Air Cleaner Dent Repair

[ABQTBird]

I recently hooked up with a man not too far from me that has an early 62 Sports Roadster. I was skeptical at first, but he said he had the build sheet but did not show it too me. I did some checking myself using tips from a post by Alan Tast. It is build date 27J or September 27, was in the right sequence number, the color codes were Rangoon red with black vinyl and it had no skirts. The wire wheels were aged, but I did not count the spokes. I couldn't check the power seat as the battery was out. But I do believe it was authentic. Anyway, this guy is a bit elderly and is a professor at the University of New Mexico and has little time to work on it so, he retained me to work on his engine and engine compartment.

So the first thing I did was to take home this air cleaner to restore to Argent. However, as you can see, there is a nasty ding in the air cleaner. For you metal workers out there, how can I get this out? It seems to be in the worst place possible yet still accessible from the opening. Do I need to soften it with a torch? I have little experience in metal work. Should I price out a body shop instead?



Thanks,
Tom

[Alan H. Tast]

Tom:

I'm not an expert in metal work or dent removal, but the main thing to know is that to remove a dent you have to work backwards and push it out, reversing the action of how it was made in the first place. With that being said, if you could find a small pair of long-jawed welder's Vise Grips (the type with C-shaped jaws and ) that could fit inside the throat of the inlet and get them back to where the dent is, you might be able to work it back into shape if you can place a piece of flat bar on the outside for the outer jaw to clamp against, squeeze the dent out and then metal work it with a file to smooth it back into shape. You shouldn't need heat, but it couldn't hurt that much. Drilling a hole in the crease and using an old-fashioned dent puller just means you'll have to weld the hole shut and probably still have to pound on it with a hammer and then try to get some kind of a bodyman's spoon back into the cavity. You could also use a stud welder that bodymen use to pull dents from the outside.

By the time you get the tools needed to push/pull the dent out, you might be better off taking it to a body shop with the right tools to get it out - not sure what they'd charge, but maybe if you have a friend who'd do this for a 12-pack or something...?

[edpol]

It's in a bad spot, inaccessible without removing the baffle. You'll need a slide hammer, or a stud puller. In a case like this, I prefer slide hammers. Plus, if you don't have a stud puller, slide hammers are a lot cheaper. You'll also need body hammers. HF has some cheap ones that aren't all that bad. You should also be a somewhat skilled welder, being able to spot weld without burning holes through the steel.
The first thing is to get the paint off, at least 6" past all points of the dent. The metal must be clean.
1. With the lid removed, place the cleaner on piece of 2x10 or 2x12 a little longer than the diameter of the cleaner. Shim as needed to keep the cleaner flat.
2. Cut wood that fits inside the mounting hole. The thickness must be the same as the distance between the 2x and the inside of the cleaner. so you may need more than one piece. (Unless of course, you mill one piece) screw that into the 2x.
3. Now screw a piece of wood that's wider than the mounting hole, onto the center piece you just installed. This should be sufficient to hold the cleaner securely in place.
4. Drill a hole in the crease, near the top. Use the puller to gently pull out as much of the dent as you can, without pulling past the outside. better to be short than long. You may not need a hole in the center on such a small dent, so go to the bottom next. Pull until it's close, again, shorter is better.
5. Use a flat hammer GENTLY, to flatten out the top. A small indent is better than a high spot. Choose other hammers to do the side to keep it round. At this point, it should be close enough to weld the screw holes.
6. MIG or TIG are best to get heat control, but a stick welder will also work if you can get to 20a or lower. You want to fill the holes, and any indents, slightly higher than needed. Use a flap disc on an angle grinder to smooth it out. 220 grit or finer will give you more control.

There are easier ways, i.e. bondo or lead filler, but for an SR, this is a better alternative, IMHO. It will pass any magnet test.
Now, if you want to be brave, you could remove the baffle, and use hammers and dollies to bang out the dent, then spot weld the baffle back in.

[ABQTBird]

Thank you gentlemen for your responses. I will try what Alan suggested first. Edpol, unfortunately I do not have access to welding equipment, but I do like your mounting suggestion. That is very creative. However, I will peruse the Harbor Freight website for ideas, related to both of your responses. I have been considering getting a welder, but do not know what to choose. They have a 90A wire flux welder for about $100. Would that be a useful tool or not? It has very high ratings and looks like it would be fine for light duty work. I'll get the dent out as close as I can and fill it with Bondo. So far, this is going to be a cosmetic driver restoration. I am hoping that the guy will eventually let go of it into my hands.

Tom

[novanutcase]

Can you get a 1/2" diameter stick in there? Preferably one with a rounded end like the end of a broom handle. If you can you can, secure the air cleaner, put the rounded tip on the dent and start tapping on it until you are able to bang the dent out. You won't be able to get it perfectly straight so there is going to be some bondo work depending on how perfect you want it.

John

[Alan H. Tast]

Can you get a 1/2" diameter stick in there? Preferably one with a rounded end like the end of a broom handle. If you can you can, secure the air cleaner, put the rounded tip on the dent and start tapping on it until you are able to bang the dent out. You won't be able to get it perfectly straight so there is going to be some bondo work depending on how perfect you want it.

John

I should've thought of that...a smaller-diameter hardwood dowel rounded off on the end would probably be easier to handle and could get into the cavity further.

[ABQTBird]

Your ideas have me thinking now. I have these steel rods with rounded tips that are used to tighten a garage door torsion spring. I just don't know if there is enough swing to get up the momentum to knock out the dent. I may play around with it a bit later. I'll will see what happens.

The more expensive plan would be to get one of these, although, since I am being paid for this, it would come out of my pocket, but could be useful for my own bird body. http://www.harborfreight.com/stud-welde ... 61433.html

[Joe Johnston]

I would try any creative way possible to drive the dent out from the backside before trying a welded stud. This area is strong and will need a bit of force to restore the shape - stud guns are great on a larger flat panel, but I don't think this is the application.

[ABQTBird]

Thanks for the heads up Joe. Dang thing looks like someone took a hatchet to it. They probably got mad after hitting their head on the hood pins for the third time

[tbird]

Tom
I would not consider any flux core welder it is not for bodywork TIG is the best but the average guy uses a MIG welder infinite ranges are the best allows any set point on wire speed or heat range.

[ABQTBird]

Thanks Jim, I would not have known. I'll have to do some reading about welding. I know practically nothing about it.

[Joe Johnston]

I would not consider any flux core welder it is not for bodywork TIG is the best but the average guy uses a MIG welder infinite ranges are the best allows any set point on wire speed or heat range.

Absolutely! Virtually NO splatter with gas shielded TIG and the control is very precise enabling you to weld very thin material. A decent TIG welder is a valuable asset in any shop because of the variety of materials and thicknesses that can be welded. It may seem to be a bit expensive, but like most tools you get what you pay for and once you have it for a while, you will wonder how you ever got along without one. I have both TIG and MIG and seldom have used the wire welder (MIG) in the last 20 years.

[sseebart]

Thank you gentlemen for your responses. I will try what Alan suggested first. Edpol, unfortunately I do not have access to welding equipment, but I do like your mounting suggestion. That is very creative. However, I will peruse the Harbor Freight website for ideas, related to both of your responses. I have been considering getting a welder, but do not know what to choose. They have a 90A wire flux welder for about $100. Would that be a useful tool or not? It has very high ratings and looks like it would be fine for light duty work. I'll get the dent out as close as I can and fill it with Bondo. So far, this is going to be a cosmetic driver restoration. I am hoping that the guy will eventually let go of it into my hands.

Tom

When I had to weld up the floor pans in my 64, I bought one of these and spent a few weeks practicing:

http://www.longevity-inc.com/mig-welders/migweld-140

The pans came out ok (solid, but not pretty; I'm glad they are hidden under the carpet there). But having the welder around--and some experience* to go with it--means I'm now able to fabricate some parts (clutch linkage for my truck) and fix rust repair in visible areas (hoods, dashboards, etc.)

While I would love to have a TIG setup, they were out of my price range--this little welder has been versatile and reliable.

~Steve

*Experience--the thing you get just moments after you needed it!

[edpol]

Tig is best, but expensive. Mig is second best, but you need to be shielded from any wind, AND, you need one that can produce 24 amps or less. Third, I'd go with a stick welder that can be adjusted to low amps. It'll be very difficult to find a flux core that goes low enough to prevent burn through.
Welded stud slides are great, but not for this situation. Screw types are better. Like I said, it's in a bad place, but if you can get most of it out from the inside, do it.
If you don't have a welder, you could fill indentations and holes with a variety of fillers that use a propane torch. I've used them, they work well, but I don't know how long they hold up. Then there's lead free solder - these are safe replacements for lead filler. (Old tech, but still used) The kits are nice, but all you really need are the paddles, tinning butter, and the solder itself. Eastwood sells the products needed, but search online for better deals.
All of these are better choices than bondo for vintage cars.

[ABQTBird]

Here is what I have so far. I fashioned a prying tool out of the garage door spring tool and was able to reach in an with a lot of tapping got it worked out to the point where I can do a little more shaping with a light grind and then fill with plastic. I tried to use some solder as filler but I couldn't figure out how I could fill the top and side with gravity working against me.