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. |
mbseto |
Sep 24 2014, 03:18 PM
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#2
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1,253 Joined: 6-August 14 From: Cincy Member No.: 17,743 Region Association: North East States |
"Or you could fix it the right way...."
They've already rejected cutting off the back and replacing it with a straight one. But just out of curiosity, have you looked at many of the build threads here? I think I've seen every possible combination of cut-it-off, re-fabricate, and weld-it-on. I don't remember seeing many objections... |
rick 918-S |
Sep 24 2014, 05:40 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 |
"Or you could fix it the right way...." They've already rejected cutting off the back and replacing it with a straight one. But just out of curiosity, have you looked at many of the build threads here? I think I've seen every possible combination of cut-it-off, re-fabricate, and weld-it-on. I don't remember seeing many objections... I hope you don't take offense. This is flat text and easily misunderstood. I think I'm a lot less frank than the crusty one. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) But yes I have. As long as I have been around here with member # 43 I think I've seen a lot of it. I actually have contributed to many of the build threads with advise and even helped personally when I could. I've even talked some guy's off the ledge when they were in over their head and ready to throw in the towel. I've driven hundreds of miles with special tools to lend a hand. You may not know but I am a former collision/resto shop owner and have a Celette fixture bench used to repair fine German automobiles. I agree many guy's have cut and replaced sections and parts. But not in the manor in which you described. That is not straightening anything. It's rendering the chassis unrepairable. There is a big difference in cutting out rust damage and replacing the damage with used or new parts, and cutting a bent chassis and scabbing pieces of metal in gaps and calling it a repaired car. All your suggestion would do is make an unsafe car worse by altering the crush zones and weakening the chassis not to mention building in unpredictable and dangous handling. I think the tech guys would call it bricked. |
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