Salvage GT350 Build

[19GT35006]

Hello all.. this is my first post and I wanted to start a build page for my 2019 GT350.

backstory, the car was wrecked(shocker) and I-purchased the car from Copart about a week ago. The car hydroplaned and hit a median on the front driverside nose.

from what I can tell, the car has frame damage and the severity of it will soon come to light when it is taken to the body shop. The fender rail/apron shows damage behind the strut tower and the lower frame shows signed of movement as well. Both driver side wheels are toast but alignment isn’t completely off, not saying much.
The radiator core support was destroyed, front bumper and headlights are both cracked.
The rest of the body looks good. Fenders and hood show signed of damage as well. Oil cooler was cracked and has been replaced as of yesterday along with fresh oil as the car lost all during the crash. I started the car up and I got the car to turn on and come to temps with no leaks. Car idles and runs very smooth. Driver knee airbag went off and passenger glove box appears to have gone off But no sign of a bag deployed?

Unfortunately today on its first maiden test drive I stupidly did not check the hood latch and the hood flew up and destroyed the windshield and killed any chances of saving the hood. That was a real kick in the teeth on my behalf.
Previous owner had replaced the factory black stripes with a white stripe kit that looks like he did himself in the dark while drunk. Those have been removed and new stripes will be added or maybe no stripes at all as I kinda like the way it looks without.

Here are a few photos and I will keep posting as things progress…. Hope y’all enjoy the ride. I’ve always wanted a Shelby and love rebuilding cars so this should be fun. Really hoping it can be repaired without removing the motor and replacing the entire front left frame sections.

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[luca1290]

From what I can see it if labor and spare parts cost are not an issue the car can definitely be fixed and worth as new from a mechanical standpoint.
It's warped but I guess it is only on the crumple zones, measurements will tell you more.

The motor will have to come out, there is some cutting and welding to do right beside it on both sides.

Good luck! Great car and looks also in great shape, how it is on the inside? Have you been able to tell how it was treated from previous owner?

 

[19GT35006]

Inside is mint minus the airbag. The cars history report showed the original owner took it to the dealer every 5k miles for oil changes/maintenance. Battery was replaced and so was backup camera.

I have zero clue on what framework cost, any idea on what removing the motor and frame repairs would ballpark be?

the first shop I sent pics to thought there may be a change to repair with motor in place.

the second (more professional) shop said I’d need to bring it in to be measured and depending on how much it has moved and based on what the manufacturer tolerances are for the part, they would replace as/what is needed with new parts. They said motor may need to come out. That part scares me bc Ive never had someone else take out a high performance motor and then put it back in correctly.

 

[Inthehighdesert]

That’s not a difficult repair. Depending on the level of the tech operating the rack it can most likely be done by suspending the motor in place. The one thing you want to have lined up before it goes on is all the metal you want to replace in hand. Its hard to estimate time without putting a tram gauge on it. How much are you doing your self? Tear down and reassembly on your part will really help keep the frame time cost down. When I had a shop I charged for down time on the rack if I had to wait on parts. If you had everything removed before it went in 2-3 days would probably get it done by a decent tech by how it looks. That’s replacing the structure needed. It doesn’t look like it got in to the fire wall which is really what bumps the hours up on a front end repair.

 

[ARAMP1]

Man, if that was mine, I'd find a convertible with a blown motor and move everything over.

 

[DadzMach]

It’s amazing to me that the car doesn’t look like it was in an accident bad enough to cause that much damage. Previously I owned a 2014 GT5500 and it was wrecked due to the right front suspension literally falling out of the car right after I had someone do a bunch of suspension work on it. My frame was bent in the front, the floorboards were bent and needed to be replaced and the frame section needed replacement as well. The worst part was the fact the car wasn’t totaled! It was only a week old and had 300ish miles on it. The roof also buckled on the passenger side right behind the A pillar.
I traded the car in within an hour of the accident because I didn’t want it back and I assumed it would have been totaled anyway. Fortunately for me because of what happened to cause the accident I got what I paid for it when I traded it. The Dealership where I traded it was also where the work was done that caused the issue.
If my car had looked like yours I probably wouldn’t have traded it because it just doesn’t look that bad. Obviously I would have been wrong.
I wish you luck on your build and certainly interested in following.

 

[DadzMach]

Man, if that was mine, I'd find a convertible with a blown motor and move everything over.

That would be very cool to have a GT350 Vert! In the end it might up even more valuable that way versus a branded title GT350.
It’s kind of like how the Restomod cars are now worth more than a restored original, plus no one else would have one.

 

[NavyMAChief]

Man, if that was mine, I'd find a convertible with a blown motor and move everything over.

That would be very cool to have a GT350 Vert! In the end it might up even more valuable that way versus a branded title GT350.
It’s kind of like how the Restomod cars are now worth more than a restored original, plus no one else would have one.

Dang I was just thinking about that today. Taking a vert and shifting all the 350 parts over and making a clone convertible.
OP, you’ve got a great project and the car looks great otherwise. Looking forward to your progress.

 

[Tatonka]

black stripes if you're keeping the factory wheels. White stripes with brushed wheels is my sweet spot.

 

[DadzMach]

black stripes if you're keeping the factory wheels. White stripes with brushed wheels is my sweet spot.

This ^^^^^^

 

[matthewr87]

Nice Speedmaster

 

[19GT35006]

Nice Speedmaster

thank you!

 

[19GT35006]

I’ve ordered the following:

new hood ….. ouch
Hood hinges
Impact bar
Fender Rail
L&R fenders
Bumper Cover
Radiator Core Support
Glove box with airbag
Front bumper lip
Corsa 14347 Corsa Stainless Steel Double X-Pipe

looking for a good headlight option… oem are crazy expensive. Mine still work but the tabs are broke.. considering the morimoto xb’s but I really like the stock look, just can’tmake myself spend $2500 on headlights. The moneyis better spent elsewhere

wheels, I will need to replace driver side front and back so I may use this as an option to get a new set of forged wheels, open to opinions on what would look good. I do like the all black look. Signature wheels are nice but very pricey.

 

[JustSomeGuy]

Mind if I ask what a wrecked GT350 goes for on Copart? I’ve been looking into that website and debating if it’s worth it, they have some great stuff on there. I’d love a biohazard GT350 that I could just strip the guts out of and turn to a track car.

 

[19GT35006]

Mind if I ask what a wrecked GT350 goes for on Copart? I’ve been looking into that website and debating if it’s worth it, they have some great stuff on there. I’d love a biohazard GT350 that I could just strip the guts out of and turn to a track car.

Really depends on the damage. I’d say a good minimal damage gt350 will run you 33-38k

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