I just got a 77 to replace my 78, and the 77 runs great, but the problem is that the 77 that I plan to keep has a ton of very smal dings all over the body, especially those convex dings on the top middle of the font fenders.

Now the 78 was just painted about a year ago (previous owner) and it has almost no dings anywhere, except a tiny convex ding on one of the front fenders in the same spot as the other car.

My question is, I am thingking about stripping the all of the panelling that I can, including the doors and hatch, from the newly painted 78 to put onto the 77, then sell the 78 after that switch is completed. Is this a good idea, or should I leave the 78 as is and go try to get someone to fix the dings in the 77? The dings are all so tiny, but the metal doesn't look smooth at all because of the number of dings. What's cheaper, and is there an easier way to handle this? Thanks.

swapping parts from car to car will lower the selling price because you just made all those dings someone elses problem, and they're not likely gonna want to pay to have them removed or pay "fro" you dents.

Fix the little problems by heating up the paint to keep it from chipping as you try an "pop" them out.

jmo,

Dave.

Put the 77 parts on the 78. Why waste a new paint job. Use the 77 as a parts car. You could also drive both and use the 78 for weekends and meetings.

I understand the selling of one or the other but even thought the 78 was stolen and recovered, it can't be that bad, or was it?

or as Dr. Ruth says "do what feels right"

Dave.

What's cheaper, and is there an easier way to handle this?

The simple answer is fix the dings on the 77, sell the 78. The longer version, and this is JMO, is: The effort of swapping parts from one to the other will most likely not be recouped. You'll undoubtedly break stuff in the process of dissassembling and reassembling those 30 year old cars and that will cost you. The fact that they will both be 'patchwork' cars when you're done will also cost you. If you put the panels from the 78 on the 77 you're going to have to paint it anyway so what are you gaining there? As Dave says, do what you feel is right. Last I had heard was that you couldn't afford to fix the 78 after it was recovered and now you've bought another car. So, only you know what works for you.

Actually sblake, I bought the 77 to replace the 78 and was hoping to save money that I don't have by getting a car with an engine that was just rebuilt, on top of other work like new fuel lines, new radiator, new brakes sets, and new master cylinders, and selling the 78 after I took the reupholstered seats from it. So no, I don't have money to fix the 78, that's why I had to buy the 77 on credit, hoping to quickly sell the 78 to make up for the loss.

Anyway, how much does it cost to remove a ton of small "waves" or dings generally? Is it a complicated process? You're right, I would have to have the whole car repainted at the same time, but because of a rust spot on the hatch because of those louvers on the 77 and a big dent in the front air dam, the 77 will have a few of the 78 parts on it anyway.

I wonder what caused the bumps in the metal in the first place? Rock hits from underneath? That would mean in inner fenders were missing, and if the bumps were fixed, you might get more bumps afterwards. If it was affordable, fix the bumps, then find out how they got there, and fix that, then repaint, and you'll be fine.

A paintless dent repair guy would be a good first step. Stop by any car dealer and ask who they use, then get him to look at the car. He will be able to tell you if he can fix them or not.

A paintless dent repair guy would be a good first step. Stop by any car dealer and ask who they use, then get him to look at the car. He will be able to tell you if he can fix them or not.

Ditto on that- I used to work at a dealership in Santa Fe and the dent repair guy was great. He could repair little dents very quickly, and was able to do so without having to remove any panels (most of the time).

No idea how much you would be charged for the repair, but there is absolutely nothing to be lost by asking about it.