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| | | Forums66 Topics128,026 Posts1,055,403 Members48,422 | | Most Online14,466 Apr 26th, 2026 | | AD Chevy Trucks Over 6,000 pictures Brad Allen has an awesome collection of Chevrolet factory pictures that he has set up from film strips. Check them out!
Lots of work on Brad's part ... pure enjoyment (and references) for you!
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For helping keep this great
old truck web site
on the Internet for over 30 years! and not clogged down with Ads! Again, thanks! | | | | Joined: Apr 2004 Posts: 35 Junior Member | | Junior Member Joined: Apr 2004 Posts: 35 | "Lazarus" has a pretty good body with little rust. The only problem is with the front right fender. The back bottom of the fender is folded in pretty far and has a fold "crease" in it. I have tried almost everything I know to pull it back out, even tried using a "BIGGER HAMMER" with no luck. Is it necessary to heat up the metal to straighten this out? I am by no means a body man and if I can help it, don't want to take the fender off to work on it. Any suggestions? Thanks :rolleyes: | | | | | Joined: Mar 2002 Posts: 9,115 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Mar 2002 Posts: 9,115 | This is a comment from someone who is "learning on the job". I straightened out my old front fenders to see how close to proper form I could get them. They were pretty trashed and bent up but I managed to get them back very close to the proper shape. I ultimately bought some used replacements because the old ones were too far gone, rust wise.
When a fender buckles perpendicular to the impact force, which is very common, the metal cannot be straightened by simply hammering at the crumpled area. This causes further damage and distorts the metal in a different way. The fender has to be pulled out the exact opposite to the way the force was applied. At the same time, the crease can be worked on to allow it to move.
I found that the metal seemed to have a "memory affect" and the closer it got to the proper shape, the more stable it was. | | |
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