Re: New vs. straightened out fenders

[JHertzman@domain.elided]

In AD7-727 Steve Yin asked about the pro and con of hammering out or 
replacing damaged bodywork; in AD7-728 Sixto Gonzalez said replace, and in 
AD7-730 Bill Sims advised "If it were my car I'd go for the new, and make 
sure that before installation it is well coated on the inside with Boeing 
T-shield or a similar product.  Beating/straightening a fender does lots of 
damage to any galvanizing on the inside of fenders.  Even ungalvanized 
fenders seem to rust faster after 
repairs...."

I would say "it depends", partly on the car and partly on the severity of the 
damage, as well as on its location. Many Alfas have bolt-on front fenders, 
which present no problems. Many have front fenders (GTV-6, for example) which 
are spot-welded to the inner structure of the engine-bay, with a welded and 
leaded panel joint at the rear which is into the glass area. A body shop will 
often cut someplace other than the original joint, choosing the location 
which is easiest to make cosmetically correct rather than structurally 
optimum, while all of the spot welds will be parted and again joints made 
which are cosmetically correct but not necessarily structurally optimum. A 
GOOD bodyman who is conscientious can make a new-panel repair which is as 
good as new, but a less conscientious body-man who got the job with a low bid 
(which is how many choices are made) may do a job which is cosmetically ideal 
and immune to the faster-rusting in the initially damaged areas which Bill 
mentions, but which is more disruptive to the structural integrity and more 
prone to rusting in the structurally critical areas. There are many elements 
of good bodywork- preparing the unseen areas, proper-use of weld-through 
primers, proper seam-sealing- which eat time and materials and can be shorted 
on a low-bid job.

My copy of the Mitchell Collision Estimating Guide for imported cars is 
seriously out of date (12 years old) but for the GTV-6 it gives $448 for a 
front fender, with seven hours shop time to remove and replace,$606 for a 
rear quarter panel with twelve hours to remove and replace. For the Milano 
(bolt-on fronts) it gives $277 for the front fender with two hours to remove 
and replace, and for the rear quarter panel $337 with 17.5 hours to remove 
and replace. There are too many variables for easy answers, but if the damage 
wasn't into the structural areas I might take the disadvantage Bill mentions 
as the lesser evil.

John H.
Raleigh, N.C. 

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