just got a car and want to know if any of the body work is something I can reasonably do at home
Posted by Familiar-Decision-38@reddit | projectcar | View on Reddit | 18 comments
obviously this car has some issues. it's a rebuilt title and I'm taking it in for a diagnostic soon so I know what all needs actual work. until then, I want to look into fixing up the exterior. the mirror is easy but I've never dealt with dents to this extent, or rust before. is this something (provided I have the tools) I can do at home, should I replace the metal entirely, or should I just take the L and pay to have it fixed? this is a 2005(or 6 we're not sure) dodge grand caravan.
I don't have a ton of experience on cars but I've done some work here and there. I also have a few people who can help me with physical labor so I'm not doing any of it on my own. thank you so much for any advice!
Koniss@reddit
Just drive it until the wheels fall off
Worst-Lobster@reddit
Why take it in for diagnosis ? Is it running bad ? They’re just going to tell you it needs everything and it’s gonna be discouraging and then you’re gonna wind up doing things. It probably doesn’t even need it. It’s gonna be the cheapest thing on the list…
Worst-Lobster@reddit
Just find color
Matched parts at a wrecking yard and swap
Them over that’s the easiest thing you could do
RJ45p@reddit
Fender yes door yes rear quarter panel .... Maybe. I'd start with a cheapo kit from Amazon (but get the real/good glue and a good glue gun, the sticks are color coded based on application and environment) and do some glue pulls on the smaller little dings just to familiarize yourself with how much/what type of work it'll be. Then consider whether you want to get a stud welder/slide hammer kit or not
rqx82@reddit
You didn’t actually pay money for this thing, did you? At least not more than scrap value?
texan01@reddit
Me? I’d not do a damn thing about exterior cosmetics and clean the interior and drive it till it dies or the girl repellent stops working.
cluelessk3@reddit
Not worth putting a penny into.
Bunch of old shit repairs failing
rsands@reddit
Do you own a hammer?
UnbelievableDingo@reddit
No.
B2bombadier@reddit
There is a dent pulling kit on ebay that uses hot glue for the pulling points, my neighbor used it on a Honda Accord after a tree fell on it and it pulled alot more dents than I thought it would. I would pull what you can and drive it.
mr_j_12@reddit
Oooof that things full of filler. 😬
-Do-Good@reddit
Heat the backside of the dents with a touch, you can take the inside door panels off to get to the backside of the dents!
ManufacturerLost7686@reddit
Fender and doors are bolt on. Go hunt parts at pull apart yards. Rear quarter is gonna take creativity. Rip out the interior and check if you can get to the outer skin from the inside. A good tip is getting a basketball, deflating it, putting it inside and inflating it.
Personally id just go to a scrapyard and cut off the entire rear quarter, then cut and weld. Realistically, its not worth the effort of doing it right.
salvage814@reddit
Hope you got it for cheap. That thing is beat 9 way to sunday. The fender and door will be easier to replace then repair. The only real issue is the rear creator.
CrazyTechWizard96@reddit
Find out what it exactly is, what collor code it is and source a matching finder and two doors.
Oh and that rear quater pannel is what sucks to repalce, cut, weld, paint.
And how do You do that shit?
Youtube.
Year, Make, Model, or just Chassies Code and Make and look up "How to replace 'Fender' " as an example, and You'll see.
Those 3 are easy, that qauter pannels tho is very likely cut and weld only, or You find someone who can massage the shit out, won't be really PDR since it needs paint anyways, but I knew someone who maanged a good job almost two decades ago on a chevy of mine.
Find and shop around for a good indipendent shop for the last thing, the rest shouldn't be to hard.
Oh and how to start?
Youtube vides, gets yourself the list of parts and tools, and start with the easiest bs if You haven't done it.
Idk, change the engine and cabine air filter, then go on from there.
Built some confidencde till you end up rebuilting an engine like it's drinking a beer on a sunday afternoon.
Nasty____nate@reddit
I'm not a huge auto body guy so take my advise with a grain of salt. It come down to how much time and money do you want to spend? Do you have any equipment to do any of the work? If this was mine I would get a couple cheap suction cup dent pullers and get it as straight as possible. Then sand and paint it. That's like $20 for the pullers. $40 -$100 for the sanding equipment. Maybe $20 for the tape and plastic. Then the cost of paint itself. And do you have a compressor and spray gun? It won't be great, but it's cheap and quick. If you want return to factory looking it's going to take a lot more time, parts, panels, equipment, and so in.
Solid-Wrangler-1554@reddit
Yes you can but don't expect perfection that fact that you have a car like this points to perfection not being a priority, when doing body work,panel replacement is usually easier and sometimes cheaper that fixing them. Look at some old school ways of pulling or pushing dents out focus on one panel at a time and do your best chances are you won't make it worse as long as you finish what you start. Its better to have the whole care resprayed at a econo type shop for 3-400 In the same color and again not going to be perfect. I myself do paint and body for very reasonable prices and I always have work lined up I promise them an 80% compared to new paint and body and theyre always happy. It's all about expectations and budgets it's always a good idea to keep the older cars going rather than buy a new depreciating asset.
workingclassweenie@reddit
You can do body work at home with patience. Are you looking to restore the whole car back to its original? Don’t typically see mini vans as project cars, but hell yeah