So, it goes without saying that I'm not a body man, nor do I claim to be. I have some experience and a slight idea what to do, but I suck at it and I'm doing the best I can. I bought this car for $100.00 and I'm not gonna drop a ton of money into it to fix it up. So don't flame too hard plz!

Anyway, here's what I was dealing with.


Drunk hit it. Best idea I had to get both sides even was to roll a piece of metal to fit the passenger side, then use it as a template for the drivers side.

Passenger side:


Drivers side after I've tweaked on it:




Now here's an issue I have, which I kinda figured out what I'm gonna do on the way to work this morning.
But first, pics.



What you are looking at is obviously the fill neck/cap area. When the drunk n00b hit this car, it smashed in the drivers side. Well, when it did, it BENT the fill neck/pipe that goes into the actual fuel tank, which since there's a solid piece of pipe going into the tank, I couldnt pull the dent out of this area.
So I removed the 3 10mm nuts that secured the pipe to the body panel and I was able to pull MOST of it out...

Dunno how much more I can get.

Anyway, you see the problem/s that I have. Now that the panel is pulled out some, I can no longer put the nuts back in place to bolt the panel to the fill pipe flange.

So, my solution is I will make a couple of pieces to use as a bushing of sorts to slide in between the flange with the studs and the actual panel. Then I will use some gasket material of some kind and seal it, so no fumes will get inside t3h car.

Unless you have a better idea, thats all I have.


Here's a pic of where I am right now.

Compared to how it was when I bought the car.

Solid progress me thinks!

Now I know there is a lil rivet welder thingy that would be tons better than drilling holes, but I had no money to buy one

My question is: How do I get the rest of the dent pulled out in this pic?


If I go much farther, I won't be able to get any threads on a nut on the studs on the fill flange. But I need to come out more. Should I just keep shimming it untill I get it out enough and epoxy it into place? I doubt I'll ever mess with this again when I'm done.

Also, should I weld the holes shut or just use filler to fill them in? I'm going to use Duraglass stuff, not Bondo, so it's higher quality. Not that I'm doing high quality work.


And finally, any suggestions on anything else I should do or what I should have done differently?

Thanks.

 

Its going to be really hard to line the body back up, not to mention the all the bondo job. I would just find another quarter panel from a junk yard and weld it on.

 

It's like $130.00 for a rear quarter. I've gone this far, I might as well finish. I know it won't be perfect, but it'll be better than what it was.

it's not a show car or anything, just a lil beater I drive back N forth to work, ya know? I just want it to look better than it does now

 

drill some holes inside of the gas door area and pull that out as well?

or maybe even try pulling right around the edges of the gas door-

the only thing I see being a problem is high spots when you are finishing the panel.

I bet you could get it looking good- it might take a while but you can do it

 

can you tell me about the performance of the vehicle and how long will the paint become dry?

 

i say start from scratch... get a new quarterpanel. that one is toasted... something no beginner could attack on his own without the help of a metal worker. all the stretched metal needs to be shrunk. as far as getting the body lines and shape back... i doubt you'll know how. even then u probably wouldnt have total access from behind to even do so. with all those holes u put in the quarterpanel u created more work for yourself. the proper thing to do is weld them shut not cover them... and whether u weld them or fill them.. u will need to do something with corrosion protection or it'll just rust away. but since its a beater and u just wanted it to look better then it did be4.... i would've left it how it was lol

i wouldnt rule out u having structural damage either.

 

scrap it for parts the thing is a piece.

 

Cool thing about body work, is the finish product is totally related to how much time is spent. I may end up getting a lil help, but I'll get it lookin good. My main concern is getting the panel pulled the rest of the way out. I know how I can do that now so I'm not worried! Even if I can't get the body lines perfect.... It'll end up looking better than what I started out with, for sure!

Yeah, I'm going to throw away a perfectly good running car that I have less than $500.00 invested in that gets 30+ MPG and is relatively fun to drive?

No way! I freaking love this thing. The fact I paid $100.00 and drive it out of the dudes yard makes me smile every time I think about it.

The interior of this this is in awesome shape. Seats need cleaned (or replaced) which is cheap/easy enough. But thats it. The AC system is there, just need a new pressure switch and I need a new cruise control brain. With those 2 things, I have a perfectly running and functioning car.


I even installed a sub/amp yesterday



Being negative solves nothing
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I fixed the fill pipe problem with the help of my dad. The pipe is bolted down with (1) 10mm bolt. With that removed, I could slide the pipe to the panel! Go dad!

As far as the holes, I'm going to fiberglass behind them and I'll prep the metal so it won't rust through.

 

......damn noobs

But yes, besides the quarter panel the overall of the car is nice. If u decide to go this route yes, just like u said prep the metal good. Try to use as little body filler as possible and i see u have a build thread for this, keep us updated.

 

your on a very LOOOOOONG road there man....a new rear 1/4 is the only way that you are going to be able to get that to where it wont be noticable.

 

It's probably never gonna be perfect because, you're right, a new 1/4 is the way to go but I'd be in the same boat I'm in now. No $$ to pay somebody and no ub3r sk1llZ to fix the dent properly. I just have to do the best I can with what I have to work with, ya know?

A progress update!

Before:


Where I am now:


I lowered it too Once I get my new fuel door, I'll start using filler and go from there. I would have started on fiberglassing the holes (from the rear) but I ran out of gloves and need some more.

Moar updates as I progress.

Any help on techniques I can use is most appreciated. Telling me I need to junk it or that I can't do it isn't conducive to anything because I'm not junking it and I'm going to do the best I can with what skillz I have... which aren't many

 

start at one end and get it as close as you can and start workin your way to the other end. i would weld the holes. the duraglass stuff could crack over time. your not going to get it perfect but it will look alot better then be4.

every where you drilled the holes, i bet are going to be high spots.

 

I've thought about welding them up. I have the ability to get it done.

And it's not going to be a show car so anythings better than it was

 

ya. it looks a lot better than it did. honesty i think you started on something that is not on your skill level but you doing a good job on it. just take your time and dont get into a rush and you will get it the way you want it.

 

if you can weld them i would. also try not to use alot of body filler. i no some spots you can get behind it and hit it out it there are some really low places.

 

I would have just cut out the area and replace with a good section from the junk yard your going to have a crap load of bondo there.

 

Bondo isn't touching this car, I'm going to use Duraglass. Not going t3h cheap route on body filler this time.