Cut my losses?

[badazz81z28]

Gents,

I just bought a '70 camaro...when I was looking over the car, my concern was rust and rot (None).

Well not I got the car home, started "really" looking it over (like pulling the door vents out etc). I noticed there is quite a bit of bondo work. I even noticed (I can't believe I didnt see it before) but a dent on the passenger side that looks to be filled with lots of bondo. I can see slightly see the dent from the inside of the trunk.

Can this stuff be fixed correctly and be as good as new? or do I need to cut my losses now? I can't do body work and would have to pay someone.


Rob

[Finch]

Rob,

previous bad repair can always be fixed and if it is just bondo filled dents a stud gun and a little hammering will remove most of it. First step would be to dig out all the old bondo and see how bad it really is.

[badazz81z28]

Thanks Brian, I feel like a 'Dumas'....the previous repairs, the guy drilled holes. I can see bondo sqeezing through them. The car is in paint and looks decent. I just don't know how much labor cost it will cost me to fix it when It comes to the real body work.

[dhutton]

How much do you have invested in the car? Can it be easily sold for what you paid?

[rickpaw]

How thick is the bondo? Can you just drive it as is until you can afford body work?

[MrQuick]

How thick is the bondo? Can you just drive it as is until you can afford body work?

I agree, if there is no rust and you didn't know about it at time of purchase I say live with it till you can get it done right. Its not gonna get worst till you pull it apart.
Sounds like your average body shop job.
Get the car running and enjoy it for a while.

[badazz81z28]

I paid $8500 for it. I just know I passed by some cars that were in the high teens, but after I get the body work done right, I will be there without the headache. How much money could I be looking at to fix a dent thats about 4"-5" X 4"-5"?

[dhutton]

I paid $8500 for it. I just know I passed by some cars that were in the high teens, but after I get the body work done right, I will be there without the headache. How much money could I be looking at to fix a dent thats about 4"-5" X 4"-5"?

Dent repair should not be much but are you then looking at repainting the whole car? Or just touching up the repair/panel?

[Rod]

leave the body alone!! if it looks good build the car, back in the day almost every dent was removed with holes and a slide hammer that's the quick and dirty of 99% of body shops, and every show car paint job you see on this forum has a skim coat of bondo to get it laser straight, TRUTH, in fact a super car on here went into a super body shop on here and came home with more bondo than when it went in,......we know that because on its first outing the magnetic numbers that had been used for years, wont stick to the body because the skim coat and paint are so thick

[badazz81z28]

Yea, visually the car looks good enough to drive and build. It just pains me to know there is body work to be done in the future. Its so hard to find these cars with solid floors and panels, the dent frustrates me. I will post pics of what I found.

[andrewb70]

Are you building a show car or a car you want to drive and enjoy? If it is the latter, just leave it alone!!! Drive, enjoy, rinse, repeat!

Andrew

[SSLance]

I agree, if you didn't notice it when you first looked at it (I was following your posts while you were shopping for a car so I know the work you were putting into finding a car) 99% of the people you run into out on the street won't notice it either.

I bet it'll be just fine, build the car and drive it...don't sweat the petty stuff.

[badazz81z28]

This car will be meant to hit the courses.

[Rod]

This car will be meant to hit the courses.

good I hope to see you out there!!

[71maroesteban]

If it's not rusting and falling apart who cares if it has a dent or two it's a 40 year old car they'll never be perfect unless you want to spend thousands of dollars to have every panel replaced and straightened out plus if your gonna auto cross it's just gonna get more battle scars you bought the car you were after looking for enjoy it don't sweat the small stuff having the mind set of regret and that you were screwed just discourages you from the car

[raustinss]

I bet nobody notices it when your passing them on the highway
Good luck Ryan Austin

[srh3trinity]

If it isn't structural or noticeable, leave it for now. I always think about wanting to be able to drive the car and not worry about it being parked an a parking lot because I spent 40k on paint and body.You might get 5-10 years out of it before it truly needs paint and body.

[meenaggie]

Fixing that "dent" will more than likely turn into panel replacements and repaint. Scope creep gets you every time. So if you are not ready to spend at least $10,000 and have the car at a paint and body shop for six months then leave it alone or let the next guy worry about it by parting with the car now. Just my $0.02 which is exactly how much my free advice is worth.

[dhutton]

I think the decision would be influenced by how much you are investing in the build. If you are investing $10k leave it alone. If you are building a $60k car, I would be tempted to fix it or it might bite you when you decide to sell.

[CampbellshotrodsAZ]

It's about impossible to find a perfect body anymore. Unless it clearly has original paint, and has been sitting in a field for the last 3 decades, dent repair is standard fare. As long as the car is structurally sound and doesn't have gaping rust holes, I wouldn't worry about a few improperly repaired dents. If they're solid and not coming apart, I'd leave it till you do the bodywork. Then a competent bodyman would not have an issue getting these out with the proper tools we have these days. 20 years ago proper dent repair was tough. Now with stud guns, paintless dent repair, and other factors, it's much easier to properly repair these old panels.

[bs46488]

Rob,

What part of So Cal are you in?

A 1970 Camaro full door skin is like $100.

[rickpaw]

Rob,

What part of So Cal are you in?

A 1970 Camaro full door skin is like $100.

True, but once you add in the cost of installation/repaint, it really adds up if you have a shop to do the work.

[saltfuture]

Youtube and a harbor freight stud welder and body hammer set are your friends, man. If you can deal with his personality, I highly recommend watching some video from my friend Pete at diyautoschool.

This was my first attempt at doing body work since I was 15 (I'm 36 now)

Before:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2014/04/TmbyibL-1.jpg

20 minutes later:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2014/04/fb9b6ul-1.jpg

I only stopped because I had to go to work. It will be smooth as glass and in primer this weekend. Roughly the same size you have. Don't be afraid of screwing up. If you do, it was already boogered to begin with and you can try again, or take it to a professional.