body repair

[redcars]

When I was young I tied the car to a big tree and then pulled with a tractor. Worked go as long as you have good clutch skills. I have much better tools now with better control. I just depends on what you have and what you can afford. I would go slow and see how it goes.

[7590jim]

closest thing to a tractor would be a 4 wheeler that i have access to. i think i will stick with the jack though

[azruss]

a front collision in a VW bug created a fold at the top of the front wheel wells. I would pull the front bumper and bolt a couple of big eyelets in its place. wrap a chain around a telephone pole and back up at about 3 mph. Do this twice and the front fenders were good to go.
this technique could be used on the fiat by tying the chain into the headlight bucket. count on replacing the headlight bucket when you are done. it will accomplish the same thing as jacking in an hour vs 4-6 hours with a jack. still will have lots of hammer work to do.

[7590jim]

i used the bottle jack some more tonight. the big issue i am seeing at the moment is a crease up by the headlamp. it seems like a hammer and blunt chisel-like implement would work best because of the tight quarters and inability to get a jack in there.

[majicwrench]

At this point you can't hurt much...just go slow. Again, in my backyard bodywork, a tight crease often need to be cut with a cutoff wheel to remove some of the stretched metal, then pounded out, a few tack welds, then bondo.
Give it heck.

[azruss]

this is where you get creative and make your own dolly. get yourself a piece of flat bar about the thickness of the space. shape it match the curve. now weld a big nut or something on the inside that you can push on with the jack. This allows you to push on a point the jack cant reach. That point of impact has been seriously stretched and will be a fill area.

[7590jim]

unfortunately i don't have access to a welder, although that would make things much easier. i'm thinking a pry bar or a nail puller and a hammer tapping may at least be a good start to get the crease out for what i have.

[7590jim]

here's an update as of yesterday's work

[124JOE]

use a come along to pull it out
then you are watching it come out
not guessing where to stop
at the body shop they chain the car to the floor then pull slowly

you could buy a new headlight bucket
then try straightening the body part behind where it gets welded

get some beer and go get the neihbor

[rontron2012]

you experts out there ever encountered pounding out too much and stretching the metal beyond the flat surface......I did that to my panel right behind the door........I was thinking of learning the shrinking technique to get it back where it needs to be ............any thoughts out there...?

[majicwrench]

Experts?? Where?? I'm talkin serious backyard bodywork. I've been a professional mechanic for almost 35 years, but know nothing of professional bodywork.
Jim. methinks you will find that a scissor jack fits in better than a bottle jack. If you need a scissor jack any wrecking yard has a zillion of em. They are super handy for tons of things, get a couple. Use a hunk of 2x4 or 1x4 or plate steel to protect the fender.
Some wonderful input from the "experts", build creative dolly, the come-along could work wonders.
What you show in the last pic you should be able to get out fairly well.
Was impact from front or side?? If from front, you are almost certainly gonna have to pull fender back forward, either the "tree and chain" method or "come-along"
Keith the non-expert

[124JOE]

you experts out there ever encountered pounding out too much and stretching the metal beyond the flat surface......I did that to my panel right behind the door........I was thinking of learning the shrinking technique to get it back where it needs to be ............any thoughts out there...?

try some dry ice to shrink that metal
go to the theater and look for "dip and dots"they are shiped in dry ice
and they may give you some free

the pros dont push it out past flush if anything they push it in and fill with bondo

[azruss]

shrinking metal is a black art. standard proceedure is to heat and swell the panel with a torch and then quench the panel with cold water. This does shrink the panel but it also warps the panel. by the time you get the warp out, you are right back to where you started. I watched a guy remove "oil canning" by moving the metal laterally with a shrinking hammer. I've never been able to do this successfully. If the stretching is very local, a shrinking hammer can work. the big issue with dollies is they are hard steel where they should be soft lead. when you get down to the fine detail, do not use a dolly, this is where the stretching occurs. try wood or UHMW as a backer, or better yet, nothing at all. remember with pounding out a panel, the fewer strokes the better.