Vespa body work

[the deacon]

Hi everyone.
Just want to say great site here.

I recently bought a '76 Vespa rally, and will be undertaking the body work and paint. It will be a daily runner, so not going for super show quality. But it is a classic and don't want to disgrace it with a bad job.

I've posted a few pics of what I'm starting out with.
I have a dolly and hammer kit and plan on using that method to do most of the repairs.

My plan it to use the hammer off dolly technique to raise the low spots, placing the dolly at the lowest point of dent, then working the hammer on the raised sections around the dent on the other side.

Any advice and guidance would be greatly appreciated.

thanks
deacon

[Mooch]

Hi everyone.
Just want to say great site here.

I recently bought a '76 Vespa rally, and will be undertaking the body work and paint. It will be a daily runner, so not going for super show quality. But it is a classic and don't want to disgrace it with a bad job.

I've posted a few pics of what I'm starting out with.
I have a dolly and hammer kit and plan on using that method to do most of the repairs.

My plan it to use the hammer off dolly technique to raise the low spots, placing the dolly at the lowest point of dent, then working the hammer on the raised sections around the dent on the other side.

Any advice and guidance would be greatly appreciated.

thanks
deacon

That looks like a really fun project . Is it easy to get engine parts for that Vespa ?


Mooch

[Len]

Hi everyone.
Just want to say great site here.

I recently bought a '76 Vespa rally, and will be undertaking the body work and paint. It will be a daily runner, so not going for super show quality. But it is a classic and don't want to disgrace it with a bad job.

I've posted a few pics of what I'm starting out with.
I have a dolly and hammer kit and plan on using that method to do most of the repairs.

My plan it to use the hammer off dolly technique to raise the low spots, placing the dolly at the lowest point of dent, then working the hammer on the raised sections around the dent on the other side.

Any advice and guidance would be greatly appreciated.

thanks
deacon

Hammer and dolly will do the job just don't overdue it because you can stretch the metal if you do too much "on dolly" hammering to get it perfect. Mooch is right, it looks like fun and it's a small project that should go fairly quickly once you get rolling.

[the deacon]

thanks for the encouragement guys. I'm looking forward to getting into it!
These scoots are great fun to ride, and at about 60+ miles a gallon it works for the wallet.

Mooch
depending on the model, parts availability is variable. My scoot was the platform they used to make models in the '80s, so because of that most of the parts are pretty easy to find. There is also a strong repro market out there as these bikes are classics and the people that are into them tend to be fanatical about them (not in a bad way)

[John Kelly]

Hi Deacon,

The classic version of off dolly will not do much good to start with on those dents. They are deep and will require more force than that technique typically employs. You will need to bump those dents out from behind with a dolly first. Start at the outer edges using a dolly that has a high crown bowl like shape with no hard edges. You can do some off dolly during this process by holding a heavy dolly or sand bag on the outside to keep control of the contours while you are bumping. I show fixing a similar dent in these videos (parts 9-12):

http://www.youtube.com/profile_video...ullWingInn&p=r

Or, in this album if you have a slow connection:

http://allshops.org/cgi-bin/communit...=9980121727059

John www.ghiaspecialties.com

[the deacon]

John,
thanks for the links and guidance. I'll take a look at them.

best

[the deacon]

Just and update. Glad I read those links John, thanks. I would have gone right to the hammer/dolly. I decided to use a rubber mallet first to punch the dents out. It worked great and got the shape back to about 80%. I'm gonna start on the hammer off dolly now

[the deacon]

hey guys, just a status update. I've gone as far as I can I think with the hammer work alone (per the last photos I submitted). I think I need to look into using going with some shrinking? any thoughts?

It's cold as all get out up here so I've been doing this hammer work in the basement, but not sure if I can get away with using shrinking methods down here.

[the deacon]

I know it's a small job, and I'm not really gonna do any other body work but any tips on using a shrinking disc? Where can I grab one cheap? I'm thinking of picking one up to finish off this leg shield.

thanks guys

[Len]

I know it's a small job, and I'm not really gonna do any other body work but any tips on using a shrinking disc? Where can I grab one cheap? I'm thinking of picking one up to finish off this leg shield.

thanks guys

What makes you believe you need shrinking? Is the metal either too high or too low and can't be made level? In most cases the only time you need to shrink is when it's popping in and out (oil canning) and won't maintain the proper shape.

Can you get it slightly low and apply a little filler to level it?

[the deacon]

There are small "hammer bumps" from working with the dolly and hammer and thought that the disc was best for that. Of course I'm new to this. I didn't realize the best use of shrinking is for oil caning.

Also on the leg shield both the front and back of the sheet metal is visible, so a valley filled with filler from the front will be seen as a dent from the back.

thanks for the help Len

[Len]

There are small "hammer bumps" from working with the dolly and hammer and thought that the disc was best for that. Of course I'm new to this. I didn't realize the best use of shrinking is for oil caning.

Also on the leg shield both the front and back of the sheet metal is visible, so a valley filled with filler from the front will be seen as a dent from the back.

thanks for the help Len

When I do a job like this I'll usually work the metal until it's real close then apply my filler. If you have only small surface variations you should be able to fill both sides of the leg shield and have it look perfect.

[the deacon]

Len, thanks for the info, it sounds like a good course of action.
What filler would you suggest?

best
dieter

[showcar]

In cold weather I'd suggest evercoat rage extreme w/ a tad of honey. In summer I'd go with Rage. For you the honey just might make things messier.
Be sure to post pics when you are done. Sounds like a fun little project.

[the deacon]

Thanks showcar, I'll certainly post pics when done, with all the help I've gotten here I've got a good feeling about the results.

I googled the filler and it looks good. I'm planning on doing the filling and spraying in the spring. What is the difference between the extreme and "regular"?
Also what is the honey you were refearing to? I can't seem to find anything on it.

Also do they sell this in quart or pint sizes? All I have is this one project and a whole gallon seems like a waste.

best,
dieter