Ok, trying not to abuse all of your kindness but there are things I cant seem to get a good answer on.
My drivers fender bows OUT in the middle, then oil cans if I push it in. The front of the fender side is pulled in at the bottom, and the rear also (before the vent) I am thinking of putting weight on the bottom and letting it hot.cold for a week or so to help it along. Any tips you all have used? The passenger side (thankfully) is nice a flat.
The front is better, but I can see the fine tuning is going to be fun fun. Engine compartment almost stripped.
We have both LHD and RHD cars represented here, so Iām guessing that drivers means the left side and before the vent means front fender?
I would try to rig up some clamps or jacks or bars in some way to move the panel to approximately the position you want it to end up. Then with a propane torch, heat up the periphery of the distorted area, going round and round, gradually working inward to the center. Then stop and let it cool down. The idea is to relax stressed areas, so the distortions relax into the shape they were originally.
Looking at your other posts, it seems you are taking it back to bare metal. Get the bottom correct first. it should have a stay/bracket just behind the wheel arch, clamp a straight edge along the length of the car if you can to assist. The front fender/wing is not completely flat, it has a slight āoverā in it. This helps keep its shape and avoid oil canning. As Rob said, youāll have to to shrink it. You should be able to identify pretty closely the centre of the issue. Do one shrink at a time and re-check. Hopefully it wont take much. Personally I used an oxy to heat and shrink with a hammer and dolly, but other methods may work too.
Iāll post a couple tomorrow- I did some moving and it appears the vent box is a little askew from the hit maybe. there is also a big out in the middle and the wheel well arch is pulled in at the front. I am going to brace it for a bit, and use a torch to work on the box area and oil can.
I am going to bare metal on the whole body, so that I can be sure there arent any hidden gremlins I cant see.
Funny anough, the car in this link has the EXACT dent in the firewall I have by the wiring harness grommet upper left from the steering column. EXACT same spot. Factory boo boo? Iāll be fixing that.
Probably the most difficult XK panel to get right. There is a very slight crown over a fairly large expanse of sheet metal. If you are going to use heat to shrink it down then heat a small area at a time, Oxy is best. Heat a dime sized area blue hot then tap it down with a flat faced hammer or slapper backed up with a dolly on the underside. Best to allow the panel to cool a bit before repeating. A shrinking disc might be a better approach, though, and what I would prefer. Forget about so-called shrinking hammers and dollies. They donāt work.
First off, no offense intended. I always find it best to hire professionals to do body work. It takes a really good/experienced professional to take on this type of problem. Learning on the job is great if you have the time (years) to learn. Hire it done.
Just my 2 cents.
No offence taken. If you can afford $150 an hour to have an expert bodyman do it for you then by all means. Otherwise stretching and shrinking sheet metal is all science, and not that difficult to learn. I admit that it has sometimes taken me two or three shots on goal to get a panel right, but thatās part of the thrill of the ride.
@Nickolas- I thought he was referring to me(see below)
@decodan- I dont mind at all, I have thick skin (if you were referring to me) see below:
Also, no offense meant, but I misplaced the $50,000+ That I was planning to spend on a no body filler restoration. My wife sems to have dropped it somewhere between never getting it and not having it road.
Kidding aside, I have been wrenching for 45+ years, and understand the need to hire professionals when one is above their āpay gradeā. I have yet to get there. The last time I did, (or thought I did) they dropped a Variable valve timing variator, bent the edge ever so slightly and installed it anyway. They shrugged their shoulders and said I must have low oil pressure and it has nothing to do with their work. 8 months later I redid the VERY complex job of rebuilding the top end of a 2010 range Rover Sport S/C, discovered the very slightly bent Variator and magically when I finished the code went away. You see, experience and training do not always equal superior work. Add to that I would have to seek out that person and hope that they are 1. as good as they claim 2. donāt leave my project for months. 3. donāt close up shop and disappear.
Rest assured, when I feel that I am done, I will call a body man (preferably grouchy, salty language, smoker optional) and pay them handsomely to critique my work and tell me how to fix it. I have been looking around and have yet to run across one. It sounds cliche, but I am a lifetime student and REALLY enjoy the process while learning a new skill- it astounds my friends and makes my wife scratch her head constantly.
All that said, if YOU or someone you know well IS THAT body man, I would love to drop some cash in your or their lap when I am ready and have you make fun of me. I am in OC, CA.
A man of me own heart, as my Irish mother used to say.
Thatās the way to go about it. Research it. Ask for advice. Figure out what you have to do then do it. You donāt know what you donāt know but the mistakes you make along the way will fill in the gaps. Enjoy the ride.
Well I guess I am lucky/blessed to live in an area where I have found one of the best metal men around. In my area I pay $45-$55 hr. For body and paint work. He has had 3 cars invited into the Builders Showcase at The Street Rod Nationals in the last 10 years. He has also done body and paint on 4 cars for me.
Yes I can do it, but I donāt enjoy it. So why waste my time when there are other things I can do and enjoy it while working. Besides the fact I would still be working on metal work instead of driving.
There are many parts of building cars I really like. I love fabrication, setting up chassis, wiring and design but driving is the goal. My time is getting more important as time passes, that is why I said what I did. I may not have offended anyone but I know I must have stepped on toes and for that I am sorry.
Best of luck on all your projects and to a fun summer driving season.
Sincerely, Dan
Thereās the difference. If you enjoy doing something it will be evident in the final result. Same goes if you donāt enjoy it. But thatās a very reasonable hourly rate for sure, so long as the quality is there. Sometimes you donāt get what you pay for. As to time involved, it doesnāt always work out to your benefit to have the work done for you. There are many accounts of enthusiasts waiting long times for their cars to exit the shop. I have done a lot of bodywork over the decades and rather like doing it. The one time I had the work done by a qualified shop, insurance claim when the nose of my E-type got mildly bent early in the year, it took close to three months to get the car back, when I could have done the job myself to the same standard in four weeks part time. I lost out on most of the driving season as a result. The consideration there was financial. It was a lot cheaper to file a claim, but after three months I was second guessing my decision.
Ellery Engel, 3997 Ctr. Piru , CA 93040. Ā· (805) 521-1321. He has done excellent no bondo work on several of my cars including my alloy XK120. Not fast, not cheap and can be a little gruff. Tread lightly.
Mike May
@Wiggles Paul, Thank you. Yes ā39 Ford headlights on reshaped fenders and two 1947 Buick grills, one is inverted with hand made grill surround. Lots of modifications.
Update:
I removed the vent and splash guard and was greeted with what appears to be body filler put down to stiffen the fender and fill gaps. Once removed, the fender began to cooperate.
I still have a proud, round spot in the middle, but it is better. Trying weight on the bottom now and will add heat and see how we do.
Easily the most useful tool in my assortment of bodywork tools is the shrinking disc. Iāve mentioned it a few times in J-L, including here six years ago:
Since that panel youāre working on is accessible from both sides itās a natural for the application. The Wray Schelin design is very robust. Wray is to XK bodywork that Chuck Hadley is to E-types. Apropos, Chuck also uses the shrinking disc extensively. I suggest you look into it. It will make your job easier at the same time produce really a nice result.
My 140 had oil canning fenders. Traditional heat shrinking techniques were tried by two different professionals without success. Shrinking disks did the trick with less visible damage to the sheet metal.
