There was a storm last night and my Blazer got nailed almost head on while it was parked. Contact was made on a full half of the bumper on the driver side and now it's got some big scratches, and the panel above the drive side front tire has some medium sized dents.

I was wondering how that panel above the front tire is attached. Is it bolted or welded on? My Blazer is the common champagne color so I am really hoping fixing this is a simple matter of going to a scrap yard, getting a new panel and bumper, bolting them on and it's like nothing ever happened but I know it's highly doubtful that will be case.

Also it would be a big help if someone with an 05 model could measure the gap between the bumper and front side panel, and maybe even the gap between the bumper and the lip below the grill.

One interesting note is it definitely won the battle vs the brand spanking new Silverado.

 

The tenders bolt on. There should be 2 or 3 inside the hood, 2or 3 on the core support, 2 or 3 inside the door, and like 5 in the wheel well. Those gaps are gonna be different on every blazer. There are shims to even out the body lines.

 

Can you post some pics, would like to see the damage

 

from a body shop perspective: gaps vary on every vehicle like sickman said.. all panels that are bolted on can be adjusted to make the gaps correct.. if you can post some pics that will help out a lot in helping you assess the damage that was done.

 

The fender is bolted on.
2 bolts will be accessible through the door jamb, there will be 3-4 bolts along the top where the hood is, 3 at the core support, and about 6 in the wheel well.
You will have to most likely remove the cowl, the grille, and the bumper.
As well as anything under the hood that attaches to the fender, ABS stuff ect.