Hi, I need to get an idea of what happens to an old Mopar that's in a wreck. I have a wrecked '66 Coronet 500, hit in the driver's door jamb.
It would be cool to see a pic of any Mopars as they were in wrecked condition, and then after they were repaired. Any comments/advice of whether it's a good idea or bad idea to fix these old cars after they have been hit would be welcome.

Thanks!!
Arvid Svendsen

A lot depends on the angle of the impact and where the impact is taken.
"Sag, mash, diamond and twist" is the old saying, most applicable to a straight-on impact to a frame rail.
You can get some idea of how unibodies distribute forces by messing with a small light cardboard box.
Or better, a rectangle composed of say welding rod with some thin tin tacked to it.
Basically, the "soft tissue" deforms, then the load is taken by reinforcing members.
Cowls are typically the strongest area, but if you hit a hinge pillar hard enough the rocker will tend to bow then buckle downward, and the roof upward.
The trick is to reverse the forces and "walk the damage out" so to speak, to get the hard points (mounting locations) back to square.
The you deal with the panel appearance, sometimes having to replace them for aesthetic reasons or trim mounting.
The bottom line is cost, and the ability to end up with correct dimensions and proper structural strength & fit/finish.
Easiest way to spot a poor repair is panel gaps, buckles, poor fit.
Post some photos of the door jamb, door closed & open.

Thanks for the reply, good information.
Attached are the pics of the car, I bought it as a parts car, nothing more, but lately I have wondered if it's fixable. The roof was cut off and sold right before I bought it, but it did not buckle in the accident.
One body guy said it can be fixed, another guy said it can be fixed but it wouldn't be worth it.

It's a 383 car, just want to be sure that the only option is scrapping it. And yes, I did just have it on ebay, and a few facebook groups for sale.

Thanks!

Looks like sideswipe impact from front to rear direction.
Shoved the door in far enough that the impact caught the lock pillar, crushing it rearward and rotating it.
Also looks like it crushed the rocker, and likely an inner reinforcing panel or two.
May have even damaged the hinge pillar
It would obviously need the door & quarter, but also the pillar & reinforcement, inner panel, and at least the outer rocker.
Given the car's overall condition, and the unfortunately soft market for that body style, my opinion is it's not cost-effective to repair.
There'd be at least 40 hours just in removing & replacing those parts (+ whatever the hinge pillar needs), assuming the repairer is experienced & properly equipped.

^ all of this. Also, cutting the roof off prior to pulling and squaring the structure was a mistake by whomever did it.

this is my buddy's 64. hit in the rear of the front fender, cowl area with a new challenger that had 40-some miles on it. the guy ran a stop sign.
car is being parted out. [pm me with needs ]
cowl pushed the passenger side door hing area approximately 3/4", so that when the door closes, [and it still opens and closes great ! ] the glass is approximately 3/8" out past the roof drip rail moldings.

Thanks topside and not_a_charger, nice diagnosis on the hit. You guys definitely have body work experience. Thanks for the pics moparx, that 64 is light years better than mine, so parting it out sealed the deal. I kinda considered doing it on the "anything can be fixed" logic, but this car is going to get cut up and parted out.
Thanks again!