straightening front valence

[jw 325ic]

my fiances 91 coupe's front valence has a little "snarl" look on the passenger side of the valence, right under the foglight/brake duct hole. that thin little part that goes under the fogs is bent up.

any tips on straightening that out. ive heard some shit about a 2x4 but this is strong metal...i was thinking hours of hammering and pulling???

[87-325ic]

a hammer, a grinder, some good filler, primer, paint and clearcoat.

it fixed mine, but mine had holes rusted through.

it your paint is straight, just be carful on a sunny day and pull on it from behind with some visegrips or something where its not visible.

[Disaster Inc]

Post a pic of the "snarl".

Hammer and dolly is really the best bet.

Off the car is easiest, but as long as you can access front and rear it'll work.

Harbor Freight has a 7 pc or so hammer and dolly set for like $25 bucks, made in China crap, but unless you decide to do it for a living, its all you need.

Choose a dolly as a backing plate for your hammering that most closely mimics the contour of the metal your attempting to straighten.

Use the good side (of the valence) as reference for your straightening.

And unless you want to pick and file and lead (way old skool), Get it as close as you can, and putty and paint will make it what it ain't.

This is all assuming that it's creased/bent to the point of paint damage now, or a given during the repair.

Paint less repair is a different game, and sometimes works, but we need a pic to determine that.

[jw 325ic]

heres the snarl. i had to remove the foglights (drivers had a hole but the passengers was busted, both pitted to hell). the pass brake ducts is wedged in there so i can even remove it...you can see where its bent UP and slightly in.

my lip and blanks are coming any day now so i need this done. i want the lip on when it gets here. i guess ill just pull and hammer...

[jw 325ic]

well what i ended up doing was getting a concrete block with a groove in it, put a long pry bar in the groove, put a towel over the valence, and had pry bar over towel. banged on it enough to straighten it. thanks for the help though.

[twistednut]

I actually managed to get a small jack in there with a 2X4 to spread the load and bent mine back into shape.

[Stu]

My 318is had a similar problem with the valance. I "fixed" it by wrapping a 2" tow-strap around it (though the foglight hole) and having my brother pull it with his Jeep. From there, a bit of work with some vicegrips made it straight again.

[BDSax]

to fix it correctly:

1: go to the dealer and order a new one

[gearheadE30]

Who wants to spend several hundred bucks on a valence when you can use brute force and do it for free? As long as it works and is of decent quality, who cares if it is the right way to do it. ;)