Looks like I'll need the following:

Radiator fan
Radiator
Intercooler
A/C exchange

I already have an idea on what I want to do with the rest of the parts which are just body parts.

 

I'd pm CED you'll get new oem parts. Could always pull the entire ac unit and make it a windows down track ****

 

Thanks, I'll send them a PM.

I'd rather keep the A/C as I like cold air. I think I'm going to go with OEM on the fan, body, and such, but I'm going to upgrade the radiator and intercooler to the ZZP stuff, just haven't figured out which ones I want to go with.

 

Can get just about anything from Keystone and LKQ. Impact bar brackets are weld on replacement but sometimes GM makes bolt on replacements. I'd be concerned about the rails being tweaked but you can't eyeball that and if you can that's not good.

 

Agreed^ I just wrapped a chain in the bolt holes and tied it to a tree and pulled them out as best as I could. It worked fine.

 

Just to update, I have several parts coming this week and time to work on it this weekend. I'll post pics as I go because who knows, it might help someone down the road. Is there any way to find out if there is any pressure left in the A/C system so I can take the condenser off?

 

i need to do this to mine. mines not as bad as yours but still. do you need to replace those styrofome parts in the front?

 

Yes. I got mine from here:
New Bumper Absorber Front Chevy Chevrolet Cobalt G5 2010 GM1070237 15214862 | eBay

 

Damn that only looks about as bad as my accident, hope mine isn't totaled. Although I'd take out a loan on an SS/TC so that would be a plus.

 

sweet deal. how far along are you in the rebuild?

 

Awesome! Post pics!

 

yeah, i keep checking for those pics man!

 

Is your car lbm cause if so I have a brand new bumper with holes cut for lip for sale

 

I'm going to be a total newb and ask, what's lbm?

But I am looking for a new front bumper yes. I'll post pics later after I get some more work done, but it's coming along.

Parts I'm still looking for:
-Front bumper with all the extra parts
-Headlights, prefer halos, chrome or non-smoke black
-Fog lights, just need one, they lost one of them
-Lower left control arm
-Heat Exchange, prolly going with a ZZP Stage 3

 

Laser Blue Metallic = LBM

 

Wow, I feel dumb now.
Yes, it is that color.

 

The only dumb question is the one never asked.

 

I have a stock sc h/e with overflow neck and tubes. Will let go for pretty cheap. PM me if interested.

 

Thanks, but I'm going to get me a ZZP S3 one. Going to put in a Option B and Dual Pass in as well. Eventually sometime this year I'll get Stage 2 put in.

Update with work I did this weekend:
I got the old crash bar brackets off, re-aligned the new ones using a bunch of measuring, a few clamps, and some magnetic lasers. New fans, Mishimoto radiator, and a new A/C condenser (it came black like that, the pick was aluminum). The old condenser is still attached because I am pretty sure that the A/C is still pressurized.




The styrofoam absorber for the front also came in white, so I spray painted that black. I doubt it will show, but I already had the paint for another project.


I'm going to have to wait for more parts now. I have a hood coming in later this week.

 

I replied to your PM, Tony. It's looking good, btw.