TR2/3/3A Strange dents

[Vargus]

Hello

Just removed a ton of filler from the front wings.
does everyone know how you get dents like this ?
I’m miffed.

 

[Geo Hahn]

Looks like someone pounded out a large dent using a claw hammer and a 2x4.

You have to remember there was a time when these were just used cars - and not particularly valued used cars at that.

 

[CJD]

Perfect example of someone doing bodywork with no knowledge of how to do it right.

 

[DavidApp]

I had a rear wing that looked like that under 1/2" of filler.

David

 

[Hamish Racing]

Yes I’m afraid it’s most likely a diy repair probably to an already secondhand wing ( fender?).
May be in the1970’s when filler was cheap and spare (metal) ones relatively expensive.
my car ran into the back of a truck in the 1970’s sold damaged and the man I bought it off was a student - thus poor replaced the panels with fibreglass ones. Used as a daily driver.
He later rebuilt it very well with real panels. He had the car 45 years and 2 rebuilds.

you either need to set to with hammer and dolly - give it to a man who can it will come right with time and patience or replace it. ( or the filler route again )

 

[mctriumph]

I keep a "trophy" here at the shop of the bondo taken out of a tr3 hood some years back. It was hitting the valve cover
and it was hard to lift the hood. the slab weighs nearly 30 pounds. The rest of the car was no better.....
MD(mad dog)

 

[PAUL161]

Large hail or someone with a little ball-peen hammer!

 

[charleyf]

Hello

Just removed a ton of filler from the front wings.
does everyone know how you get dents like this ?
I’m miffed.

I just repaired one that looked just like that. I would guess that the fender was a whole lot worse before somebody worked on it. They may have gotten what they considered the worst of the dents out. So what you are left with is a lot less than where it started. The good news is that with more work you can get it pretty close to original.
Charley

 

[Sarastro]

I agree with the consensus, except that it might not be a DIY repair. I have found that a lot of body shops just do a quick job of pounding out the dent, then slop on the bondo. It looks OK to the customer and probably will last well past the end of the warranty period.

The trunk lid on my TR looked nice and smooth (from the outside, at least) but when I took off the paint and filler, it looked like dents had been pounded out with a pickaxe.

http://tr4a.nonlintec.com/bodywork3/trunk_1484.jpg

 

[Vargus]

Slowly getting there.

 

[DavidApp]

Looks a lot better already.

You must be working on it still on the car.

David

 

[Jerry]

My TR3 had a dent I could put my fist into it.
And I wear XXL gloves. They could have pounded it out in 10 min but as said above, bondo was cheaper.

 

[Vargus]

Looks a lot better already.

You must be working on it still on the car.

David

it was a little tricky but i did.
had to take it to work the following day.

chris

 

[Hamish Racing]

that looks soooo much better
congratulations hard work well rewarded.

 

[Frank Canale]

Another suggestion that might be worth looking into is the stainless shrinking disk. They are available in a version for 4 1/2" grinders and 7" grinders. I have used one on my 4 1/2" grinder and find it a very useful tool.Since there has been so much beating on the wing it is surely stretched a lot and shrinking will help bring it back to shape. Frank

 

[sp53]

I guess there is a place in Denmark that sells new fenders for a reasonable price that supposedly fit great, but I do not have the info.

 

[CJD]

Shrinking disk...interesting. I guess it is doing what a torch does, but keeping it much more localized.

 

[Frank Canale]

Yes it heats high spots and shrinks them and leaves the low spots alone. I found it easier to control than a torch. It also does the locating for you rather than feeling for the high spot then heat that spot and shrink. It is not fast but that is good if you are new to body work. The disk just like a torch, you can over shrink an area and have to hammer and dolly it back out. I find it to be a useful tool as shrinking is difficult to do once you get away from the edges. Frank

 

[CJD]

Thanks, Frank...something new to try. I still remember spending 3 weeks trying to shrink an arear of my bonnet. Every time I shrunk one spot, the oil canning moved to another. Next job I'll give the disk a try!

 

[groupdeville]

But consider also that the DIY backyard repair may well have kept the TR on the road, and thus also kept the car from being scrapped back in the day when the cars were expendable.