Pics of Our Work!

Like everyone, we love to show off our accomplishments!  On this page you'll find some great shots of before and after pictures of some of our work.  These are just a small sampling of what we've done, but, it will give you a real good idea of what we're capable of.

From small dent and scratch removal to full blown, heavy collision hits, we do it all!   Here are some samples:

This car was one of the first vehicle's ever to be repaired by LDJ here in Florida!  We didn't even have everything set up yet!  The car belonged to a personal friend of ours and needed to be done right away, so we set up the carport and did it there!

You can see the damage to the passenger door, spoiler and rear bumper.  This 2007 Chevy Cobalt came out beautiful!

The pictures showing the vehicle after painting show the base coat / clear coat finish straight out of the gun!  These pictures reflect the paint BEFORE it was wet sanded and buffed!

All of our paint jobs are done using ALL high quality DuPont products unless the owner for some reason requests an alternate brand.  All body work is guaranteed for life!  All paint jobs come standard with a 3 yr. warranty against sun fading and peeling!

This next vehicle is a 2009 Tacoma pick-up truck.  The owner was very proud of it and had just purchased it!  Unfortunately, his wife thought a little less of the vehicle and took her frustrations out on the roof of the vehicle with a "Louiville Slugger"...(had a heck of a swing too, I might add!)  So much of a swing, as a matter of fact, that she actually managed to do some structual damage to the roof!  The roof was straightened, painted, winshield replaced and the truck came out beautifully.

As you can see in the following pics, the truck was fixed, the owner was happy, the marraige, we not so sure about! 

The "Moral" of the story .....don't upset your wife with your new Tacoma in the driveway if you're not sure what sport she was excellent in at school!

This 2005 Nissan Maxima was a hard front end hit.  With over $10K in damage, it was a large job with many internal and external parts needing to be replaced.  All work was done at LDJ Auto Body and Mechanical and the job took approx. 2 1/2 weeks to finish due to some parts availability problems.  This is a great sample of the fine collision work provided by Larry Blackman and his crew......

1999 Acura with driver side damage.

Lastly, there are times when even WE can't believe what we can do!  This 1999 Acura TL's owner came to us after being told by numerous body shops that this car could not be repaired!  Now, one thing Larry can't stand is the word "CAN'T".  Tell him he "can't" do something, and well, he's on a mission.....

There is definitely "frame" damage to the A and B pillars

The car had been hit "hard" in the driver's door and the "a-pillar" and "b-pillar" had been severely twisted and pushed in.

Now, for every action, there is a "re-action" and straightening a bent vehicle frame is really no different.  It simply requires that the metal come back by undoing the damage the way it happened!  A trained eye can see exactly the manner in which the damage was incurred and by undoing each part of the damage, piece by piece, the metal can be straightened.  It is a difficult task since there is no margin for error as metal can only be twisted and bent so many times before it either breaks or becomes "work hardened" and impossible to straighten.

Photo of the push ram as the A pillar is pushed out.

Here are photos of the work as it progressed.  I want to reiterate the fact that we do not recommend attempting to repair extreme damage, like this, without consulting an expert body technician.  The frame of this vehicle was carefully measured and welded and the structural quality of the repairs were carefully taken into consideration while the repairs were in progress.  The structural strength of the repair work was tested to ensure the safety and integrity of the vehicle before it was re-assembled. 

The door and fender of the vehicle was, of course, replaced with OEM parts from another vehicle.  Support members were also replaced. 

It just goes to show you, that, almost any damage can be repaired!  Finding the right technician to do the work is key to the success of the repair.  Once again, Larry and our crew managed to work their "magic"!  But, years of expertise went into fixing this vehicle.

The door was carefully hung and aligned.

Body  work is fascinating.  It  is "precision engineering" at it's best.   It takes experience, time, and patience to get the job done right and Larry and his staff are incredible when it comes to repairing these vehicles. 

Notice the body lines and door alignment in this "after" shot.

The result of careful straightening of the frame allowed for flawless alignment of the door and fender. A test drive showed no air leakage in the cabin area or window seals.  This is the kind of work we're proud of here at LDJ.  Check back soon for the "finished" project when this car returns for painting!

Another great job by Larry and the boys!

Here at LDJ Auto Body, we like "happy endings".  These are just a few of our success stories.  There are hundreds more.  Check back often as, like I said, we like to brag a little every now and then...... 

Drive safely!
The Team at LDJ Auto Body and Mechanical