Any thoughts on undoing damage? (1 Viewer)

[american outlaw]

First things first.... I dont wanna talk about the bad day I had....

So as you can see I was driving and the tire decided it didnt wanna be apart of the team no more. The drum also jumped ship .

I am thinking my path forward is gonna be unbending what I can and building a custom bumper that wraps the corners (kinda like the high clearance tacoma bumpers).

What would you do in a situation like this? Weld in a new panel? Buff it out? Take it somewhere? Cry? Looking for inspiration and reasonable things to do

 

[archie73]

If you know how (and like) beat panels, it’s possible. However, panel replacement looks like an easier solution. It’s a rabbit hole though. Once you pull that panel, you’ll find more rust to fix. After doing that it might be painful to cut for the high clearance bumper.

 

[AgentOrange]

@archie73 said what I was thinking. On my 69, it was a long road of cutting and finding more and then cutting even more. I really questioned if I didn't want to just trim away the damage and turn it into something else. But bending that back and having it look correct is going to be a nightmare of a different sort. Panel replacement is going to be the option I would take

 

[archie73]

@archie73 said what I was thinking. On my 69, it was a long road of cutting and finding more and then cutting even more. I really questioned if I didn't want to just trim away the damage and turn it into something else. But bending that back and having it look correct is going to be a nightmare of a different sort. Panel replacement is going to be the option I would take

I was also wondering where the build direct was going. If I was building something to play in the rocks, I’d look into a comp cut.

Otherwise, if you’re looking more stock I can’t see a feasible plan but panel replacement.

 

[bhsdriller]

What does the rest of it look like?

Bending/hammering it out might match the look lol

 

[Jackson Hanes]

If you're handy, you could attempt to replace the panel, but as people have stated, it can head to something unhealthy.

I got one panel in 2 days, a few hours each day, and I'm nothing special.

 

[american outlaw]

What does the rest of it look like?

Bending/hammering it out might match the look lol

Overall the front clip looks good (earlier year hood cause split hoods are rad) currently no floor boards cause rust. The bed is rusty but solid...has some major rust in the upper fender wells under the roll bar mounts. Then the rear corners are eaten up like most old used and abused cruisers.

I think imma go with a modified competition cut on the rear just to make the repairs a bit smoother and naturally loose the rusty bits. I plan on slowly taking care of all of my rust problems. I'm mostly looking for a reliable adventure mobile not a pretty show peice.

As shown in photo not terribly rusty, but for sure not a clean body. Its gonna be a long slow process fixing her up

 

[graham5david]

Bend it as straight as you can. Cut the mangled stuff off. Put some diamond plate on until you replace the fender. Or replace the fender now. Get it mechanically solid before diving into the body too much.