[T3] Body Man (was "Need a great body man in western LA/VenturaCounty")

[Dave Hall]

As you say Phil, quite a bit of the damage is out of sight.  

It's more work, but it may make sense for the fender to be removed and then
it will be easier to reshape the metal.  Even though they can be swung out
quite a lot from the body at the bottom by removing all but the top screws,
space is still pretty limited.  Look after the fender beading (welting)
carefully - it is all but irreplaceable.

It will also let you do a good job treating any rust there is behind there
and giving it a good coat of underbody wax protection to stop it getting
worse.  Clearly there is some rusting beginning on those lower seams, and
many of us know only too well that there is often more rust than we thought!
Take the opportunity to clean out the cracked seam-sealer from around the
inner fender wall joints - that is responsible for some serious rust on many
Type 3s.

Dave,
UK VW Type 3&4 Club.
===========

-----Original Message-----
From: type3-vwtype3.org-bounces at lists.vwtype3.org
[mailto:type3-vwtype3.org-bounces at lists.vwtype3.org] On Behalf Of Phil Hof
Sent: 06 January 2011 00:25
To: type3-vwtype3.org at lists.vwtype3.org
Subject: Re: [T3] Body Man (was "Need a great body man in western
LA/VenturaCounty")

Pics of damage below (links).  Much less than I feared now that I see it in
the daylight.  And I know who the perp is!  :twisted: 

Damage is seemingly limited to tailpipe, outer fender, slightly bent bumper
or bracket, and the bottom of the inner fender.  The labor will be to remove
it all and make it like new so the seals will hold... my biggest fear is
that if the seals don't fit perfectly, it will leak an rust between the
panels.  This car only has the slightest of surface rust anywhere, and I
want to keep it that way!

I still want a good body man who hates bondo in Ventura County if anyone's
got connections.

[img]http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/761550.jpg[/img]

[img]http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/761549.jpg[/img]

[img]http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/761548.jpg[/img]

I feared the worst when I saw it at night, especially because the perp's
vehicle hit/dragged it hard enough to move it about 18 inches off its
original parking spot.  Below you see the "after" position; I was parked
perfectly parallel before the impact.

[img]http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/761547.jpg[/img]

I am actually amazed how little damage there is from an impact that dragged
it that far.

But the labor and paint matching will take some cash.  I will try to only
paint the damaged area, with the paint line mostly hidden by the bumper.  I
like original paint, so the less I have to spray the better.

The noise may just be cold and sticking generator bearings.  It was very
cold (for SoCal) last night when I fired it up, so the bearings were noisier
than before.

I won't speak to the ID of the perp yet, but I have called him/them and have
a very distinctive paint chip in the police evidence folder to back me up.

So I must say I am exceptionally lucky to have only this damage, and to ID
the perp already.  May all Sambanistas and T3-Listers be so fortunate.
Thanks again for hearing my venting.
------------------------------

> From: Gary Forsmo <gbforsmo at gmail.com>
> Subject: [T3] Body man
>
>  *"Some m*****f***** bashed my left rear fender and split the scene."
> *
> *UGH!  Bad news, Phil.  I have a '69 SB, and as a one-owner, I'd be "sick"
> if somebody bashed mine ... and then "ran".  As Jim knows, I'm a bit 
> handicapped and I'm always a bit concerned when I drive my T-3.  
> Mostly
with
> MY reaction time.
>
> Hope you find a good body man that understands your concern.*
>*Frito*

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