sunbeam74
Silver Level Sponsor
I ran into an interesting solution when I was trying to straighten my front valance on one of my cars. As usual with the Alpine, mine was stoved in at the center at the hole for the hand crank and numerous dents elsewhere. Also, wavy edges and lips that had been pushed in or pulled out.
I didn't think about it much at the time but rather than remove the valance I made wooden blocks or forms - male and female - and ran a large bolt through them creating a clamp to re-form the sheetmetal. Once positioned, I just torqued the nut down and it pulled the panel out. I had to adjust the curvature of the blocks once but they really didn't have to be that accurate
For the center it worked great. Far easier than removing the valance.
The lip edges cleaned up nicely, too. However, most of these could be taken out with a hammer and dolly.
I imagine each situation will be different but if you can't get a hammer on it the wooden clamps worked well.
Steve
I didn't think about it much at the time but rather than remove the valance I made wooden blocks or forms - male and female - and ran a large bolt through them creating a clamp to re-form the sheetmetal. Once positioned, I just torqued the nut down and it pulled the panel out. I had to adjust the curvature of the blocks once but they really didn't have to be that accurate
For the center it worked great. Far easier than removing the valance.
The lip edges cleaned up nicely, too. However, most of these could be taken out with a hammer and dolly.
I imagine each situation will be different but if you can't get a hammer on it the wooden clamps worked well.
Steve