How do you fix body waves?

[st0878]

As I sit in the drivers seat looking out over the hood of the car and on the front qtr panel, I see dents that well aren't really dents that I think would qualify for bondo, nor does the dents seem like they would be the type that would pop up. I'n not real sure how to approach them? Also every time I put any weight on the top of my front qtr panel the metal pops down and back out again. I don't reallycare now because I haven't painted it yet but I don't want this happening after I paint. So how do you fix those subtle metal imperfections that come with a 30yr old car? And do you think welding some sheet metal strips on the underside of the qtr panel will stregthen it?

[Mr Camouflage]

The front guards already have some support brackets on the chassis. They have foam rubber stuff that by now would have perished away to nothing, leaving a gap that allows the top to flex. You can replace it with some clossed cell foam i believe. I thonk coeased cell foam doenst retain moisture, so it wont make the guards rust.

The guards arent really designed for leaning on anyway.

[kenz240z]

I think the hood ends up with mild dents, or rather depressions, especially in the area around the latch, from years of being pushed shut. The hood is a pretty big piece of rather flat, metal real estate and being on the thin side tends to dent rather easily.

You may be able to remove some of the imperfections with a hammer and dolly, depending on your skill with these and whether you can get to the back side of the dent. The area around the latch has a brace on the back side of the hood, so a hammer and dolly won't work there.

I would use a good body filler on the hood and go over it with sandpaper on a long board. Also, use a good primer/surfacer, again followed by more long boarding, to help smooth things out. A guide coat of a contrasting color can be used, just mist it on before you sand...it will reveal the high spots and low spots. The low spots will show up as areas where the guide coat hasn't been touched, high spots you might sand through to the surface. So, it is a repetitive process of either pounding out or filling the low spots and pounding out the high spots.

Under the front fenders there are braces, as mentioned in the other post. I used closed cell foam, the generic weatherstripping kind. If I remember right, I used a couple of 1/2" wide strips, side by side and I think it was 3/8" thick. The old foam was gone on my car...

Hope this helps,

Kenny P.

[Ed]

Originally posted by st0878

Also every time I put any weight on the top of my front qtr panel the metal pops down and back out again.

To me this sounds like the sheetmetal has been stretched. Right now the metal is undecided, either up or down whichever side it gets persuaded to. To me this is something that a backyard mechanic can not fix properly. It has taken decades of abuse for the metal to fatigue and comform to it's current state.

To properly fix this you will need a torch, a dolly, and a hammer. You must heat the metal in the proper location then hammer the stretched metal back into it's original state. This is something you don't just learn over the weekend. It takes years of practice.

Honestly, pay an experienced bodyshop to fix this.

Enrique, what do you think?

[st0878]

Thanks everyone for your help. I was out buying another engine for my Z and the guy that was selling it had a little warehouse that he ran a restoration shop out of. He refurbishes old vintage Jaguars at 200K a pop. But the guy works by himself and knows how to bring old things back to life. He was kind enough to show me a few tricks while I was there. I had a tendency to go pounding on the back side of a dent to try and get it to pop out but appearently that is the exact opposite of what you should do! Basically, he says to hold the dolly on the bottom of the dent and tap lightly on the highest point of the dent and to keep working it until you worked all the way out. The best part of the story is the guy had a canari yellow 78 280z that belonged to his son (who lived in another state) in absolutley beutiful condition that he agrees to sell me for $1200. Now I'm trying to get rid of my current rusty old Z.

Thanks Enrique, I have read a number of your posts and you always give solid advice!

[Ed]

Sorry, I think you have missunderstood my last post, I was asking Enrique if he agreed with me. Not that I was Enrique. (BTW I think Enrique is pretty knowledgeable when it comes to bodywork and I value his opinion IMO).

[st0878]

Sorry Ed my bad. Your knowledge and help is equally appreciated!

Ed Z