Practically Classics Forum

I did a pile of good deeds the other day to help out a friend in need with her mk 6 fiesta.
the Karma generated was rewarded to me by my stepdad reversing his Alfa GTV into my MGB GT

Behind the door to the back wheel area is now sporting a massive dint - I know its a ratty old thing (it only cost me £500) but I flipping love it.
2 minutes 'literally' before he reversed out into it I had leapt out of the car and strolled over to said friend saying the words "I flipping love that little car".

the gods are not smiling on me this week

on the bright side I have bought a compressor recently to sort out the 50 shades of Damask red it came in. I still need to buy a gun and do some practice as well (and find somewhere I can do it - I hate living on the main road with no drive or garage).
I guess the dent removal will be part of the process as there is plenty of other little rusty bits to look at as well at the same time.

still gutted though as I really love that little MG - its only the rubber bumper model and is quite tatty but it is still brilliant

The Alfa just has a little Damask Red paint on the rear bumper and thats it - I still like the Alfa though even if it did whack my little car.

now to find out how to remove dents without them looking too much of a bugger.

it depends where it is exactly but the first thing I would try is taking the panel off the inside and pushing it out. that should get most of it. if there is a crease in the metal then grinding the paint off and using a THIN layer of filler should sort you out. A set of hammers and dollies for bodywork can be obtained from ebay for not many pounds if you end up with high / low spots that you want to try tapping out.

get well soon!

Cheers lads, I am going to have a look at it over the weekend and see what can be done for now.
I had planned on taking a look at the rust bubbles at the bottom of the rear side windows and the headlight area anyway this weekend .

TerryG wrote:it depends where it is exactly but the first thing I would try is taking the panel off the inside and pushing it out.

Not as easy as that in a Midget, you can get to some of it through the boot but the rest (from the B-post for about 18 inches back) is covered in double or triple skin body framework that's really hard to get at at the best of times, there is a trim panel but once removed you have the inner skin/frame, and access holes through this are sparse. You may be able to use an external dent puller, the ultimate fix is the whole rear wing off and replace.

Surely a job for insurance? Why should it suddenly become your problem?

All the best with it in any event - I fully understand the Midget-love thing.....

Cheers!

OK, it's not so easy with a Midget, but how difficult is it on OP's MGB GT? If the metal has stretched or creased, it's a lot harder to sort, though a simple "push" might get the worst of it out.

I wonder if the insurance would write the car off if it was an expensive repair (they would probably want a new wing fitted and the repair brought to "as built" condition. I would hope that it is insured with an agreed value - or is it insured for the £500 it cost? Of course, if the insurance see the rust and variety of shades of paint, they may just write it off anyway

If it's only a light dent, with no paint damage, why not try one of those suction dent pullers?

Catch it before too much more time has passed and you may get it to pop out with freezer spray and a hair dryer or other source of heat like a paint stripper.

In spite of the doubting Thomas brigade or those who dismiss every good idea as bar patter because that's where they spend their free time, the technique does work on even some deep dents and Youtube is full of example video clips LIKE THIS.

impressive

-sigh-

Its really not my week lads.
Driving home last night on the oily wet road and came off the roundabout but car decided that it wasnt turning left back into the road but rather skidding onwards towards the barrier.
Managed to get a grip slightly but only enough to flip around and bump the fron slightly and crunch my back wing and light on the drivers side

I give up