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View Full Version : Front end collision/accident - interchangable parts?



ElieEEEEEE
11-18-2016, 06:10 AM
Greetings all,

I have been lurking here for a few months, but now I'm posting cause I have a specific questing I am hoping your vast collective knowledge can help me with.

The truck in question:
1989 Mighty Max 4x4 Macrocab. PO did an engine swap: 1983 4D55 Turbo Diesel with a 5 speed. The guy I got it from was using it as a farm truck for quite a few years. It look a little bit to get it back on the road, but it was totally worth it. I freaking love this truck. Everything about it. I am a diesel nut, and finding a little 4x4 turbodiesel like this was a dream come true. I felt like I won the lottery.

The story:
I was in a front end collision 2 days ago. Wet road coming down a hill and the car in front of me stopped at a green light to turn left. I locked up the brakes and slid probably four car lengths into her. By the time we collided I was going approximately 20mph.

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At first glace, I believe the frame is ok. I shut the motor off at the scene, so I know that made it. It didn't even blow the radiator, just pushed the fan into the shroud.

What I do need is a ton of front end body stuff. Fender, inner fender, hood, bumper, grille, lights, and a lot of little pieces underneath that hold it all together.

Which brings me to my question:

Do I need to find body panels from a 2nd Gen Mighty Max/D50 ('86-'96), or is there any parts interchangeability with any other Mitsubishi vehicles? Of course I want to bring it back to it's original glory, but if I am having trouble finding the same front end and need to swap on a different front end, then that's what I'll do. I just want to be informed of my options when I start my massive search. As you can tell, I'm just worried about being able to find the parts.

I am a mechanic, I just have way less experience with body work. Unless your talking about welding old rusted VW diesels back together.

Thanks everyone.

-Eli

DroppedMitsu
11-18-2016, 08:39 AM
You need parts from 86.5-96 Mighty Max or Dodge D50(its imported twin). If you end up going with the 93+ bumper you will need the supports/reinforcement brackets for it. 2wd fenders are diff from 4wd as they don't have holes to mount up the flares, will prob be the hardest to find. Everything else is the same and will bolt right up.

Jeff V.
11-18-2016, 08:56 AM
As DroppedMitsu said, all the cosmetic stuff should interchange with other 2nd gen Mighty Max and Dodge Ram 50. They stopped calling it D50 in 1987, but some places still list it as D50. Check on car-part.com for fenders. There's a few 4x4s on there. Finding the chrome front end parts is probably going to be tricky.

I pretty sure I have the collision repair manual at home.

Jeff V.
11-18-2016, 09:29 PM
Verified I have the collision book. Let me know if you need anything from it.

pennyman1
11-19-2016, 05:43 PM
that looks like a rough hit - pulled down and back. You may be able to pull it back into shape somewhat with a chain and a tree / telephone pole if you can get the angles right to reverse the impact damage. Basically you are doing a shade tree frame machine.