72 scout with an ugly butt

B

blueblur1984

Member
Hey guys. I bought a 72 Scout that has over all a pretty clean body but it looks like there were a ton of accessories removed and the holes weren't filled in. I'm planning on hitting them with some bondo and painting at some point, but the damage to the rear end is a little heavier.

Still nothing big, but it looks like there used to be a tire rack on the rear and the tire rack was probably hit by another car warping the sheet metal. The big damage is around the tail light housings. Should I try to pull out the dents and bondo from there or would it just be easier to find a donor car and remove the end caps from that and weld the new end caps onto my Scout?

I'll have pictures up later so you can see what I'm working with.
 
If there is enough meet left, you can try to beat them back and paint to match, but welding on new end caps will be a cleaner and better end result.

Bondo-into-hole = rust monster. Weld up any and all holes and grind them flat then use the bondo just to clean up the surface. If you use a slide-hammer, take your time to not pull the screw out of the sheetmetal, then when its close work it a little with a [can be cheap] Hammer and dolly, weld up the screw holes, grind and finish. Hit the back-side with some spray-galvanizing if you can to help keep rust from the back side down.
 
Where would I pick up these new end caps? I've been looking but haven't had much luck.

As far as welding the holes shut I don't have a whole lot of experience welding. Most of the holes I'm going to patch and cover with line-x so they don't have to be pretty (still want to avoid rust of course), but there are a few that May require some practice. I have a little lincoln mig welder that I bought second hand and the manual says it's good for up to an 1/8 inch steel. Will I need to have some type of fill metal to fill in a hole that's a little smaller than the eraser of a pencil or will the wire fed through be enough?

Edit: I see they have them here on ihonlynorth. Does anybody have them cheaper? I'm in this project more than I was hoping to spend initially.
 
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No, I don't think you will find them any cheaper. You are working on a 40 year old rig. Just be glad you can still find these parts.
 
Hey-
lots of scouts have this end cap problem. I just pulled my dents out with a stud welder/puller. I plan to fill in the surface that needs a little more smoothing with bondo. I have heard that anything more than and 1/8th of an inch of bondo is a no no. Myself and oakland jack looked into new end caps. Its a much bigger job getting those babies on right. Cutting clean lines, tack welding and making sure it all lines up. That's why I avoided it. Where are you located? Maybe jack or I would be able to help you out? Pm me.

-Joe
livermore
 
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