need some dent fixing advice

[BTL-A4]

I dropped a board on the rear trunk lid of my Porsche 914. It was a month-old paint job that I did myself. Much swearing ensued.

I have some paint left over, so I can paint the whole rear trunk lid. But I need to fix the bent corner and the dent in the middle.

1. Is the corner dent easily fixable by just bending it back? What's the best way to do this?

2. The dent in the middle is right over one of the reinforcing cross members on the other side. I thought I could drill a hole in it, then tap out the dent. Thoughts?

 

[joncrane]

Get a good body guy. He will fix it in no time. Dents Last in, first out...do not just bend it back. Metal will stretch and deform more.

 

[e015475]

For the dent on the hemmed edge of the panel, I'd take a crescent wrench with parallel jaws tight on the hem and gently pry it into place. I'd fine tune it with a low-crown/flat dolly and a body hammer.

If you cut a hole in the reinforcement and use a tool to push the dent up, the likely result is that you'll stretch the panel and make it even more difficult to repair. To fix it conventionally/correctly, I'd cut the reinforcement out and fix it with a dolly/hammer/spoon. If you have some stretching/oil canning you can shrink it back a bit with a shrinking disk a little at a time till its perfect.

Another idea...............

For the dent in the middle of the panel, I'd take it to a paint-less dent removal specialist and see what they can do. I say PDR not because you want to save the paint (which you obviously can't because of the crack) but because they are pretty innovative at getting dents out of the modern high-strength steels. Give him permission to cut the holes he needs in the reinforcement.

And another option......

If this is the 914 panel that sits between the rear deck and the window, it might be easier to just find a replacement. This isn't likely to be rust prone location or one that suffers a lot of collision damage, so a good used one at a reasonable price shouldn't be that hard to find. I think you'd be money/time/aggravation ahead just refinishing a good used panel and bolting it on.

 

[e015475]

I should be working on my quarantine project, but it's more fun to procrastinate and pontificate on GJ........

A quick search of car-part.com shows there's 914 parts inventory in wrecking yards in the US.

I've no idea what this panel is called on a 914, so I just searched for a 914 door for '69 to '76 with the logic that if they had a door, they'd likely have the rest of the car too, perhaps including the panel you need.

Got 15-20 hits on car-parts.com. I'm sure there's lots of 914 specialist out there too.

Searched Row52.com too with a 500 mile search radius from Phoenix, which would include a lot of CA - got nothing back for a 914 from 69 to 76

 

[BTL-A4]

For the dent on the hemmed edge of the panel, I'd take a crescent wrench with parallel jaws tight on the hem and gently pry it into place. I'd fine tune it with a low-crown/flat dolly and a body hammer.

If you cut a hole in the reinforcement and use a tool to push the dent up, the likely result is that you'll stretch the panel and make it even more difficult to repair. To fix it conventionally/correctly, I'd cut the reinforcement out and fix it with a dolly/hammer/spoon. If you have some stretching/oil canning you can shrink it back a bit with a shrinking disk a little at a time till its perfect.

Another idea...............

For the dent in the middle of the panel, I'd take it to a paint-less dent removal specialist and see what they can do. I say PDR not because you want to save the paint (which you obviously can't because of the crack) but because they are pretty innovative at getting dents out of the modern high-strength steels. Give him permission to cut the holes he needs in the reinforcement.

And another option......

If this is the 914 panel that sits between the rear deck and the window, it might be easier to just find a replacement. This isn't likely to be rust prone location or one that suffers a lot of collision damage, so a good used one at a reasonable price shouldn't be that hard to find. I think you'd be money/time/aggravation ahead just refinishing a good used panel and bolting it on.

Thanks! I thought the same about the corner dent. I'm looking for a used body hammer/dolly set. I could go HF since I'm only using this once (I hope!).

Someone else suggested using a paintless dent removal kit. I'll look into having someone do it for me, though. An Eastwood kit is about $60. Maybe getting someone to fix one dent is cheaper.

I'm looking for another rear trunk lid. They tend to get damaged at the rear from rust and accidents.

 

[BTL-A4]

I should be working on my quarantine project, but it's more fun to procrastinate and pontificate on GJ........

A quick search of car-part.com shows there's 914 parts inventory in wrecking yards in the US.

I've no idea what this panel is called on a 914, so I just searched for a 914 door for '69 to '76 with the logic that if they had a door, they'd likely have the rest of the car too, perhaps including the panel you need.

Got 15-20 hits on car-parts.com. I'm sure there's lots of 914 specialist out there too.

Searched Row52.com too with a 500 mile search radius from Phoenix, which would include a lot of CA - got nothing back for a 914 from 69 to 76

Yeah, I thought the same thing! I'm looking for a rear trunk lid. I know a few people who have them and have made some inquiries. The problem with buying them is the shipping is really expensive. The lids are usually about $50 or so, but shipping is way more. I need to find local pick up.

 

[e015475]

If you are going to buy an HF or Eastwood body hammer kit, you might as well just use a ballpeen hammer and a hunk of steel for a dolly for a one-time use. I bought an Eastwood kit, which looks pretty much like the kit they sell at HF. The crown of the face of the hammers have a low spot in them that took me a couple hours to recontour to a proper crown and polish so they're usable. They are still heavy and fatiguing. The dollys are cast iron and dent easily- ended up buying good ones. Buy a Martin hammer/dolly instead.

Can't speak to the PDR kit, but from what I can tell there's a fairly steep learning curve and a bit of artistic touch to do it well. I left a wrench on top of an intake of a car I was selling and and closed the hood hard. It left an imprint of part of the wrench in the hood. Cost me $120 for a PDR guy to come to the house to take it out. Black car and you couldn't tell - all he used was a light, a plastic rod and a hammer.

I'd pay the 'stupid tax' and get another panel. Have your tried these guys?

https://patrickmotorsports.com/

When I used to work down the street from their shop, they had a yard out back with a lot of 914 and 911 shells out back. IIRC there was even a 914 on their roof for a while.

 

[toplessHO]

My first though also was a PDR guy
but most wont touch because they need a mirror like finish to see what the metal is doing.
I would use a pin gun and proper pulling tools to avoid cutting underside on the corner.You can shrink metal with torch and an ice cube,or Ive done it with a wood buffing pad.

I wouldnt expect good results if youve never done this before.

 

[CJM8515]

PDR will not work, the metal is stretched and deformed. If you want the best possible outcome pay a body shop to fix it.

 

[NYBODYMAN]

Both area are very repairable...IF you know what you are doing. For the bend at the edge, I would use a small block of wood, rubber mallets, and possibly a duck bill vise grip with some protection in between ( I used to use paint sticks) to avoid crushing the hem flange. It will then need finishing and paint obviously. As for the dent in the middle, it's a little tough to see completely but if it is in the middle of the panel, I would avoid using heat (stud welder) if possible to avoid warping the panel. You can try glue pulling or getting pressure on it from underneath if possible with long picks or PDR picks. Honestly, a concern of mine with your damage is the cracked paint. Paint really shouldn't crack like that unless you have a build up of material (body filler, primer, base and clear). I'd be concerned for the life of the paint job.