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MG MGB Technical - Dented my car!

Oh bloody hell!

It never rains, but it pours.

Ran into the back of someone on my way home from work. Shattered the left headlight lens, slightly twisted the headlight mount and dented the front left corner of the wing. The headlight stuff I can sort out, but the dented wing is what is causing me concern. The dent isnt bad - maybe about an inch of movement at the worst, and affecting an area about 4 inches by 1 inch, It is right on the ridge that forms the far corner of the wing, and aginst the headlight aperture, the headlight wont sit properly unless it is knocked back into shape. My question is: what tools will I need to knock it out, and are there any techniques I should be aware of. I can get acess to behind the dent through the headlight aperture itself.

Car runs fine for 6 months, then all hell brakes loose!

Andrew
Andrew Hetherington

Andrew

Getting the fender back into original shape takes a bit of skill and the right hammers and dollies. Cost of good tools will probably approach that of a replacement fender. Get some quotes from local body shops.

I have been taking a 2 night a week auto-body class for almost a year and still have trouble getting the metal just right in my C restoration.

Larry
69 c
58 A
Lawrence Hallanger

Hi,

Its not the fender, its the body panel itself, the front wing. I was hoping I could could just knock it out with a hammer...
Andrew H

British(Wing) == American(Fender)

Agree with Lawrence that good metal work takes patience and practice. Unless you are willing to spend a good deal of time and money learning, and still end up with a job that doesn't look as good as a professional could do fairly quickly, pay someone else to do it. Having said that, I'm probably going to repair the (very minor) dent in my TF fender* myself. Just because I'm a glutton for punishment.

MB

*That's 'wing' for you folks in the UK
Mark B.

If you are going to replace the fender (wing) you might just as well have a go at it first. You can buy a small set of hammers and dollies for $20 from Harbor Freight if you were stateside. They can get you started. Most tools you can make if you have access to a grinder and some extra hammers. Remember to start dent removal opposite of the way the damage occured. If the dent went in front to back, remove it back to front. Every time you contact a dolly with a hammer and you hear a clear tone you are stretching the metal. You can shrink the metal back by heating it cherry red with a torch and quenching it with a wet rag. Get close as you can and finish with "bondo" and a finish putty such as "green stuff". You don't want the Bondo thicker that 1/8". If takes some practice but is not that difficult. It is not like frame straightening where mistakes are serious. If it doesn't work out buy a new panel and try to install it yourself. You can always pay someone to correct things. Have fun.
jim mindy

Andrew,
There are companies that do on site dent and chip repairs and a skilled guy can work wonders. I think the big companies in the UK are Dentmaster and Chipsaway. We have a local guy in Scotland who worked wonders on my wifes Golf when some B' hit it and did a runner. What looked like a lot of work took him about 1 hour and cost me £50 (Worth it in my opinion) and you wouldn't even know it'd been fixed!

Ian
Ian Johnston

Andrew,
As this seems to be your first foray into bodywork, if you fix it yourself, you have to accept the fact that you'll end up with a result that may not be satisfactory to you due to having stretched the metal. Then, you either live with it, buy a new wing, or pay a pro more to fix it than it would have cost originally. You really need the proper hammer and dolly for the job, and it would be ideal if you had something else to practice on first. If you do decide to tackle the job yourself, remember not to use too much force with the hammer, in order to avoid stretching the metal the wrong way. Not to discourage you from doing it yourself, but one's first try at bodywork rarely works out the way you want it to, from my experience.

Best, Joe
Joe Ullman

Andrew,
Two suggestions. Firstly, find a copy of the book "The Key to Metal Bumping." Eastwood Company have it -- http://www.eastwoodco.com/ and search for "metal bumping" $9.99USD here, not sure how much they'd charge to get it to you. You might be able to get it elsewhere as well. It was written in the '50s back before plastic body fillers, so the goal was to get the panel back in the best shape possible so you didn't have much filing (as in removing metal to remove surface defects, bu thinning the panel in the process...) or leading to do. The idea is to unfold a dent or crease in the reverse manner in which it happened, so that you add as little stress or trauma to the panel as possible. A little counter-intuitive perhaps, as most people's instinct (or at least mine) is to take a big hammer and start hitting whatever sticks out the most. It includes wonderful pictures of old '50s iron in interesting conditions. I read this book and was able to do some adequate dent straightening, and I'm a self-professed bodywork idiot. (Note: I am in no way associated with the Eastwood Co, except as an occasional customer...)

Secondly, go to a junk yard and buy some beat-up panels. Go home and practice practice practice. After you've done that for a while and gotten a feel for it, assess your skills and see if you want to tackle the B. If you don't feel comfortable, have a professional do it. If you don't have the time to learn, have a professional do it. Don't attack your wing without having first practised on something else unless you are resigned to replacing the wing and have nothing to lose by working on your original. Just my 2p

Hope this helps!
Rob Edwards

Andrew,

That corner of the wing is strong and lead loaded.

If the impact has lifted the lead off the steel you will get corrosion underneath eventually.

Take the car to a proper body shop and have the job done professionally by someone who knows how to lead load panels. If they say they don't do this nowdays, walk away till you find someone who does.

An alternative is to enrol on a body repair course at you local tech college and offer your panel to work on!
Chris Betson

Well, thanks for all the ideas.

In the end, as it was such a small thing, I did it myself. My dad had a range of hammers, and I could attack the dent from behind just by putting the wheel into full lock. It doesnt look too good, but its better and I can live with it. I also lost some hefty chip of paint and have sprayed on some anti rust undercoat. It wont look like it did, but it will do for the time being. Also had to replace headlight, so at least Ill be a bit brighter at night!

Andrew

PS: If fender is wing, what is American for bumper?
Andrew H

Andrew,

American for bumper is bumper.

Jim 74B Roadster
James Conner

This thread was discussed between 17/01/2002 and 20/01/2002

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