Another method is to use heat, a dolly, and slap file. I watched an old
timer use heat (acetylene torch with a very small tip) in combination with a
dolly to get the dents (and major kinks) out of my 5 grill bars. He then
finaled the process with a very sharp slap file (large scallops). I'll bet
I didn't use more than a 1/2 tablespoon of filler on all 5 bars. It took
about 4 hours to straighten all 5 bars. It would obviously take a great
amount of skill to do. You can either seek out such a person, or practice
on some throw away bars first.
Allen in Seattle
'50 3100
Inliner No. 2235
----- Original Message -----
From: "G. Simmons" <gls@4link.net>
To: "Mike Stone" <mrston@hotmail.com>; <oletrucks@autox.team.net>
Sent: May 28, 2000 4:29 PM
Subject: Re: [oletrucks] Grill Bar Repair
Mike Stone wrote:
> I bought an entire grill for my 50, disassembled, at a swap meet. Is
>there any neat trick for pounding the minor dings and dents in the
>individual bars? I'm not doing well so far.
Mike, the trick to getting out minor dents is to have a dolly or other hard
surface backing it up, so that when you tap on the dent it doesn't go too
far the other way, but rather, stays flush with the surrounding metal. You
also want to use as little force as necessary, because if you use too much,
the metal will compress between hammer and dolly and warp. You can finish
it with a flat file and sandpaper to get a paintably smooth surface.
If the dents are in tight places, you will want to use a flat faced punch to
transfer the hammer blow. I got a set of little cheap punches from Harbor
Freight that is very useful for jobs like this.
If you absolutely can't reach them, fill them with brass, solder or bondo,
if they're not too deep, and finish with a file / sandpaper.
Regards,
Grant S.
54 3100 (mostly all there)
54 3100 (mostly not there)
55 1st 3100 (mostly rust)
Los Angeles, CA
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
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