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You can just twist, pull, bend them back into shape. They're not that structurally important relative to the bumper beam, the top radiator support is very flimsy, it's not that stout. I've put on gloves and yanked them by hand forward a few inches before. Not gonna do that to a bent bumper beam. They're welded in place so the job is 300% harder if you have to cut and weld, which I've done before. Yes, totally repairable and easy. d If you want original show room lines it'll be harder than being okay with your hood lines being 2 mm off. I'm pretty sure TN Is very favorable to this but You should look into state laws on rebuilding and reconstructing if the insurance sends you a salvage title. If you're lucky the insurance just doesn't mess with it and doesn't send you a salvage title. THen you dont' have to do anything. But they're supposed to and usually do. If they do then you have to get it recertified by the state before you can title and tag it. You have to go through a separate inspection for that in some states. Some are rigorous and some are very easy and pass just about anything. Check that process out.

A little more progress this week, but alas I won't be able to turn a wrench or start working on the next phase of the thing for a while, so next update will be in the new year. Looks like every time i make a step forward, a corresponding step backward shows up in the form of another problem to solve. Firstly - the step forward: Successfully got the frame rails notched out - handily this exploratory cutting revealed that the extra crossmember hole is already reinforced inside and as such will not require me to sleeve it in order to move the mounting bolts out of the way for the frame work. it also appears that widening the mounting slots also did the trick and with the transmission removed and out of the way, the new EJ22 drops right in where it needs to be, plenty of room, way more than i was expecting to end up with. Just have to hit it with some rust converter and weld-through primer and box it back in now. Secondly, the step backward - The original steering rack is now (just barely) interfering with one of the lower studs that mount the transmission to the engine block, so now I have to figure out a way to get that clearance back, none of the other builds I've followed mention this as an issue - either that or I just wasn't paying enough attention. . Options I've come up with so far are: A) shift the original rack to the driver side of the slightly or maybe extend the shaft so the soft, disc-shaped connection (not sure what that part is called) doesn't interfere with the stud or transmission case. B ) Transplant the power steering rack from the Impreza, which doesn't use this same connection to the steering column and thus should clear. I'd planned on doing this anyway though I'd hoped to get the rest of the transplant done first for logistical reasons (It's easier to move two cars around when they both have working steering for as long as possible) which If any 2nd- gen swap guys have run into similar issues, I'm all ears - So far most of the stuff required for the swap into this earlier Gen 1 seems to be very similar to the later Gen 2's, just with less room to work. Hoping maybe one of y'all have a good suggestion. I'm debating at least for the mockup phase for the transmission, its requisite mounts, and the transmission tunnel modifications to maybe just remove that stud and see if I get lucky with the clearance on the transmission case. Anyways, that's a wrap til 2025 - In broad strokes, once I've got the engine and transmission mounted and located, it's on to front suspension transplant, then stripping the rear suspension off the Impreza shell and scrapping that to get the space back to fabricate on the rear end of the brat.