Body Work Help and Suggestions Please

[fryer1979]

Anyone have any good suggestions on how I can go about getting these dents out? I was going to just get a new hood and grill shroud, but finances as they are I'm going to have to try and fix these. I am not expecting perfection as I know my metal working skills are far from it; however, getting them a lot closer would be great. I have a basic hammer and dolly set, and am ok at bondo and fiberglass work. Any suggestions (short of "get a new hood") are welcome as I am new to this kind of work. Thanks.

[Captainfab]

On the grill panel, I would remove it from the truck, and pound it out from the backside. On the hood, there are a few different ways. If you have the ability to weld, you could 1) Cut that section from the hood, straighten it out and then weld it back in. 2) Cut out the support from behind the dent. Hammer the dent out and weld the inner support back in. 3) Get yourself a slide hammer type dent puller. With this tool, you drill small holes in the dented area and with a screw inserted into the slide hammer, screw it into the hole and using the sliding weight, pull the dent out little by little. When you're all done, weld all the holes up. A lot of guys don't weld up the holes and just add the body filler. Doing this allows moisture to get in from behind and comprimise your body work later on. A variation to the slide hammer/screw method, is what is called a stud gun. This is a tool that spot welds a stud onto the dented sheetmetal. Then a slide hammer with a collet type head is clamped onto the stud, and the dent is pulled out that way. When you're done you remove the studs, grind smooth and apply filler. You might check around and see if you can rent any of the tools I mentioned. To but the stud gun, they are around $300.00......

[LILRED66]

Good stuff Captainfab.

fryer, if you are a beginner or novice at body work and sheet metal fabrication, I would start by acquiring some "How To" books or videos on body work and sheet metal fabrications. Your local library also has a lot of this type of technical information. Additionally, if you really want to sink your teeth into learning the skills, check with your local Vocational Technical Training Center. Many of these places offer fully-equipped shops, knowledgeable staff members and are a very good, hand-on learning environment.

In the process of working out the dents on the compound curves of the hood and grille support, be careful to avoid stretching the metal, by wailing on it...rather short, low impact strikes with your body hammer & dolly, will bring slower, but better results.

[fryer1979]

Thanks guys.

All of the parts are currently removed from the truck, so access to the metal is about as easy as it can get. Unfortunately I have almost no welding experience, short of once using a stud gun and slide hammer to pull a stuck bearing race from a rear axle tube. I am anxious to learn though, and I am also very patient in addition to being a bit of a perfectionist. Guess I will go peruse the library and the local Summit store and see what I can find for guide books.

[Rich 5150 69]

You`ll find it easier to separate the hood at the seams, drill out the spot welds, then you`ll be able to hammer and dolly the hood back a lot closer, then reweld the original spots back in...it would be good hood to practice on..

[sixbangr]

like this, with a stud gun. Got mine off ebay. HF has one ,the gun is ok but the puller is not.

[Turkey]

I used to work with an old guy that had a motto "beat it to fit and paint it to match". I would not suggest you do that though, just thought you might be able to get a laugh as you have a long road ahead of you if you are going to tackle that rat's nest.

[SIR]

I'd check out C.L. for a better hood. Then if you really want to learn use your old hood to learn and practice with useing a torch and hammer and dolly work to get the results you want....good luck.

[Rich 5150 69]

Fryer you just missed a hood for $80, on CL, watch for ads from Colfax, he runs ads frequently.....

[fryer1979]

Originally Posted by Rich 5150 69

Fryer you just missed a hood for $80, on CL, watch for ads from Colfax, he runs ads frequently.....

Thanks for the heads up.

Right now cash is a big issue, and I'm going to need the little I have for things that really have to be replaced. I'm going to be going at this with what I have on hand or can borrow from some nearby friends (stud gun, welders, slide hammers, etc). As long as I take it slow and easy I can't make it much worse, plus I've got an old buddy of mine I've also been talking with tonight saying he will teach me a bit. Since I'll probably be splitting the seam on the hood, it may be a good time to learn how to fill seams and make that hood all one piece and smooth.

On that grill pannel. are there any tricks to help get that contour correct?