the guy with the 91 civic si just sent me this:

"In the state of La, a car gets a salvage title if the amount of damage exceeds 75% of the vehicle's value. In this case, the car was wrecked in the front, radiator wasn't even hurt. All the lights and front panels had to be replaced. When the insurance does an estimate, they write it for new parts which are OUTRAGEOUS. Labor estimate is also HIGH as the sky. It doesnt take much of an estimate to 'total' the older cars like that. We fixed the car for $290.00 in parts and about 3 hours labor. It came out nice. I'll get you some pics Monday when I get back to the office. Thanks"