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Boot lid repair #3
3rd time a charm? |
I didn't take many pictures of this, probably because I was so disgusted with my prior results. After numerous attempts at spot repair on the inner panel of the boot lid, I could not get it to come out right; and by this time the panel had become bent and warped from excessive heat applications and metal hammering. So, I cut the entire panel out so that I could work with it on the benchtop or flat surface. You can see the cut out lines in this photo. I bolted pieces of 1X4 to the panel to hold it in place and make sure it was level with the outer portion of the boot lid while tack welding it in place.
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This actually took MUCH less time than my previous attempts trying to work the panel while in place. After a couple days of GENTLE massaging with a hammer, dolly, and smooth piece of hardwood, I got the inner section re-shaped, welded back in place and then spent many hours, several weekends in fact, final shaping high and low spots and adding filler to smooth it all out.
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A person with better body skills than I probably could have done this much better, but this turned out to be one of the most difficult, and certainly most time consuming body work to date; simply because there was no way to access the backside of the panel. It's like working on a box with no access to the inside. I had talked myself out of cutting the whole thing out numerous times, but it ended up being the best solution, I wish I had done it from the beginning. In case the pictures don't show it, the area I cut out and re-welded back in is the entire area around the two inner raised panels. This area had been pushed inward about a half inch, as though someone had hauled a load of concrete blocks or something. Removing this section also gave me access to the rest of panel, and I was able to hammer and dolly some smaller dents as well.
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