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Re: Spit Doors

To: Flinters@picarefy.com, spitfires@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Spit Doors
From: DANMAS@aol.com
Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 22:24:13 EST
In a message dated 3/8/99 9:52:46 PM Eastern Standard Time,
Flinters@picarefy.com writes:

> But the real question comes here:  The door still flexes if any excessive
>  pressure is put on it.  It will pop inward, but you can tap it along the
>  bottom or edge of the depression and it will pop right out again, no
>  problem.  I haven't tried the other doors, but I suspect that this is just
>  a general occurence with Spit doors.  Am I correct?  My concern is that
>  once painted, any flexing here might cause paint problems.

Dan,

That's a common occurance when you do body work on relatively large,
relatively flat, panels. What has happened is the metal has stretched from the
hammering you did to it to get it back into shape. The metal is simply too
large for the area it is trying to cover. What you need to do now is to shrink
the metal, probably using a torch, body hammer, and a dolly. Check with your
local library for a good book on metal working. Most of them have sections on
shrinking metal, as it's a very common practice in body shops. Or maybe a
visit to a friendly body shop might get you the help and/or advice you need.

The "technical" term for this is "oil canning," as the metal pops in and out
like pushing on the side of an oil can.

Dan Masters,
Alcoa, TN

'71 TR6---------3000mile/year driver, fully restored
'71 TR6---------undergoing full restoration and Ford 5.0 V8 insertion - see:
                    http://members.aol.com/danmas/
'74 MGBGT---3000mile/year driver, original condition - slated for a V8 soon
'68 MGBGT---organ donor for the '74

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