12 replies to this topic

[Thelimes79mini]

Hi any one out there with advice on how to get it back in the right position
I live in canada and a GMC envoy backed into me trashed the grille
smashed one headlight and bent the crossmember back toward the alternator
Had a hard time opening the hood (bonnet) Whats the best way to fix it
any advice would be great

Thanks Gary Williams  104_2159.JPG   1.15MB   28 downloads

[new_zealand _minis]

well its onlly the slam panel .. they are not very strong . you wil be able to put some rags around it then just give it you biggest pull . shuld stright it out .. then just hammer and bolly it out !

[Tupers]

My first through would be to wrap a wide strap around the crossmember and around a post and push the car backwards (might need someone to help you) to pull it back into place.

I would avoid putting a pressure between the engine and crossmember as I wouldn't be comfortable putting the kind of pressure required on the engine and its mountings.

[sonikk4]

Is there any damage at each end where it attaches to the inner wing and outer wing?? You could attach a strap to the centre of the cross member and the other end to a sturdy post. Then using the weight of the car gently push the car backwards to see if the cross member will pull back.

I would say judging by your pictures the front panel will need replacing as it does look creased so even if you did get it straight there will still be creases.

[midridge2]

as said above, use brute force to pull the slam panel forward, its a weak panel and then using a hammer and dolly finish it off.
you could place a bottle jack against the engine block and push the slam panel forward, it will not push the engine back on the mounts.
i have repaired many with that sort of damage and they are easy to repair.

[jakejakejake1]

As everyone else says, just pull it out. Don't put a jack or something between it and the engine though, you could damage something and is probably easier just to pull it!

[Ethel]

It's probably stretched, you could cut it off, reshape it and weld it back on. If it's a temporary fix you need, I'd remove the catch and/or striker and bolt or tie it shut

[midridge2]

My first through would be to wrap a wide strap around the crossmember and around a post and push the car backwards (might need someone to help you) to pull it back into place.

Not a good idea, to much uncontrolled force will overpull the panel that in turn will pull in the inner wings and outer wings.

t's probably stretched, you could cut it off, reshape it and weld it back on. If it's a temporary fix you need, I'd remove the catch and/or striker and bolt or tie it shut

if you cut it off and reweld it back, then you might aswell find a second hand slam panel or new front panel and weld that in because you have access to welding equipment.
cutting the slam panel off to repair is not a good idea because you will have no refrence from the bonnet peg to see if it is in the correct place, the next problem is how do you hold it when you have a hammer in one hand and a dolly in the other?

I would avoid putting a pressure between the engine and crossmember as I wouldn't be comfortable putting the kind of pressure required on the engine and its mountings.
because of the weak slam panel the pressure needed to push the panel forward is very small, bodyshops have been doing this for years, its standard practice used by panel beaters and if it did damge they would have stopped doing it years ago.


this is all based on my experience of having repaired many mini slam panels over the years and watching other panel beaters repair them.

[Ethel]

The OP may struggle to find a 2nd hand panel in Canada. By all means try straightening it while still attached, but if it is stretched it will never go back exactly where it was without removing some metal & hammering it will stretch it more. You could jack it off the engine but it would be difficult to control the direction the jack pushes in. If you parked near a solid post a loop of rope (or several) could be wound with a pole, to make a windlass, to control the pull better. Since it should be an almost flat panel some flat bit of timber and clamps would get it somewhere near.

[midridge2]

and all that is based on how many years working in a bodyshop? and how many damaged slam panels have you repaired?

i dont mean to sound nasty, but when you have repaired as many as i have over 40 years,you gain a understanding of metal and how to repair panels etc, yes the metal will have stretched but over that lenght of panel its easy lost when repaired, stretch in a straight/flat panel is harder to repair but in a slam panel there is several bends and the stretch can be worked into that.

pushing with a bottle jack is very easy with a weak panel like a slam panel and it will allways push straight and is very contrable, a lot easier than rigging up a windlass that when pulled can pull the car forward.

yes we all have our own ideas of how to do repairs but this type of repair has been done over many years and a standard type of repair like this is done by most bodyshops as it works the best.

as said by new_zealand minis also a panel beater its a very weak panel and can be pulled into place by hand, so even in new zealand they carry out the same methods.

[Ethel]

As you say it's not a very strong panel so I doubt it'd pull the car with the handbrake on and the wheels chocked. A jack would have to push perpendicular to what it's sat on, not as easy to arrange & direst as a pull off a post, but as you say you're the professional, unlike me & the original poster who'll be attempting to follow any of this advice.

[midridge2]

but as you say you're the professional, unlike me & the original poster who'll be attempting to follow any of this advice.

in life there is a correct way and a wrong way to do things, if you do the same repair many times in different ways you learn what is the best way to do it, you then pass this on so that people will do it the best way rather than do it wrong and do more damage. this is what i am trying to say to the op so he will not be wasting his time and effort.

go to any bodyshop and watch them pull with pulling gear, i can guarentee (sp) they will have the other end of the car chained down, unless its using a body dozer and then its fixed onto the dozer.

[Thelimes79mini]

Thanks for all your input folks
Took it to a freind who is a body guy
He fixed it up and all is well
again Thanks