Body damage repair

[barlas]

Hello everyone. I have some rear body damage on my beloved spider.
I was wondering if I would be able to fix it myself. I'm thinking the panels are straight enough so that little filling + painting should do. Any help is appreciated.
btw I'm in Berkeley, CA, and I wouldn't mind paying a reasonable amount if you know anyone who can fix this.

[So Cal Mark]

ohhhhh, I'm not a body guy but you don't want to just fill that.

[azygoustoyou]

I have a parts car I can cut the rear side off if your interested. PM me.

[baltobernie]

Assuming "what lies beneath" is decent metal, that damage is quite repairable by a competent auto body man, with the proper tools and knowledge. I personally would not attempt such a job. Large, flat surfaces require a deft touch, a torch to shrink the beaten steel, etc. Looks like a bit of filler was used the last time, and that's a custom lower valence flare, possibly fiberglass.

That's a pretty car you have there; get it fixed correctly. Look for a smaller shop that isn't exclusively devoted to collision repair. If no Fiat owners step up, visit a local Show and Shine event and ask around. You might be able to lower the price by allowing the shop to work on the car in-between other jobs. I'll offer a SWAG of $1000 plus the lamp lenses (hope you don't need a new housing ), plus the red top coat, which is very expensive paint.

Get him some photos of the proper jack mounting bracket. Maybe do the bumpers next year. Not included in my Guess.

[barlas]

Thank you for the detailed reply. The housing is good. I'm hoping someone close to me can help me out. (or point me to the right guy to do it?) Since it seems that the job is beyond me.

[mdrburchette]

Where are you located? By the looks of the bumpers, it looks like a 72. It's possible you'll need to have the body pulled to original specs, which will cause some wrinkles in the metal to come out and help align the panels. That's way too much damage to just bondo over. Like Bernie says, you've got a nice car. It would be a shame not to have it repaired right.

[barlas]

I'm located in North Berkeley.

[majicwrench]

I do backyard bodywork on my own cars, and that looks quite fixable. A good body shop would make it look awesome, even a backyarder like me could make it acceptable, but filling is NOT the answer, it needs to all be smoothed knocked out with a hammer a deft touch, and a little creativty.
Keith

[barlas]

Actually I paid 2 italian guys a little money to make it straight. This is how much they were able to smooth it out with a hammer. It looks much better than before, but I'm not sure if it is enough. If anyone on this forum steps up to the job, I would gladly leave this to their hands. What body shops are asking is beyond me right now. But if I can't find a cheaper option, I will save up for it I guess.

[azygoustoyou]

Too bad your not close to NJ. I'd help you out.
Maybe you should buy yourself a body hammer and a flat profile like the ones from Eastwood. You could probably get them at harbor freight real cheap.http://www.eastwood.com/autobody/dent-r ... ndles.html
Take a board about 11" long and wrap it in sand paper. Take some black primer and spray your panel. Take the board and scuff over the panel. Look at where the paint didn't come off. That would be a low spot. That's where you'll take your profile in one hand. Hold it over the low spot and the body hammer which is flat in the other hand and tap from behind to bring out the low spot. Make sure you hit the panel square so you don't make another dent and hold the profile flat. First look at the panel and make sure the fender is out just right and not to far. You might have to tap some spots inward. Once you get the panel close to being pretty flat. Then you can go about filling in. This isn't as hard as you would think. Just be patient and look at the panel to see If it needs to come out or inward.

[azygoustoyou]

Hi Barlas,
These are the tools I was talking about. and a couple pic's that might help.



The first two would be the body hammer and profile. Next is a flexable sander. This tool is awesome and would make sure your panel is straight. It will flex with the body of the car. Just make sure you sand in all directions. It also grips the sandpaper at the ends. The next two items are a 11" and 24" Duroblocks. They are good for making sure your panels are straight. They stay flat. The best sand paper to get for them are the ones that have the adhesive on the back. Then you have the handheld block sander and a sanding sponge. If you have power tool options. You could use a die grinder or orbital sander. I also use a paint stirrer to wrap sand paper around to sand in tight areas.
If you look at the second pic. This is what I was talking about when you can use a little black primer on the panel. After sanding with the flex sander. It will reveal all the low spots as this shows. This would be where you could add more filler or if it's real bad. Tap it out more. If you can get the panel close to perfect. You'll save yourself a lot of money at a shop that could prep and spray it. If you have any questions, Pm me and I'll help you.
Don't forget your 3M sanding masks. You don't want to get sick.

[majicwrench]

Azy , a wonderful description of the process.
Keith

[boogiedude]

Is that an aftermarket rear valance? I've never noticed that on a spider before

[azygoustoyou]

Is that an aftermarket rear valance? I've never noticed that on a spider before

I'm guessing your talking to me.
I saw the price of replacing the OEM light assy. and thought I don't have $750 for them. So I decided to make it so I could add the bubble style corvette lights. With the cost of only about $100.