engine shop just dimpled my hood!!!!!

if we get enough people with dimpled hoods we could start saying it was a factory high performance option.

 

Trust me it could alaways be worse

I was readin about all about the problems people have from the "dimpled" hood to door dings, well trust me it could be worse Some time back my father and i restored a 1964 falcon from the ground up, sanded car down to bare metal and all, to make a long story short...after the car was restored my dad had some guy he didnt know to well.... weld sub frame connectors well he caught the carpet on fire while he was underneath and the car burnt to the ground, by the time fire dept. was there the car was toast, no insurance was on the car yet, my poor father dragged the car home burnt and never touched it....remember things could alaways be worse!

 

make the guy pay the 650 bucks....then take the 650 and buy a brand new fiberglass hood and then you can just scuff it up and shoot a new paint job on it......

 

That does suck. At least it sounds like the shop is willing to fix the damage. It could have been worse and they could have been jerks about the whole thing. Don't antagonize them too much as long as they fix the damage.

 

Service Center

In 1984, I took my '81 Mustang in for new struts anh shocks. The car fell off the hoist and landed on its left side! There was $3,400 damage. They said they have insurance for these things and I was to get three estimates and they would take the lowest one. I had to pay for the repairs they had done before I could take the car. My car was fixed two months later. It looked good but, it had a water leak they could not find. There was nothing else I could do. Time for a new car. Needless to say when I take my car to the shop I get nervous. I check with the tech and make sure the car in on the hoist properly myself! The service center was sorry and they paid for a rental while my car was in the body shop. I was angry about this for a long time. All it did was make me sick! I had just paid off the car! Joe

 

Jason if I read this right you put in the extended stud. If that is the case did you check it when you put it on? I know it a bad situation but they are only human. People make mistakes everyday and no one is exempt. Some mistakes are big some small but the hard fact is that everyone makes them and if you are in the automotive business it is a big risk to work on someones car. Holding a grudge will not get your hood fixed but rather forgive them and work out an agreeable solution that will benefit both parties. Remember the guy who damaged your car may be personally responsible for the repairs, its not cool for him to work for a week or maybe more just to pay for a dimpled hood. JMO.

 

Hope you don't mind my chiming in, but yes...happens all too often (sadly) I worked in for a bit over 13+ years in auto shops, majority was Ford dealers. Saw a Ranger dangling on an old in-floor hydro lift, when the tech was working underneath....had put a temp stand under the trans, and went to lunch. While gone, the 30 or so year old lift leaked off, truck dropped about a foot, which spun the truck about 6-8 inches, and caught the lift pads in the rocker & bedside....ouch! About the worst I ever had was an ill-fitting bedliner that kinked the top of the bedside where the stake holes were (read thin metal!), and a passenger rear trim panel (beside rear seat) that cracked in the center while tracing wiring for premium sound on a 94 Probe GT. Doesn't sound bad, until you consider the trim panel listed for WELL over $600 at the time!


But yes, shop these days (for the most part) have to cover their hiney, and do so pretty well....although there are plenty of exceptions to rule also I'm sure.

Just my 2/10ths of a dollar.....*sigh* I got nothing...

Brian

 

i have been dealing with this shop for many years and they are reputable. yes i did put the stud in and left it long enough to adjust the filter. if you closed the hood slowly it was fine. it just touched the hood. if you drop the hood you get the resulting dimple. yes everyone makes mistakes but a seasoned mechanic should know better than to drop a hood. i don't know if he personally is being held liable. i left the car with them and i don't want to jack them as they are good people i just want the car restored to as before condition.
i was really really close to losing it last night. i haven't been that angry in a long time.it is good to know there is a place i can go to vent before anything stupid happens. like the rest of you this car is my baby and i waited 10 years to get one to this point. to have a stupid lack of thought ruin many hours of bodywork and paint just pushed my buttons the wrong way.
on a better note i went down today and purchased a new 13" air breather with a low profile so nothing like this can happen again. the 13" will clear the distributer instead of going over it.
i will give them a few days then check on the progress. hoprfully they can get it rolled out without sanding and repainting the hood. part-time and i are scheduled to be in a show feb 26.

 

Bad luck no doubt but it can be fixed. Get angry but move on you will feel better. Dropping hoods sometimes is a must for mechanics(not on the first try though) sticky latches and worn realease mechanisms dont ya know. In over 10 years the worst I have done is catch one on fire(don't ask) and no the car was not all burnt up just some carpet and I made the mistake (when I was 16 and an apprentice) to place jack stands under the pinch welds of a Ford Aerostar. That resulted in a 1200.00 body claim. However I have fixed at least 7,000(a low estimate) cars in my 10 plus years ranging from the basic lof to engine and tranny R and R. SOme minor mistakes inbetween but thats just being human Give them the chance to make it right. Not all of it was thier fault. Always communicate with your mechanic any special instructions and or mods that may need special care. Good Luck and I am sure if you have a relationship built with them they will take care of it.

 

These things do happen. Be assured that when it does happen, it's purely accidental. My hood had a small dimple in it too. That was a result of leaving a tool on the aircleaner and having the hood slip out of my hands while closing it. The fix was easy and no repainting was needed. I held a small block of wood under the dimple and my hubby placed one over the dimple and wacked the wood with a body hammer. No more dimple. A little rubbing with some compound later and I couldn't even find the spot where the dimple was. I have seen much worse things happen to freshly painted cars. I saw a guy who was working under the hood of what I think was a Chevy Barretta forget what he was doing and tried to shut the hood without putting the prop-rod down. The whole side of the hood bent over. The paint wasn't even a day old yet. The shop had to buy a new hood.

 

I have a dimple in mine as well.

Looks like a new fashion trend.

I put a bit of clay (basically sticky mud) on top of the bolt, closed the hood slowly, 1/4 inch of clearance, excellent. Removed the clay, closed the hood, no problem.

Playing with the carb later, dropped the hood from about 6 inches, dimple.

Did you tell them about the stud bolt?

I wouldn't have checked it unless I had known it had just been swapped, and if I hadn't been told, there's no way I would eat the cost. I'd probably do my best to fix it, but I wouldn't pay for it to be redone.

Sorry man, that's my point of view.

 

yes i told him that i swapped out the bolt and left him anough rod for adjustment. i am not holding a grudge with him. accidents happen but i do expect them to fix it. i called yesterday and they had called around to get the best painless dent guy in town but he won't be back in town untill thursday. so they set an appointment for friday for him to come take a look at it. i am fine with that. i would rather wait for the best guy than to have someone mess it up further by not knowing what they are doing. like i said before i have been dealing with this shop for many years and this is the first damage to any of my cars. i am confident they will get it fixed.
i just needed a few days to clear my head and calm down. as with any dark car the dimple always shows up larger than it actually is.

 

good luck but it does sound like they are doing there best. that's the sign of a good shop. it happens.

 

just to update everyone on the mav, they painless dent guy said there was no way he could fix it since it was on the ridge. they went ahead and sent the car to a body shop to have the dimple repaired and to repaint the hood. i will keep everyone posted on how it turns out.

 

Sounds like you found a keeper.

I'm thinkin short and wide hood scoop on mine... or swapping for the good hood I have in the back.

Good luck with it man.