Learning to use my new birthday tools....

[terriphill]

We spent the day in the garage trying our hand at some "body work" Its very disconceritng to drill holes into your car...even if you know this is how its done.

 

[terriphill]

and then you drill and pull....

 

[terriphill]

and smooth....

 

[DrEntropy]

That snout has enough braces and inner panels to make the "fix" really tricky.

 

[terriphill]

and then we had to prep it to sit for a little while...

 

[terriphill]

The side dent....

 

[terriphill]

and after several holes, pulling, and pounding...

 

[terriphill]

I know there is A LOT more work to be done,but I didn't want to get it disassembled because my B should be back from the body shop on Monday or Tuesday and to be honest, its got dibs on the garage space. I just wanted to try out a little body work and see what's involved.
We sent ahead and sanded what we had done and hit it with a coat of primer to seal it until we get back to it in a few weeks (or months)
Veery interesting what you can achieve in a weekend. I look forward to spending some real time smoothing it out.

 

[terriphill]

Can you believe that the damage did not bend or damage any of the braces, bumper or even the bonnet....

 

[DrEntropy]

With the bumper removed you can get up in there and buck a lot of it. The side impact is a little less accessible from inside. Lots of interior/trim to remove, too.

 

[Darwin]

Rather than drill holes I would invest in a pin/stud welder. welds pull pins on the panel, you pull on them, cut them off and grind flat. No holes to fill or rust.

 

[terriphill]

Yea, we looked at those, but we actually did not think we needed to invest. My husband knows how to weld and I think we are going to try to tack weld the holes and then grind smooth. Too late to do anything else now anyway...27 holes in the front cap to deal with now.
I agree with doc that if we would remove the front bumper we could really do do some damage.

 

[terriphill]

Just a test....

 

[DNK]

Couldn't you have just put a bra on it and called it good?

 

[terriphill]

Couldn't you have just put a bra on it and called it good?

You've been talking to my husband haven't you?

 

[14dna]

Terri;
You keep this car repair thing going, you may have a new career to fall back on!
If you get bored, I have an old car up here in Canada which could use some of that there metal massage.
Just suggestin'.

Dave

 

[Banjo]

good job Terri. that's loookin 100% better already. I like the "uni-spotter" guns myself. just nip off the studs when you're done and grind smooth. slick. But I can fully appreciate the $$$ involved. If ya got the time to weld all the little holes shut, then so what.
That's gonna be one sharp Alfa by this summer.

 

[terriphill]

That's gonna be one sharp Alfa by this summer.

Oh no...I'm hoping to be driving a LBC by summer! The B should be back from paint and ready for reassembly on Wednesday. The Alfa is "in the queue" so to speak, but since I had the garage space open the past weekend, I decided to play around a bit. Once the B is finished and on the road, I'll pull the Alfa in and really do it right!

 

[AweMan]

A caution on welding those holes shut, Welding them WILL cause some shrinkage in the metal.
My suggestion would be obtain some reading material on shrinking/stretching metal and familiarize yourself with the processes. Shrinking is easily done from the outside on areas that are not accessible from behind Stretching is a whole different matter in these areas.
Of course if you intend to use body filler shrinking/stretching may not be an issue.
Just saying .....