Auto Body Repair Book Recommendations?

Hello!

I've got a wide range of work to do on my Rambler Wagon. Everything except rust repair! Whoooohooo!

I might be able to BS my way to fixing small dents and dings, but I've got some areas that are pretty much smashed in and need to be pulled out somehow.

I'm not a complete beginner, but anything beyond a light repair, I'd ask for some help or advice from friends.

Veteran bodymen, besides on-the-job-training, have there been any books you have liked?

Thank you
Pike

 

Did body work for years, never had a how to book available. But now that I have a computer I can find stuff like this. You should try it.

http://www.autorepairmanuals.biz/site/573683/product/080197898X

 

I found that the body repair stuff, especially hammer-and-dolly stuff, was confusing to learn from a book. Enter DVD.
I got one from technicalvideorental.com that showed the nitty gritty on smoothing metal with a hammer-and-dolly and it helped me understand the concepts much better as well as understanding things like how much and how hard, which no book can teach.
Ron Covell's Basic Techniques for Working with Steel was my ace.

Also, I've got a bunch of books on bodywork and the most useful, believe it or not, was the BIG Chilton's Auto Body Repair Guide. You need to skip through their 'examples' as they all assume that you're in a bodyshop and being paid by an insurance company to do a half-assed job, the last third of the book is great though and combined with the video above, I generally have a pretty good idea of where to get started when I look at a mess nowadays.

Are you gonna do rust repair? If so, you're gonna need a welder and a shitload of scrap. I started on 22g (much thinner than any old car) and now that I'm proficient at hammer-welding that into 'perfect repairs', 18g is a snap.

I was told on this board that you can't learn to f*ck or weld by watching videos and Brian Angus was right about that to a point, but you can use them to get started and then learn on your own through experimentation. A certified old-school hot rod guy who 'doesn't use electric welders like you young guys' gave my hammer welding on 22g a pass a few weeks back, so that's encouraging...

 

www.paintucation.com are great videos. I had never done body and paint in my life. Heres my first job after watching the video's and asking questions.
http://groups.msn.com/SixtyEightFirebird/1968firebirdmyfirstone.msnw
Now I am getting into what I always have had on my back burner.
http://groups.msn.com/SixtyEightFirebird/1929whippet.msnw

 

the covell stuff is good. I recommend it.

one thing I bought that improved my metal working skills a great deal was the shrinking disc from sunchaser tools. it comes with a poorly made video which I dare anyone to watch straight through in one sitting without getting a headache or falling asleep.

but somehow there is a wealth of information in there on how to straighten bent sheetmetal. you just need to watch the video a few times to get it all. and the shrinking disc is a great tool. better than great...

I been smacking metal around for quite a while. read every magazine article, several books, watched the covell videos and the best thing was the shrinking disc and video.

where there is a dent, the metal has been stretched. if you do not shrink it back you will never get it perfect. you can sculpt it back to look really good, but shrinking is the way to go.

 

Hey,


Yeah, as the books go, two of the best are : "Automotive Body and Fender
Repairs" by C.E. Packer and "The Key to Metal Bumping" by Frank T.
Sargent. Both of these were written before plastic filler fucked up the
trade- virtually overnight, any former shoe salesman who could mix putty,
was a "METAL MAN"!
Both of these books, although a little tough ta find, cover basic bumping,
dinding, pick and file work and solder (leading) work.
I can't tell ya a damn thing 'bout tapes or bvds.

Swankey Devils C.C.

 

"Automobile Sheet Metal Repair" By Robert L. Sargent is a must have.

 

Last I checked, you could get "The Key to Metal Bumping" from Eastwood. I have it, it's excellent. The first edition was published around 1937, and final version, "updated" for modern cars, has a copyright date in the early 50's! It will improve your dent repair skills by 100% overnight.

 

Auto Body Repair by Chilton? Are you kidding?

 

Thanks for the great post! Maybe I'll have to look for the Chilton's deal.

I'll try to get that DVD. (Ron Covell's Basic Techniques for Working with Steel)

Good luck with your work. Lucky for me, no rust repair on this job.
Pikesan

 

I had never heard of a shrinking disc before. I'm going to check it out. Thank you very much!