PapaSmurf Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 thief got into my car and wrecked it. It took a hit to the rear bumper which crumpled the rear drivers side a bit, door doesnt shut well but I think I can fix it with the new hinges I have and my hammer. got the back bumper off and started exploratory surgery. The car had taken a hit to its rear before I got it and there was quite a bit of bondo and rust. I'm trying to formulate a plan of attack. I dont weld but this rear valance has got to go I was thinking of shaving it somehow its pretty crumpled. Maybe I can cut it off and replace it with some ricey wire mesh... any ideas would be greatly appreciated. The fuel tank is smashed luckily I have a new one in a box wrapped in syranwrap - I'll drop the old and remove the other bumper strut and then I'm not sure what I'm going to do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Gadsby Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 Learn to weld. Or buy beer for friends that can weld. Or pay a stranger a second mortgage to weld. But please....weld! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PapaSmurf Posted November 6, 2015 Author Share Posted November 6, 2015 (edited) Hehe well I suppose I have to learn... I've heard of fiberglass rear valances and bumpers so I was hoping for a cheaper easier solution Edited November 6, 2015 by PapaSmurf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wedge Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 I bought a cheap MIG welder at Canadian tire and started practicing on sheet metal the trick is to take your time because sheet metal gets very hot, so I tac wait 1min another tac wait 1min etc and for me it worked great. And the grind the weld even if its not perfect looking u can still grind it in the end. Oh and buy splatter sheild spray if you dont get a gas with the MIG. I have a home made spot welder made with a microwave PSU works wonders on sheet metal wear you can reach both sides. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PapaSmurf Posted November 13, 2015 Author Share Posted November 13, 2015 Thanks I have a friend with a wire feed I can borrow but if that falls through I'll probably pick up a cheap arc welder at harbor freight and just do it I'm working on reforming and painting the tail light casings and trim. I have a set of door hinges to rebuild hopefully I can get this door to close the body doesn't look like it moved much but something is making this door bind where it didn't before frame seems straight... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgsheen Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 The rear valence looks like the least of your problems... From the looks of the quarter (and your description of the door), your frame has been pushed on the left side. How does it look on the inside left - forward of the bumper piston mount, wheel well and etc. (looking in from the hatch)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PapaSmurf Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 (edited) The rear valence looks like the least of your problems... From the looks of the quarter (and your description of the door), your frame has been pushed on the left side. How does it look on the inside left - forward of the bumper piston mount, wheel well and etc. (looking in from the hatch)? I can see some seperation between the deck of the hatch and the side sheet metal on the drivers side - its about an 8th of an inch and there is bondo there from a previous hit. Other than that I don't see anything I'm going to remove the inner panels and look closer. I pulled out the side window it seems to have been pushed forward slightly by the hit there was rust and bondo below and a little crumpled sheet metal maybe from before maybe from now I don't know Edited November 22, 2015 by PapaSmurf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PapaSmurf Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 With that window out the door still will not close I removed a few bolts in side of door that were binding and it still doesn't shut its odd it doesn't look like the body moved at all let alone enough to cause this much of a problem on the door Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morbias Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 What you need to do is check how bent the chassis is and which direction, there are measurements in the 'underbody alignment' section in the fsm. Doing what you're doing now (trying to correct symptoms of the problem rather than addressing the root cause) might actually make any eventual repair process more difficult. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PapaSmurf Posted November 23, 2015 Author Share Posted November 23, 2015 I'm absolutely sure that the frame is going to be tweaked after this many years and who knows how many hits its taken. I could spend an eternity screwing with it or I could get it straight and back on the road. I dropped the gas tank and sawed through the 35 year old hoses now I need to source them. I removed the drivers side door and it looks like the lower hinge pin is broken it probably happened when it crashed it was loose but intact before. I removed the hinges and I have a set of better ones sand blasted and a brand new pin to press in. Hopefully I can get the door set up properly. Waiting on a friend with a welder to help out with the back im just going to close the holes a d shave it. I removed the other bumper strut now that I have the tank off too. I don't see any damage under the tank area or any signs of movement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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