body/chassis work stuff

[vze28h54 at verizon.net (Chris)]

At 02:14 PM 09/30/2004 -0400, Allyn wrote:
>>If this is for the Twin, get a professional bodyman (woman?)
>
>not for twin, twin body is near-perfect, nothing some very thin filler in 
>a few spots couldnt fix at least.
>
>>A retired bodyman is a really good choice. His wife wants him out of her 
>>way and he wants to get away from the nagging.  He can do a better job in 
>>an hour, without really trying, than you can do in a week, while you are 
>>*really* trying.
>
>erm, by chance, are you a body man with a disgruntled wife?

Not a bodyman.  and you don't have to be a bodyman to get nagged, nor does 
a wife have to be disgruntled. It is just one of the techniques they use to 
keep men in line.  (You do know that in preparation for marriage women take 
a course in nagging, don't you?)

>>The first few jobs are likely to look like shite.  Do it the efficient 
>>way - beg!
>
>well, i have nothing pressing i need to beg for (see my prior post about 
>the caddy though, its has a few dents in the sides of the bed).

If it is for your personal car then a volunteer is harder to get.  A lot of 
guys who race have volunteers who have expertise in transmissions, rear 
axles, etc, and for stock car racer (where metal to metal contact, without 
penalty, seems to be as common as turning left)  body and paint men.

As for heat shrinking body sheetmetal, heating a small area with an 
acetylene torch to a dull red/orange and then quickly cooling with water 
(often gently squeezed form a wet sponge) or compressed air will shrink the 
metal. (If you shrink too much, use a hammer and dolly to spread the metal 
out again.)  There are several Websites that deal with metalshaping that 
will be good resources.  Eastwood has info on products for bodywork and 
probably some books and videos if you need more than you can find on the 
net. Good luck.  Let us know how it goes.

Chris


>Al
>
>
>>>
>>>- does anyone on the list have any good intel on dent removal / 
>>>straightening. not the heavy duty stuff (hydraulic rams), but the light 
>>>duty stuff, where you finesse the dents out of sheet metal. i know its 
>>>an 'acquired art', but i cant acquire anything unless i have some 
>>>base-line knowledge on which actions yield which results, and which 
>>>tools are available / are the right tools for the job. i'm trying to 
>>>avoid the drill-300-holes-in-the-fender-and-slide-hammer-to-death 
>>>methods. i'm also looking for the funky knowledge, like how you can use 
>>>heat/cooling to shrink a slightly bulged section (that had been 
>>>previously slide hammered to death), working kinked seams out, etc. i 
>>>know this stuff is possible, as i saw the miracle work done on steve 
>>>szubas callaway fender. i swear it looked factory (along with that 'life 
>>>in a bubble' look that steves rocco has).