[rusthater89]

Anybody know what these dings on my roof are from?

Alot of them still have filler in them, plan on using my blaster to clean them out better when I get a chance.

Was thinking hail but they kinda look like spot welds. Also my whole roof is kinda rough. I think I will try to save some money and get a Harbor Freight stud welder to try to repair it.

[MARTINSR]

With what I can see of them, they are looking like holes punched with an awl for pulling a dent out with a slide hammer.

Can you see from the inside? I am thinking you are going to find a "bondo worm" hanging down.

Brian

[techinspector1]

Cut the roof off with a Sawzall and weld on a virgin roof.

[rusthater89]

Originally Posted by techinspector1

Cut the roof off with a Sawzall and weld on a virgin roof.

Where do they sell roof skins for t-top cars?

[rusthater89]

Originally Posted by MARTINSR

With what I can see of them, they are looking like holes punched with an awl for pulling a dent out with a slide hammer.

Can you see from the inside? I am thinking you are going to find a "bondo worm" hanging down.

Brian

I was thinking that too. The thing is that When I look from underneath there are no holes

I will post another picture after I blast the roof off so you can get a better view.

[techinspector1]

Originally Posted by rusthater89

Where do they sell roof skins for t-top cars?

I don't know. What I was suggesting is to cut the top off one in a boneyard, cut the top off yours and weld on a good top. A few spots of Bondo and you're ready for primer and paint.

[rusthater89]

Originally Posted by techinspector1

I don't know. What I was suggesting is to cut the top off one in a boneyard, cut the top off yours and weld on a good top. A few spots of Bondo and you're ready for primer and paint.

Not a bad idea but I don't think it will be easy to find a t-top roof for a 2nd gen. Firebird from a junk yard.

I could try to fabricate one but that takes alot of time.

[sedanbob]

No holes in them makes me think hail. Since you can get to the underside, you might be able to work them out with a hammer and dolly after you have blasted the bondo out. An old friend of mine used to take out hail dings by making little circles around them with a acetlyene torch, but I don't know if that works on old damage.

[rusthater89]

Originally Posted by sedanbob

No holes in them makes me think hail. Since you can get to the underside, you might be able to work them out with a hammer and dolly after you have blasted the bondo out. An old friend of mine used to take out hail dings by making little circles around them with a acetlyene torch, but I don't know if that works on old damage.

well there are access holes that I could fit a spoon into but it won't be an easy task.

Which is why I mentioned I might buy a cheap Harbor freight stud welder for the task.

[sedanbob]

Yeah, that's not much access - would be a pain. After you blast them, you will see how deep they are. Even pulling them with a stud welder won't get it perfect. If they aren't too deep, bondo may be your best bet. You'll probably be skimming it in any case.

[rusthater89]

Originally Posted by sedanbob

Yeah, that's not much access - would be a pain. After you blast them, you will see how deep they are. Even pulling them with a stud welder won't get it perfect. If they aren't too deep, bondo may be your best bet. You'll probably be skimming it in any case.

I certainly won't expect it to be perfect, but I think I can get it pretty close with some effort.

[69 widetrack]

Originally Posted by sedanbob

No holes in them makes me think hail. Since you can get to the underside, you might be able to work them out with a hammer and dolly after you have blasted the bondo out. An old friend of mine used to take out hail dings by making little circles around them with a acetlyene torch, but I don't know if that works on old damage.

First I looked at where your from and then the pictures...and I first thought hail as you did Bob...but, the damage is too perfect and too uniform to be hail damage in my opinion...hail will leave round indentations in metal but, not that perfectly round and in the last picture you have three dents that are almost perfectly round and the same size...if I was an adjuster looking at this damage from an insurance point of view it would look to me as though someone was trying to emulate hail damage with a ball peen hammer to collect insurance money or get a free paint job.

Is there any other similar damage on the body or are you only stripping the roof?

Damage like this can sometimes be repaired with an acetelyne torch but that is a bit of an art. If you don't have decent access the remove the dents from the under side of the panel, filler is the way to go. If your looking for a more factory job, replacing the roof as mentioned would be an alternative.

It would be interesting to see if there is any similar damage on the rest of the car like the hood or deck lid. If you have the same damage on both sides of the car, (doors quarters and fenders) it's most likely vandalism...hail very rarely hits both sides of the car and is a common mistake made by people looking to benefit from an insurance claim.

Ray

[69 widetrack]

We are looking at pictures and it's always better to give advice when your actually there, looking at and feeling the damage.

From the pictures I feel a stud puller would help minimize the amount of filler...however...the dents look fairly deep and the metal would be stretched...heat would be an option to shrink the metal along with a stud puller would also help reduce the amount of filler you would use.

Ray

[rusthater89]

Originally Posted by 69 widetrack

We are looking at pictures and it's always better to give advice when your actually there, looking at and feeling the damage.

From the pictures I feel a stud puller would help minimize the amount of filler...however...the dents look fairly deep and the metal would be stretched...heat would be an option to shrink the metal along with a stud puller would also help reduce the amount of filler you would use.

Ray

Yes, the metal would be stretched, but the stud welder heats the metal which causes it to shrink. You ever see anybody use a stud welder without the studs to remove "popping" metal, I believe they call it "oil can?" It works pretty nice. I do have a shrinking disc i have used many times as well.

Yes, you are right. The fender had damage that looked like it got attacked by a pick hammer.(only drivers side) I spent quite some time shrinking and beating it before slapping filler over it.

I got the car up in Damascus in PA, my buddy lives up in that area. The guy i bought it from said it was a California car which was sold to a guy out in Pittsburgh and eventually under his possesion.

Me and my father were wondering if some angry ex girlfriend of a previous owner went nuts on the car or something of that sort. The pick hammer marks were all concentrated on the fender wheel well portion.

Its funny the things you find when you strip a car. Under my seats was some old Barbie with Barbie and Ken stamp set. The stamps still worked too.

[69 widetrack]

Yes, and that's the reason I asked about the rest of the car...it did look like willful damage to me.

The stud welder does heat the metal, I agree, all I'm saying is that the depth of the dents are to the point that all you can hope for is to shrink the metal somewhat to minimize the amount of filler your going to use. It sounds like you know what your doing so what I'm telling you is probably a mute point.

Some of that vintage Barbie stuff is getting quite valuable...LOL...maybe you can sell them and make a down payment on a stud puller...LOL.

Ray