A few bodywork questions (and pics)..

[T16]

First.. here´s a few pics of my damaged frontfender.. it was covered with bondo 





(click to enlarge)

A friend of mine helped med out to get it straight.. and apply some lead



Just need to apply a thin skim coat filler 

Now here my questions..

1. How do i fix my damaged rocker panel (thats what you call it?)..? Don´t want to replace the whole panel


I cant pull the dent(s) out from the inside..
Maybe drill a few holes and pull it out with a sliding hammer.. or maybe try to manufact a pair of pull rods like the ones Cudaken used..?
Or maybe drill some holes from underside and push out the damaged area with something.. the weld up the holes..

Would like to get it as straight as possible before i apply filler..

2. When a apply the skim coat of filler to my frontfenders.. should the fender be monted on the car or can i work with them taken of..? They are after all quite flexy..
How did you guys do it..?


Ok.. i´ll probably come back later with more questions 
Check out the whole car in my signature..

[mopar_madman]

I would use a stud welder called a uni spotter, most auto body supply places sell them. Its welds a stud on the panel and then you put a slide hammer on it and pull, when done cut off the stud and no hole.

[Drop Top]

 

[T16]

Well.. well.. I welded a few small bolts to the low spots of the rocker and pull them out with a sliding hammer.
I´m pleased with the result.. today I applied a skim coat of filler.. sanded and tapped in a few high spots.


Another question..
Can i use fiberglass filler to cover up this seam..?  It´s quite deep after all.. I wont be puting any vinyltop back on the car.
Cant get hold of Evercoats Metal 2 Metal here in Sweden..  It will take months to ship it here by boat

[mopar_madman]

You can use fiberglass there, if you have acess to a welder I would finish welding up the seam for stability before I put filler there.

[Doc74]

 

Weld the seam bit by bit cooling it off plenty as you go and you can finish it off with welds only even.
If you need a strong filler I suggest you look into Debracell (spelling might be off) or look for any other steelfiller which is what metal to metal is.
Personally I'd make sure all the dents surrounding the gap are gone and the pillar is straight, then weld the gap shut and file it smooth.That way you just need to finish with a skimcoat of regular fine filler or go to sprayfiller or primer right away depending how it turned out for you.
Even with something as good as Evercoat, if you can avoid fillers then do so and spend more time getting the metal straight, trust me on this, you'll thank yourself later.
Good luck

[Drop Top]

The factory used lead in the seams of the non-vinyl top cars. You said that you had a friend that helped you to aplie some lead for you. sence you can't get the metal type of filler. I would use lead instead of fiberglass in this area. I'm not a big lover of fiberglass on metal. The two products expand and contract at differant temperatures and this will eventually cause the two to seperate. The lead will last much longer then fiberglass. I agree with welding up the seam first. This will cut down on flexing and make the filler last longer.