So Friday night a friend of mine calls me up to tell me that Saturday morning there's going to be an auction and I'll want to go. I'm intrigued, so I change plans and get ready to go to an auction. The guy had tons of old Mopar stuff, was heavily into Chryslers. There was a built and blueprinted 426 wedge, a set of '60 crossrams with the carbs and stuff on it, a handful of cars, lots of Snap-On tools and other goodies. Of the cars that were there, the one I was checking out was a '67 Chrysler Newport 4 door, green on green with the front fender bent in. Doesn't sound too interesting until you see it had a 440 with a 4 speed on the floor. The guy bought it new and still had it. Thought I was going to bid on that one but ended up buying this. It's a '65 Chrysler 300L with a 360hp 413. The guy owned it since '70 and bought it from a pissed off dad who's kid got drunk, put a big ol' dent in the quarter and ripped the vinyl top off by driving through a barbed wire fence. It's got 70K miles on it, really nice interior with the console shift, new carpets in the trunk (which is all it needs inside), under the hood it looks like new. Cliffy drove it home for me and flew past me on the highway with one finger on top of the steering wheel. It does have a big ol' dent in the quarter though. The upper dent I figure I can work out with a hammer and dolly, but the bottom one I'm not so sure about. I was thinking about cutting a piece of round rod to fit inside the body line, with a hole drilled in it where I could attatch a slide hammer and pull it that way. Anyone have a better idea? The whole car needs paint, but I'd like to at least get the quarter straight so I can put the trim back on for now.
There is a tremendous amount of "strength" built into that panel, due to the body line there. It is going to take a lot of power to push it back where it belongs. Or pull it. A Porta Power can push it out pretty well, just find a way to support the other end of the Porta Power, so it doesn't damage the other side of the car. I'd put a thick piece of steel, matching the height of the body line in there before pushing it out, to spread the load oout, and not put a kink in the body line. You can also try pulling it out. An old time trick was to use body solder to attach a pull plate to the body, and use a Come-A-Long to pull out the damage. Make the pull plate the height of the body line, weld a strong eye bolt to it, and solder it on real good. I'd use a piece of 1/4" or 3/8" strap, about 6-9 in. long. Put the car next to a telephone pole, and use the Come-A-Long to gradually pull it out. A torch might help things along here. There's also a big stretch up above the body line, at the crease. Hope you're alt least decent with a hammer an dolly!
I'd go with the porta-power too. Take the rear seat and both side panels out, brace the opposite side with some wood and/or pieces of steel so as not to damage the other side and then slowly start pushing it out from the inside. Don't start in the middle though. Push a little bit on one end, then a little bit on the other, then back to the first but a little closer to the center, then back to the second end but a little closer to the center and so on until the whole thing is back where it belongs. Using a piece of wood to push against as mentioned before is good idea too.
That's the plan, some 15" Magnum 500 style rallys and new tires. Great minds must think alike. I took the picture at my shop so that's actually my '60 Fury. I was thinking about the come-along myself, the more I look at it the more I think it ain't going to move that easily with a slide hammer. Porta-power is a good idea, I don't know how much access there will be between the window regulator area and the quarter panel, but if I can get a porta-power in there I think I'll try that. I'll have to borrow one, mine walked away years ago. You don't think it'd be a good idea to push at the point of the crease? Won't starting at the ends make it wavy? I know the method for dollying/spooning starting at the ends but I figured for pushing out on the body line that I'd start at the point and push out. Thanks for the responses.
I don't think you'll be able to get straight with it with a Port-a-power, as the bracing will be in the way. A bar or 2x4 wedged down inside.....prying outward against the bracing with a bit of pressure and a buddy with a body hammer giving light blows at the outer edges of the crease from the outside may get the majority out.... BTW.....cool car....those make killer mild customs...
As for inner panels, bracing, regulators, and the like. IMHO, it's always better to cut apart and weld back together, something that is not seen, to do a better job on the stuff that IS seen, the outside sheet metal. Don't hesitate to use the cutoff tool to remove as much of the inner as you need to do a good job on the outer! Makes working on it a lot less frustrating, too!
Would be interesting to see how John Kelly would go about doing this repair. I wonder if his shrinking disc would be of value after you got it roughed in. Frank
Thanks for all the responses, I'm pretty exited about this one. Plan is a repaint in the original dark blue with a cream colored top, but paint on the roof instead of vinyl. Then some 15" chrome rally wheels and maybe redline tires. The side stainless trim has a 1/2 inch red stripe painted into it (it's all faded off now) so I think the redlines would really go well. Maybe dual antennas too, but that'd be it. That's a good point. I don't mind welding, and I really want this one to be as straight as possible before the bodywork gets done, I generally don't get cars this clean to start with. Once I get the back door panels off I'll be able to see what I need to do better. That thing was seriously cool, but I didn't get a picture of it. It looked like absolutely nothing on the outside, but the huge Hurst bench seat shifter on the inside was the only giveaway. That one was really solid too, and with new dual exhaust on it. The more I think about it, the more I think that one was a good deal, sold for $1700.
a shrinking disc will be of GREAT value. push it out as best you can and go to working it with a shrinker. probably go alot faster than you think...ken....
Honestly, I would cut the dent out. If you can find the whole effected area off a donor car, cut the whole thing out. Otherwise, I would cut out the "ridge", straighten or replace the panel above ane below, straighten the "ridge" and then weld it all back. I dont think my skills would ever allow me to straighten that panel in one piece.
Hey, As chopolds suggested, cut the rear panel away, giving you great access to the rear of the damage. Always start your sheetmetal bump - ing by reversing the path the damaging force took to create it. Straighten your reinforcing members first, that being the lower character/swage line. I can not tell from the photo, but the damage looks like it came from the front of the vehicle and moved rearward. Start you bumping from the line nearest the Wheelhouse, and follow the line with small hits from a BFH & a block of wood. A body spoon that matches the lines' shape would be a great tool to use as well. A combination of hammer and dolly work will get this area of the repair ready for filler or metalfinishing. Compare your work against the line of the door, often as you work the panel, remember, the line must be 'dead-nuts' straight, on this era Ellwood Engle design or the work will look fucked up! Once the line is back to within normal conture limits, 60% of the upper damage will have poped out. DO NOT BUMP out the stretched area below the ridge prior to spring hammering the ridge with a finishing spoon! Some or most of the metal that's below the ridge will return to normal conture, once the ridge has been properly bumped. Some of the damage will require some shrinking, either with a torch or disc (name your poison), but carefull off dolly bumping with a dolly that closely matches the quarters inner shape, and a wide faced finishing hammer or better a slapper, will miniumise any more stretching of the panel. Feel the panel often with your hand and compare the repaired area to the otherside of the vehicle for the ideal surface you're after. Swankey Devils C.C. "Meanwhile, back aboard The Tainted Pork"
Looks like a good find. I just love auctions We go to as many as possible.Whatever you need or want it will eventually turn up at a auction somewhere. We even bought our shop and a 1600 sq ft store building at a tax auction. Auctions are where cash is king. If all else fails you might drill some holes right on the crease and use a short piece of angle (with a hole in the middle) behind the pannel and pull with a come along then weld the holes up after. OldWolf
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