This is a Porta power:
It's a hand powered hydraulic ram. The large cylinder with the hand pump is just a reservoir, the other cylinder is a 10 ton ram. The kit comes with a whole bunch of odd shaped attachments and extensions to allow precise positioning of the ram against the affected area.
Here's how you use it:
Set the ram up against the damaged area, ensuring the other end of the ram is up against a strong part of the body. I used the rear box section at the boot, with a large piece of steel to spread the load. I also kept the ram low down towards the boot floor, so the boot floor would take the load in shear and reduce rear bulkhead distortion. What you are trying to do is set the ram up so it pushes in the opposite direction of the force that caused the crease. You don't want to merely force the bumps down, but move the whole area back into position.
What you do then, is pump a little until the creases start to disappear. You don't want to go too far in one spot or you'll do further damage. You know the creases have gone as far as they will go when they stop flattening out. Then you move on to the next area. With these creases in the bulkhead, I moved left and right with the ram, keeping the flat end of the ram down against the existing body crease. As I worked it back and forth, the creases slowly decreased.
Once you get to a stage where pushing the ram starts moving the whole panel, then start slowly dressing down the high crease spots with a hammer, whilst load is still applied. I also use a piece of bar stock to hammer down onto existing body creases, to help redefine the panel shapes and build the stiffening back in that the creases provide to the panels.
This is as far as I can go with the Porta power and hammer, this stage, with the Porta power and coarse hammering is known as "roughing out". I will progress to a hammer and dolly once I get my propane torch back to help settle the creases down. I also need to weld a couple of body seams back up, it's common for the Porta power to pop spotwelds here and there, so I can't get the final shape till I weld all the seams back up.
Even at this stage you can see a big difference!
Now I've got my eye back in with this simple repair, I'll tackle the quarter panel tomorrow and maybe start on the sill, that's going to be the tricky one!
Here's how you use it:
What you do then, is pump a little until the creases start to disappear. You don't want to go too far in one spot or you'll do further damage. You know the creases have gone as far as they will go when they stop flattening out. Then you move on to the next area. With these creases in the bulkhead, I moved left and right with the ram, keeping the flat end of the ram down against the existing body crease. As I worked it back and forth, the creases slowly decreased.
Once you get to a stage where pushing the ram starts moving the whole panel, then start slowly dressing down the high crease spots with a hammer, whilst load is still applied. I also use a piece of bar stock to hammer down onto existing body creases, to help redefine the panel shapes and build the stiffening back in that the creases provide to the panels.
This is as far as I can go with the Porta power and hammer, this stage, with the Porta power and coarse hammering is known as "roughing out". I will progress to a hammer and dolly once I get my propane torch back to help settle the creases down. I also need to weld a couple of body seams back up, it's common for the Porta power to pop spotwelds here and there, so I can't get the final shape till I weld all the seams back up.
Even at this stage you can see a big difference!
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