Know a cheap body shop in Houston?

[XJ4IV]

I got into a lil accident thanks to yet ANOTHER fire department running a red light without sirens on... I was behind an 18 wheeler loaded with beer (coors truck) anyhow I never heard sirens but I sure found the damn 18wheeler in front of me fast yeah yeah yeah I was too damn close then but lets face it the XJ's braking system is exactly top notch now is it!
Anyhow I ruined my front bumper but nothing a litle cutting and torching and re-welding cant fix, what I NEED to get fixed is when I hit the truck it bent my unidboy right at the steering gear box... now my steering column is rotating with LOTS of pressure on the frame due to the angle the bent fram has now placed on my gear box. I need to get the frame pulled and I got a quote yesterday for $400... seemed a little stiff to just hook up a machine to my jeep and punch in some numbers and walk away... I asked what that entailed to give me a big ole quote the lady said that they needed to pull the radiator and apply heat with a torch to the frame to assist in the straightening out... Torch+Frame BAD results... dont think I should trust this place...
Anyone know a decent CHEAP shop around?
I know what you guys are gonna say, you get what you paid for but all I want is the frame pulled back into place so I can reinforce it myself with 1/4 inch plate so this never occurs again. my first thought when I got out of the jeep is that damn bumper caused so much damage that it really wasnt worth it! WRONG that bumper DEFINETLY saved a total loss on the XJ:cheerleader:
Some of you are gonna ask for pics so Ill try to get some posted but I removed the bumper already so you really cant see the damage ... BTW that damn thing is HEAVY I had to take the winch off just to lift it off the ground!

[Mudderoy]

I got into a lil accident thanks to yet ANOTHER fire department running a red light without sirens on... I was behind an 18 wheeler loaded with beer (coors truck) anyhow I never heard sirens but I sure found the damn 18wheeler in front of me fast yeah yeah yeah I was too damn close then but lets face it the XJ's braking system is exactly top notch now is it!
Anyhow I ruined my front bumper but nothing a litle cutting and torching and re-welding cant fix, what I NEED to get fixed is when I hit the truck it bent my unidboy right at the steering gear box... now my steering column is rotating with LOTS of pressure on the frame due to the angle the bent fram has now placed on my gear box. I need to get the frame pulled and I got a quote yesterday for $400... seemed a little stiff to just hook up a machine to my jeep and punch in some numbers and walk away... I asked what that entailed to give me a big ole quote the lady said that they needed to pull the radiator and apply heat with a torch to the frame to assist in the straightening out... Torch+Frame BAD results... dont think I should trust this place...
Anyone know a decent CHEAP shop around?
I know what you guys are gonna say, you get what you paid for but all I want is the frame pulled back into place so I can reinforce it myself with 1/4 inch plate so this never occurs again. my first thought when I got out of the jeep is that damn bumper caused so much damage that it really wasnt worth it! WRONG that bumper DEFINETLY saved a total loss on the XJ:cheerleader:
Some of you are gonna ask for pics so Ill try to get some posted but I removed the bumper already so you really cant see the damage ... BTW that damn thing is HEAVY I had to take the winch off just to lift it off the ground!

I'm sorry to hear this, try my friend Lupe. He's hard to get a hold of and sometimes slow to get the work done, but he does great work. I haven't spoke with him in a while.

It's in my thread about my jeep body work. Let me find the link.

Hey how about some pictures of the damage? :camera:

[Mudderoy]

Here's the link...

http://www.xjtalk.com/showthread.php?t=13&highlight=falcon+auto

Falcon Auto, near downtown Houston.

[cantab27]

cant help ya scott ,,, sorry to hear about ya jeep ,,,,,...get any free beer

[XJ4IV]

... lol no but it does just go to show that jeepin and beer is a BAD MIX...
I think my new sig should be
I HATE onroading, it really keeps messin up my jeep!

[bigjim350]

That seems to be about the going rate. And the torch on the frame won't be no big deal. Your gonna get it as hot or hotter when you weld on the plate.

[XJ4IV]

so here are the pics of the damage...
Passneger side, not too bad might be able to leave this side alone
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m590/XJ4IV/IMG_0727.jpg
Cross frame ... thingy kinda tweaked
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m590/XJ4IV/IMG_0728.jpg
really the ONLY body damage and I have the light sitting in my closet at home
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m590/XJ4IV/IMG_0729.jpg
heres the Driver side... WORSE
those three bolts hold the steering gear box on the inside of the frame
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m590/XJ4IV/IMG_0730.jpg
another view
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m590/XJ4IV/IMG_0731.jpg
heres an overall view under the jeep on the driver side
you can see it really screwed up the box and the pump blasted PSF everywhere
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m590/XJ4IV/IMG_0733.jpg
Closer look at the column and how it is now pushed against the motor mount
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m590/XJ4IV/IMG_0732.jpg
here are some pics of the damage to the actual bumper
kinda bent the side piece a little bit
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m590/XJ4IV/IMG_0751.jpg
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m590/XJ4IV/IMG_0752.jpg
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m590/XJ4IV/IMG_0753.jpg
Broke the weld on the main hoop gonna have to cut that off and clean it up and re-attach it
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m590/XJ4IV/IMG_0754.jpg
initial impact area
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m590/XJ4IV/IMG_0755.jpg
pulled my security welds
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m590/XJ4IV/IMG_0756.jpg
and a little broken welds on the pass side of the hoop
http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m590/XJ4IV/IMG_0757.jpg

[XJ4IV]

Im gonna have to say that the welds on the bumper show the difference between an ARC welder and a MIG welder... sadly the ones that broke were made by a Hobart 140 handler and the ones that DIDNT break were burned by a Lincoln180 ARC welder... Thinking I might go with an ARC welderor a BAMF mig using 220v instead of the 110v

[msmoorenburg]

Scott,

I may have access to one if not i can get access to a portable one and bring it to the shop. I need it to fix the chevy at the shop

[XJ4IV]

a frame puller??? how soon? I can drop it off like thursday lol as you know this WAS my DD until the expedition gets here... which doesnt get here till uncle sams sends me my check... so Im in a BIG hurry

[msmoorenburg]

I'll make some calls, the one I can borrow i should be able to pick it up at any time. even with out a puller i think i could bend it back

[Mudderoy]

I remember telling Spanky "D" that I wanted beefy bumpers so the next parts truck that took a "U" turn in front of me would get all the damage. He told me that the stronger the bumper the more likely the unibody would bend. It makes sense. After all the crappy factory bumpers are meant to crumple. Less damage to the frame/unibody and you.

[XJ4IV]

I remember telling Spanky "D" that I wanted beefy bumpers so the next parts truck that took a "U" turn in front of me would get all the damage. He told me that the stronger the bumper the more likely the unibody would bend. It makes sense. After all the crappy factory bumpers are meant to crumple. Less damage to the frame/unibody and you.

yeah I gotta say that bumper DID take the brute of the impact... My sunglasses few off into the dash and at FIRST i felt fine but now a day later my neck n back hurt like crazy. but like I said thank the lord for that bumper it saved the jeep 100% totally worth building or buying one cause in a frontal impact either with another vehicle OR a offroad obstacle like a tree or rock it WILL save you a jeep, might as well invest NOW rather than in another jeep!