WHAT WAS USED TO PATCH/HIDE ISSUES IN YOUR CAR?

[smithbrother]

I know repair people have used lots of methods to HIDE issues prior to selling, or returning a car to the owner.

What have you discovered was done to HIDE/MASK ISSUES?

I know of a car that was modified using PAPER MÂCHÉ, wads of STEEL WOOL, and even NEWSPAPER.

Of course BONDO in huge amounts has been used to many times.

Just wondered,

Dale in Indy

[keiser31]

I have seen many road signs and ad signs used as floorboards.

[smithbrother]

When dad was a Buick dealer, so called friends would make comments such as, BUICK'S use old tin cans for their bodies, or take the door card off and find that an old beer sign was used to make the door, SURE...

Dale in Indy

[Restorer32]

One of our favorite was an entire rocker panel that had been recreated by lacing together paint stir sticks and covering the entire mess with bondo. Or maybe the damaged curve of a rear fender well on a '28 Cadillac Phaeton that had been carved from a 4" long block of pressure treated pine, bolted into place and bondoed.

[Restorer32]

Once worked on an early car that had an entire taillight post fashioned from bondo. Working on a 1909 vehicle now where a previous owner reproduced the body using electrical conduit as the framing inside the body.

[28 Chrysler]

Popsicle sticks to shim out weather stripping on a door .  The "B: pillar was pushed in over a 1/4" .

Cinder blocks placed on end in the trunk of a 65 Mustang to hold the rear springs down.

2 X4s under the front seat of a 59 Chevy to hold it up off the center hump.

[John348]

I had used a few cans of the spray foam insulation to fill the void of metal in one of my sons 1990 Cavalier a collage car, that stuff filed good and smooth, painted over with some black POR 15 almost looked like a factory strip. He got two more years of upstate New York rock salt winters out of it before it went off the bone yard. The rockers were still looking good when it went off to a "better" place

[Guest AlCapone]

My last trip to Cuba, a guy fashioned license plates together to make a hood. Funny thing about it was he did not try to hide it in fact he did not even paint them the same color. He just put screws and nuts thru the corner holes to hold them together. Wayne

[Ed Luddy]

I've seen many different things used to patch floors on rusty old Canadian "salt cars" I've used an old license plate to fill a hole in my old winter Jeep. Seen a old furnace sheet metal door for a trunk patch,but the worst I ever heard of was a 4x4 piece of wood screwed and tarred into place and painted black to fill a gap on a 1958 Corvette's rusted out frame a buddy had bought back in the 70's.

 In 1975 my winter driver was a 1970 black Plymouth 'Cuda 383. Of course the tops of the front fenders were rusted thru and the fender top signal lights were flapping in the breeze. Going to work thru puddles would cover the windshield in salty slush water so I used duct tape sprayed black that would last about a week.

[Bleach]

I knew someone who used a loaf a bread for filler in a big dent and then covered that with bondo.

[benjamin j]

I bought a 1967 olds 442 cutlass supreme convertible that had sheets of copper in the bottom of rear quarter panels. They had solder and spring loaded aircraft rivets holding them in place. The guy that did the work was some kind of airplane mechanic from the wright brother’s era. LOL  

[trimacar]

Hey, don't knock copper!  The previous owner of my Pierce (from 1959 until 1984, when I bought it) tore down some old boiler rooms.  One of them had thick wall copper pipe, 2 inch or more in diameter.  The Pierce is still using that for an exhaust pipe system, nice patina and guaranteed never to rust!  No one ever notices the funny dark greenish exhaust pipe out the back....

[8E45E]

I know people have used lots of methods to HIDE issues prior to selling a car to the owner.

What have you discovered was done to HIDE/MASK ISSUES?

First, I found an aluminum plate in the middle of the dash, and upon removing it, there was a gaping hole there.

 

Also there was a 2" round plastic 'bullseye' affixed to the dash with a dot in the center, which served no purpose whatsoever.

 

Then, I looked at the back bumper, and saw two round cutouts replaced filled in with perforated thin metal.

 

And pulling off the door panels, there were more holes in the metal than were on the door panel.

 

I scratched my head, and realized it was the FACTORY hiding/masking options the car didn't come with; radio, clock, backup lights, and power windows!!

 

Craig

Edited October 20, 2015 by 8E45E (see edit history)

[Bill Stoneberg]

I have seen Duct tape and Bondo used to fill holes.A renter used toothpaste to fill nail holes in sheetrock.

Edited October 20, 2015 by Bill Stoneberg (see edit history)

[HarryLime]

A myriad of problems disguised by a 'restoration'.

[Rusty_OToole]

I bought a Willys panel truck that had holes in the floor patched with pieces of burlap bags soaked in tar. That was one of the most impressive repair jobs I ever saw, no kidding. The stuff was hard as a rock and stuck to the metal like epoxy glue. The only way to get it off was to soften it with a blowtorch and scrape it off. It was rustproof and practically bomb proof. I would have done better to leave it on if it wasn't so ugly.

[30 Hupp]

Well, I have to admit I was the one "hiding the issues"!

 

Back in '63-'64 I worked after school & Saturday's at a Chrysler, Plymouth, Dodge dealership doing car washing, new car prep, etc. We would send the "klunker" trade-in's to the auto dealers auction, so my job was to "prep" these Iowa "rust bucket's" for the auction!

I stuffed many rear quarters, rocker panels,front fenders, etc. with wadded up newspaper, old screen wire, or whatever was available and smooth over with bondo & then brush on matching paint from the body shop. Sometimes I just used masking tape & painted over it!!

Certainly was not proud of it, but was a 16 Y.O. "green" kid doing his job!

 

30 Hupp

[nickelroadster]

UI saw a 1970s Jeep cj with a badly rusted frame that had treated lumber inside the frame rails to keep them from flexing.  I only hope tha tthey did not take it four wheelin.  I have no idea what the final result was or even how long it had been that way.  At least they used treated lumber so tha ttermites would not have been a problem.

[nick8086]

Not happy with this one.. It was done on a budget... He did not hide it..

 

Edited October 21, 2015 by nick8086 (see edit history)

[John348]

Back in the early 70's my Father worked in the South Bronx, and at that time it was one of the worst neighborhoods in the United States, if not the world. For those not familiar with the area at that time here is a quick video showing the area circa 1971-72 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fhOjRoPN4U looks more like Berlin at the end of the war then NYC!  It was common for the few residents that were left living there to use a wrist rocket with a steel ball to shoot out windows of the cars that were owned by the cops and fireman who worked in the area while they were driving home. My Dad had a 69 Beetle and a  few days before he traded it in his car it  got hit. They missed the rear window but hit the rear hood, leaving a perfect 1/2" hole right through it, perfectly dead center above the vents. We never found the projectile, and most likely it was imbeded in the rear seat somewhere. Anyway he got beat up pretty bad on the trade in price because of the hole, The dealer told him they had to replace the hood and repaint the panel and it was going to cost a lot. Anyway he took delivery and took it on the chin with the reduced trade in price. A week later we saw the car on the used car lot with a peel off sticker with the dealers name on it covering the hole, that was never repaired. 

[Joe in Canada]

I bought a 1972 Chevy 4X4 pickup that was ready for paint on EBay that was luckily local. They welded T fence posts to the frame across into the rocker to hold the body on. He was not happy when I said I was local and pay when I picked up the truck. No I did not pay him.

[capngrog]

What a great thread! 

 

I once (I was young) repaired the rocker panels on a 1959 Karmann Ghia with chicken wire and lead ... I thought I was doing the right thing.  I now know what the "right thing" is regarding auto body repairs, and stick to that concept.

 

Cheers,

Grog

[TexRiv_63]

Hmm, lets see... Aluminum flashing and pop rivets, nylon window screen material, tin cans and hose clamps, fiberglass cloth and resin, carved Styrofoam, aluminum tape, plywood, cardboard, self tapping screws, copper wire, and even steel from different cars - all held together by lots of duct tape and covered with enormous quantities of "structural" Bondo and lots of heavy duty roofing cement.

 

Not that I ever did any of this...

[plymouthcranbrook]

Printing plates.  Light weight, rust proof and thin enough to bend almost any direction.

Edited October 21, 2015 by plymouthcranbrook (see edit history)

[nick8086]

 

He would not know the car had 2 inches  of  bondo on it...

 

First pic was the car he picked up..

Edited October 21, 2015 by nick8086 (see edit history)

[Rusty_OToole]

In 1968 I bought a 1962 Austin A60 sedan from my cousin. It had rocker panels made of eaves troughs and floors made of galvanized steel and pop rivets. In spite of this, he gave it a nice paint job and it ran like a new car. I drove it for a couple of years, and traded it for a BSA Royal Star motorcycle.

[Guest Roj]

Worst story was a guy who took a 1954 corvette body number 3886 serial number and made it into a 1953 corvette number 153 then took it to 4-5 auctions around the country before finally selling it. He restores corvettes on a regular basis and has some talent, he can turn a 54 corvette into a 53 in 6 months and call it restored. Not a good guy, so there are some poll cats out there.

Some guys out there are trying to make a quick buck other's love the cars, I'm the latter, it's not about the money, it's about history.

[John348]

I had seen the fiberglass mat/resin used to make a floor board on a 56 Chevy about 40 years ago by friend of mine at the time. Mostly to keep his feet dry when he went through a puddle, he said it worked on boat, so why not?

[39BuickEight]

On my parts car, someone used orange garden hose to try to sure up the slack around the torque tube:

 

[Seldenguy]

Years ago the plant manager came into the maintenance shop and said I just got a car for my son to drive to college, and I'm concerned about some rust holes behind the rear wheels that might leak carbon monoxide into the car. I looked at it (a late 50'sBuick) and told him we didn't have any material to do this work. One of my workers walked by and said" I can fix that". He filled the well on each side with PorRock, a cement used to secure anchor bolts in concrete, troweled the outside smooth, eyeball matched the paint with some Benjamin Moore's enamel. Off he went to college,the rear end sagged a little but he had good traction in the snow.--Bob--

[plymouthcranbrook]

I had seen the fiberglass mat/resin used to make a floor board on a 56 Chevy about 40 years ago by friend of mine at the time. Mostly to keep his feet dry when he went through a puddle, he said it worked on boat, so why not?

I've done that

[Guest Rp1967]

Bought a 65 GTO back in the 80s , the gas tank and straps were very rusted to the point I was concerned that the tank would fall out while driving.

I removed both straps and the tank didn't move.

Someone had repaired the trunk floor and riveted the floor to the gas tank.

I drilled out the rivets and soldered pennies over the holes and reinstalled it with new straps.

[John Byrd]

This little "issue" wasn't to patch sheetmetal, but it did help the kid damage his sheetmetal !   This disc brake pad fell out of the front when the wrecked car was lifted, the other side one was gone. Yep, it's an old "flip-flop" sole strapped to the shoe.

[60FlatTop]

My Grandfather has a special pair of yellow rubber gloves for putting fiberglass on used cars. We never finished then very smooth. A cheese grater was close enough.

 

Then he came back from the city one day with a great idea; laying the fiberglass under a layer of paper and smoothing the paper out for a nice finish. That worked pretty good but when we used newspaper you could read the print through the paint. That was OK for most of the cars. If we had a really nice car he had a special stash of brand new sandwich bags that were smoother. We just trimmed the edges with a flexible knife we used in the tire shop.

 

We were always blatant enough about what we did to show our honesty.

 

Two weeks ago I sold a car with dead paint that I had shined up with PB Blaster and a rag. Still at it.

 

Years ago I was looking at a car on a second rate lot. The owner was an older friend who knew my Grandfather well. He looked me in the eye and very seriously said "You know what we sell." I sure do.

 

Oh, oh, oh, once the hood latch on a '64 Riviera got stuck. My Grandfather torched a hole in the hood to get to the latch; wrong side. We needed two sandwich bags for that one.

Bernie

Bernie

[smithbrother]

OH MY, some creative ways to BLOTCH a repair, got to give them credit for ideas, although BAD. hehe

Dale in Indy

[60FlatTop]

Bob, Even down in the Genesee Valley you must remember Renaud's Used Cars, Jerry's Used Cars, Jerry's Tire Shop, and Wholesale Tires (some of the DBA's) up in Spencerport.

[Restorer32]

This little "issue" wasn't to patch sheetmetal, but it did help the kid damage his sheetmetal !   This disc brake pad fell out of the front when the wrecked car was lifted, the other side one was gone. Yep, it's an old "flip-flop" sole strapped to the shoe.

 

This little "issue" wasn't to patch sheetmetal, but it did help the kid damage his sheetmetal !   This disc brake pad fell out of the front when the wrecked car was lifted, the other side one was gone. Yep, it's an old "flip-flop" sole strapped to the shoe.

 

 

DING DING DING I think we have a winner. I thought the car we worked on where the owner welded a tow hitch to the gas tank was bad but flip flop brake pads takes us out of the running.

[Ozstatman]

My sister, back in the early 70's, bought a Morris Minor. And, here in Oz, you need an annual inspection in order to re-register it. It failed that because the floor had about 1" of concrete covering it because of extensive rust. After a new floor was welded in she found the MM never went so well!

[Rusty_OToole]

Years ago I drove an old Dodge pickup in the winter. There was a big rust hole in the driver's floor. To make a quick repair I took a piece of plywood and covered it with plastic from a grocery bag. Then spread a layer of fibreglass (kitty hair) about a 1/2 inch thick. Squashed it up against the floor and propped it up with sticks till it hardened. Peeled off the plywood and plastic and had a perfect repair. Sprayed some undercoating around to hold back the rust and it was done. Didn't even have to remove the floor mats.

 

It held up as long as I owned the truck, about 3 or 4 years.

[28 Chrysler]

Concrete must be a common repair martial.

Back in the 60's there was an older guy with a late 40's  Dodge coupe, he had filled the rusty lower body cavity between the doors and rear fenders with concrete. He would kick it and say this car is still solid as a rock.