Mike Gigante drove down to Dream Farm last Sunday and spent a day and a half
here. Larry "Dr. Fine" Daniels came by, and we worked on the now infamous
"Bob" .(the beast of bondo).
Further archeological digging on the car has led me to some conclusions.
Very early in its life, it was hit hard in the back. hard enough that they
put a new clip on it (sort of). They chopped it at the fear wheel well,
about the 10 o'clock position. The just cut out the bent 8 inch portion of
the boot floor, and riveted in a piece of metal. The car was painted its
original color.
Then, it apparently was rolled.as there's significant damage to the right
rocker and right rear fender. It crumpled the right rear fender as it
transitions to the rear of the car. There's evidence of damage on top, under
the left windshield post. The bonnet must have impacted, as both fenders
have been replaced, and there's been welding on the tub under the hinges.
The body work, obviously done years ago, shows no evidence of talent, or
concern for getting it close to right. They drilled and slide hammered it in
a number of spots, and slathered on the bondo. This car is a real project.
One of the best tools in my recent purchases was a stud welder/slide hammer
dent repair gizmo. that welds small studs in a dented area, and allows the
use of a slide hammer without drilling any holes. The studs are easily
removed, and with practice, its quite possible to get the bulk of the damage
pulled out with some patience, and understanding of which direction, and in
which order to pull the dent. (We have plenty of holes to fill with the mig
from the previous "repairs".). Over the years, it was at least 3 or 4
colors.
Luckily, for Larry, despite the topside being roughed up, there's no
evidence of frame damage (or floors. we cut them out at SOS '05). So, once
we get the body straight, we expect it to roll straight too.
Since we're replacing the boot floor, we can have better access to some of
the nastier spots in the rear end with hammer & dolly. Metal massaging is a
real art. I learned quite a bit about working metal in a couple of previous
lives.. as a sheet metal fabricator & welder before I went off to college,
and also from a number of brass band instrument repair guys, that massaged
dents out of hard to reach places long before paintless dent removal became
all the rage.
Whenever possible, "Bob" will get new panels properly welded in, and in
others, the dents will be massaged as close to straight as possible. In the
end, the thing will have gone on quite a bondo diet. Hell, more like gastric
bondo surgery. ;)
Wm. Severin Thompson
wsthompson@thicko.com
www.thicko.com <http://www.thicko.com/>
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