Which comes first: Straightening the tub or structural rust repair? |
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Which comes first: Straightening the tub or structural rust repair? |
doug_b_928 |
Aug 28 2014, 06:16 AM
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#1
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 692 Joined: 17-January 13 From: Winnipeg Member No.: 15,382 Region Association: Canada |
I've been disassembling my car and getting a better sense of what happened to it before my ownership. I think the car was hit on the left rear corner. It doesn't appear that it crumpled much at all. In fact, the left taillight assembly was re-used (the black plastic on the end is missing a 1 cm piece and there's a crack in the middle of the black plastic on the back). There's also a really bad bondo repair about the diameter of an average hand by the tailight. So I don't think much crumple-type of damage was done. But, that hit must have somehow twisted the chassis by either pushing the left rear down and/or pushing the right rear up. There is a big difference in height left to right when looking at the rear end (like 1 -1.5"). The suspension ear on the right is 4mm higher than the one on the left. The latter might even be within factory spec, no? Also, the distance between the trunk channels on the rear fenders is within spec for the front half, but the back half progressively narrows to being 1.5cm too narrow.
The longs, rockers, firewall and hell hole are shot and the door gaps by the door handles are too big (8-9mm). So, I'm wondering, (aside from the option of scrapping it), do I get the chassis straightened before metal surgery, or after surgery on the main structural parts? I could see the former tearing the car apart, and the latter creating imperfections in the newly repaired work. |
doug_b_928 |
Sep 22 2014, 09:35 AM
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#2
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 692 Joined: 17-January 13 From: Winnipeg Member No.: 15,382 Region Association: Canada |
I had a local expert take a look this weekend. Setting aside for the moment his conclusion that this car is "not a candidate for restoration," he did have a good idea for how to fix the twist. The rear suspension points differ at the most 1/4" side to side. The twist is almost entirely before the shock towers. So, his idea is to cut-off the back end of the car before the shock towers and replace with a donor. I've seen pics of repairs up to the trunk crossmember, but would this work with a butt weld straight across all the way coming to just behind the shock tower area?
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rick 918-S |
Sep 22 2014, 05:52 PM
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#3
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Hey nice rack! -Celette Group: Members Posts: 20,456 Joined: 30-December 02 From: Now in Superior WI Member No.: 43 Region Association: Northstar Region |
I had a local expert take a look this weekend. Setting aside for the moment his conclusion that this car is "not a candidate for restoration," he did have a good idea for how to fix the twist. The rear suspension points differ at the most 1/4" side to side. The twist is almost entirely before the shock towers. So, his idea is to cut-off the back end of the car before the shock towers and replace with a donor. I've seen pics of repairs up to the trunk crossmember, but would this work with a butt weld straight across all the way coming to just behind the shock tower area? Sorry, No. If I ever get started on my video you will very shortly realize how far the damage can and did travel in a unitized chassis. But for starters. Bolt a bird cage to your work bench. Then lightly push on one of the bars. How many flex and move? Now push hard enough to bend one of the bars. Now check the bars on the other side of the cage. Are they in the same vertex or now arched from the tension created by the bent bar on the opposite side? Grab the top and twist it right to left. Does the top only move or are the bars twisting all the way to the base? Same principle. Cutting off what the eye see's and what you THINK is damaged leaves an unrepairable car in the end. You are talking about a chassis that is measured to 3mm tolerance. Your eye can not detect three thicknesses of a dime in 3'. If you have a noticeable twist you can see with the naked eye the damage traveled well beyond the end of the trunk. If the guy you talked to is a self proclaimed expert then he is either a good salesman or you misunderstood him entirely. BTW: I'm no self proclaimed expert but I will be staying at the Comfort Inn tomorrow night. |
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