Thanks Stephan. I suspect the real problem is lack of stiffness in the A
pillars. They are apparently flexing too much. Whether this occurs when
the car is running or when the doors are opening, I don't know, but I
suspect the latter.
George
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-bricklin@autox.team.net
[mailto:owner-bricklin@autox.team.net]On Behalf Of alphachi
Sent: Wednesday, November 14, 2001 12:57 AM
To: Bricklin@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: re-curling panels, George and anyone else and panel repair
re-visited
Curving the hatch: I believe TT has a method of re-curving the hatch by
clamping the ends of two boards (top & bottom) horizontally under the hatch
and gradually increasing a spacer at the middle of each board between the
board and the hatch (over days) each time coaxing the panel with a heat gun;
Or, using the same middle spacers and gradually turning the clamps down, one
turn at a time. Care is taken not to rush the panel or overheat it and
clamping pads should be used. Obviously, the best time to do this is in
warm weather. This method, according to Terry, will keep the curve for a
year or two, depending on exposure and a host of other variables.
Panel repair: Both fiberglass and the OEM panels have a tendency to crack,
especially the OEM, the A-pillars can be a real PITA for fiberglass. But,
the fiberglass replacements are much more stable and readily available from
Terry Tanner. I'm still suspicious of the seam filler still being used.
I've only seen one car that used a very pliable seem filler (black) as
opposed to the more fixed vette stuff of latter years. I'm not sure the
panels were ever designed as well as the vettes (a pillars also crack on
them and rust out). You can risk new OEM panels, but they will undoubtedly
crack very soon unless you can come up with some NEW way to prevent that
from occurring.
Hope this helps.
stephan #2821
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