Dino Saga 060806___De-Ding Right door really needed something done. I am lousy at working metal with a hammer but gentle bending Im willing to try. I've pushed out many bumps, never perfectly but well enough to make the car look good at first glance. They accumulate and all get fixed professionally at one time. As long as you dont stretch the metal any more than has already happened, the pros dont mind too much. Pulled the inner panel and took a look. The opening above the speaker was plenty big enough to get a hand in and feel the bump. About 2 in diameter and about 3/16 deep at center. Inner surface was very rough. Felt like a very dry thick primer coat. Well, a little padding is not bad. Got a foot long piece of pine trim and gently rounded one end. No sharp edges anywhere. Pushed all around bump and watched reflections. Surface moved easily. Never used a hammer, just hand and arm pressure. Worked around the center dimple and it popped up. Ding was only ¾ in diameter now and pushing pretty hard didnt move things much. Decided that I ought to quit a winner. The scratches in the clear coat were still visible but the dent had faded into the patina. Meguiares Scratch X and a little elbow grease got rid of the scratches. It was time to put the door back together. Start to finish, including photos, a little over an hour. Dino body is very thin, very mild steel. Dents easy and does not work harden too fast. Easy to weld. Both doors are rusted out along the bottom edge and they will get repaired during the next paint. I am real happy with the window seals I installed a while back. The original fuzzy seals never touched the glass over much of the length. The new rubber lip is tight all the way along and nothing gets down into the door. Wish I had changed 20 years ago. Would have been no rust. Santa Barbara is about as mild as you could want but washing is where the real problem is. While I was in the door I looked at the radio antenna and took a picture. That has worked very well. Original radio antenna was in right rear fender. Cable was routed alongside the coil. Dumb! Noise and lousy reception. Short cables work better. Perfect spot was just ahead of door. Holes in fender, shield, door sill were easy. Cable and speaker wires go over glove box direct to radio. Plugged hole in rear fender. Antenna is made from 2 Radio Shack antennas. Base is from one. Zink casting with 2 piece ball for adjusting tilt. Cut off and threw away antenna itself. Stainless whip with ball end is second antenna. Cut whip, bent bottom 90 degrees and cut to fit into ball. Moto tool modified base as required. Mounted as far forward as possible and made sure the whips ball end would not poke out passengers eyes when getting in and out. Whip is 24 long and just over 3 away from car body. Reception is fine. Took more time to crop and title the pictures than to work on the car. Now its time to drive again, with head held high. John . Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
John, I am WAY in favor of most of your unorthodox repair methods, but I think in this case I would have sprung for paintless dent repair & used a pry bar to get the $80 out of my wallet to have it done to perfection That said, all 3 of the vehicles in my stable have at least one ding that I've been meaning to get serviced...
(Quote, David_S)John, I am WAY in favor of most of your unorthodox repair methods, but I think in this case I would have sprung for paintless dent repair & used a pry bar to get the $80 out of my wallet to have it done to perfection(quote) David, I did not show any close ups of the bottom of that door. I am going to have to replace about 2" of steel just above the bottom edge. Plan on doing it this fall when I close the pool for the winter. I run a swim club from May though September and the Dino is my company car and do anything machine. Just wanted to get rid of an awful zit that stood out like a sore thumb. If the ding was the only problem, I would have done it right. As it is, there are a half dozen small dings, the rusted out area, and things I am sure we will find when the door is off the car. I will leave the fine repair to the pros. I will never notice the additional repair of my repair on the final bill. Neither will they. John
