Qatsi Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 Hi everyone, I have some damage to the right rear quarter of my 1996 Defender Tdi Hardtop (with the storage boxes on either side). Seems like the rear quarter panel isn't too badly damaged - wondering if the side panel could be beaten back into reasonable shape. As far as I can tell, only the flashing needs to be replaced. None of the lights are damaged. What do you reckon? Would be great to get some advice on the best way to tackle this repair. Many thanks! Andrew PS - currently in Namibia, heading to Zambia, Botswana, Lesotho and South Africa 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tal Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 Personally , just from the point of view of what its made of I would wait until I could drill the rivets out and part the two panels before I tried anything. Aluminium doesn't like bending too many times before it gets stressed and tears but also trying to bend out creases that cross corners like that is extremely tough. You have internal struts riveted into that section too so you will probably need to remove those too before reshaping, Not sure if you should attempt tp anneal it or not, aluminium is difficult to soften without melting and even more difficult to make strong again afterwards (without making it brittle) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddy Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 I'd just leave it. Maybe write on when and where it happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverik Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 Depends on how much of a perfectionist you are... I had lots of bends and dings in my truck when I got her and tried fixing something like this to get a nice straight panel again you need a lot of patience and a good bit of filler, alu is tricky to work with as it stretches and always ends up bigger than it was, especially when you start hitting it with a hammer... I ended up replacing the quarter rear panel and the side panel, but I wanted a clean slate and the damage was a little worse than that, was more on the transition of the inner wing wheel box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eightpot Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 Drill the rivets out of the corner finisher, take it off and straighten in a vice. The quarter panel is much easier to straighten once the corner strengthener is off. Rivet corner panel back on and voila. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverik Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 Drill the rivets out of the corner finisher, take it off and straighten in a vice. The quarter panel is much easier to straighten once the corner strengthener is off. Rivet corner panel back on and voila. I wish I had your hands... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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