94 GMC- Rear body damage
 

Hello all.

I have a 94 GMC SLE Ext cab with 98k original miles. I was recently rearended by someone who blew thru a light and couldn't stop in time. My truck was not totaled, but I sustained some damage (I call) in odd places. First, with the impact, the bed moved and damaged both corners of the cab right under the rear window. 2nd, the roll pan was completely destroyed and 3rd, both corners of the bed was damaged.

Here's my problem. My truck is black and was already in desperate need of paint job. The insurance company would only pay for the damaged areas which would have left me with old and new paint in different areas. I have elected not to have the truck fixed yet as I believe I could make these repairs myself. I plan to do all the body work and use the insurance money to have the body shop only paint.

I have included pictures of the body damage, but wanted to get some feedback if anyway has done these repairs themselves. Bodywork is new to me. But, I'm pretty handy in my garage and I pickup on new techniques fairly easy. For the repairs, I've found replacement patch panels for the rear lower bed corners in the LMC catalog. I believe the rear cab corners could be pulled out with a stud gun and slide hammer.

I welcome any feedback and your thoughts..

That doesn't look to bad to handle yourself. The only thing your going to come across is the paint shop will blame your work if those area's don't come out right and being black it will definitely stand out if not done properly. I always encourage people to try and do things themselves...I have found since moving here to Greenville from Miami that there are way more underqualified repair people than I ever imagined. I have pretty much come to the conclusion if I can't do it myself I will just live without it. You also have to figure out how much the tools are going to cost versus how much a shop will charge to do it. Good luck either way...let us know how it comes out.

Thanks for the feedback. I already own a mig welder. So, that's out the way. I just priced the stud welder at Harbor Freight, actually on sale for $99.00 dollars this week!!! I know alot of people frown on their quality, but with their extra warranty plan for few more dollars, I can always break it and return for a new one. The last thing on my list is a good set of dollies and hammer. I done some research and believe I will have to spend good money on these. Since I also have a Chevelle I'm restoring as well, these tools will get used quite a bit....