Well my stupidity claimed the life of my '47 Fleetline's trunk yesterday. Long story and I'll spare the details but it involves me, a 3/4 ton Chevy truck, a patch of ice and a sloped driveway. The end result is I 'kissed' the trunk of my '47 and pushed the center and top section of the trunk handle and license plate bracket area in. My question is, is there a way to get the dimpled area on top of the decklid (near the license support bracket mounting hole) to pop back and keep 'oil canning' back in? Its probably more of a project than I can tackle and the car needs bodywork someday anyway...but I want to make this boo-boo a little less obvious if possible. My wife is ready to kill me. She saw the whole thing in slow-motion and has now confirmed that I'm a total idiot. Thanks for whatever advice you all can offer.
If you don't know what you are doing with this, I wouldn't do any more. I suppose you could take it almost anywhere and they'll tap it in here and there, then mud it up. I'd find someone that knows what they are doing and will straighten it, with little or no plastic. Where do you live?
Thanks everyone for the advice. I guess I could pop off the panel and try a few shops. I don't want to mess this up any more than it is. 66 years without an accident and I'm the asshole that screws it up.
Hey Daryl, Here's how I repair your deck lid- Wash any dirt or grit from the panel. Next take a heat gun, and gently warm the paint surrounding the damage. The heat will enable the old finish to flex and move without cracking. Now take a your hand and run it across the damage, and feel for the high areas ( those areas that are above normal conture of the panel ) and mark them with a piece of chalk . Now take a piece of 1'' X 4 '' lumber and a hammer and tap those high areas down using the wood to spread the hammer blows, DO NOT hit the painted surface with a steel hammer, you'll damage the paint, and/or stretch the metal causing further '' oil canning "! The above action '' should " have removed a good portion of the damage, and now you're ready to work the low areas of the panel, those areas that didn't pop up to normal conture. I'm guessin this deck lid has a double panel behind it and access to the back area of the damage isn't great? Usually these panels have holes in them you can insert tools through, look for those holes. You may wanna heat and bend an old ''two-fisted'' screwdriver into a kinda ''c'' shape, and grind or file the sharp edges off it. Insert the ''tool'' into the hole on the backside of the panel, and locate one of the low areas, and gently pry up whyle watching the result. With a good deal of careful effort you should be able to raise most all the damage without breaking to finish and just rehang the handle. Go slow and only pry if/when the panel is moveing in the right direction. If this is the only vehicle you've ever damaged, you've lead a charmed life, if your wife calls you an idiot, tell her " look who she married ''? " Humpty Dumpty was pushed "
Pimpin- Thank you so much for the detailed advice. I have left it alone so far as the weather got colder and I've spent 2 days straightening out the chrome handle & license bracket assembly while I strategized. I really think I can work it some and it will come back without much effort. I will play with your 2x4 suggestion and see what happens. The high spots are still there when I rub the panel. I know what you mean. I didn't whack at those at all yet. Just pulled what I could. For the tools, I did wrap a small prybar with a rubber hose and I got two smaller dents to pop by sneaking it in between the support panel (below the latch area.) That seemed to work just fine and no paint was disturbed. I also know that I don't want to make it worse...Hell the whole thing will get painted someday. LOL @ the wife bit. She's going easy on me so far this week. This car isn't the only one I've damaged but let's say its the only one I give a rip about. The LeSabre Landau coupe that I BBQ'd in high school was a little easier to forget
pop the fucker off and bring it down over the weekend, my shops in the springpatch airport. (I assume your in Ill-annoyed.) I'll show you how to do it and I promise I wont laugh to hard if you mess up. I can fix it if you do. Price will be somewhere south of a million bucks.....
Just wanted to publicly thank Da Tinman for his work on my decklid and the offer to show me the error of my ways. Dents are popped and its ready for a skim coat and some paint...or if you're me clean it up and throw it back on. Dimpled license bracket hole is now back where it should be! I can't speak more highly of the guy, thanks again for your help Jay! You saved my bacon, and I appreciate your time & advice!
Thanks for the thanks! Not a big deal to show you as any craftsman should feel obligated to pass tips, tricks and knowledge onto others to keep the art alive and flowing to those that deserve the legacy. You guys are welcome to stop back anytime!
Before you guys start putting me to high up on the pedestal I did over-charge him for the knowledge. He owes me a lunch.
This is true...and thanks to you I thought of horseshoes all the way home. We'll have to remedy that shortly, my friend. For folks outside Central IL a horseshoe is the best sandwich concoction ever invented.
Now the damn Union shop cats are the ones that overcharge at Jay's place. Can't let them write the ticket.
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