'65 Crack above door hinge

[Oliver S.]

Hello,

I own my convertible since 2006 - it's a driver. After buying it I discovered this crack (see pic), which hasn't widened since then. The previous owner mentioned that the fender was replaced.
What could I do? Leave it or is there a small repair option, which I could do by myself (I don't have the exact paint in a can)?

Regards
Oliver

[Rich P.]

Re: '65 Crack above door hinge

It is a seperation of the hood surrond to bonding strip. This is an easy fix and wont affect the outside paint. VERY CAREFULLY dremel the section just below the crack untill there is a 3/16" wide grove about 1/8" deep. If you do this properly you will not even touch the surround which is the top part of the crack. Next scuff up the underside of the now exposed surround and remaining crack. Tape every bit of blue paint surrounding your dremel spot, mix a good quality panel adhesive and force it into the crack and then let it fill the dremel hole. Let that set, sand and pinhole it then dust some prime on it and paint. If done properly you will not have touched the outer surround paint.

Rich

[Oliver S.]

Re: '65 Crack above door hinge

I had hoped there may be something that can be inserted in the existing crack with a very fine needle and put some touch up paint on it.

Oliver

[David C.]

Re: '65 Crack above door hinge

"I had hoped there may be something that can be inserted in the existing crack with a very fine needle and put some touch up paint on it."

If you drive it after this method it will just recur.

[Roger P.]

Re: '65 Crack above door hinge

Oliver:
I had a similar issue with a crack near the rear deck lid on my '65. I used a small knife to widen the crack a bit, taped around it, and filled it with epoxy. I purchased "PC-11 White Epoxy Paste" (you can buy it at most hardware stores like Ace Hardware) and worked it deep into the seam and onto the back side of the crack. Then I skimmed off the top just below flush with the adjacent painted surface to leave a depression for the paint and removed the tape. Once cured, I re-taped the area and sanded it carefully with fine-grit sandpaper. After a couple of touch-up applications with my Dr. ColorChip touch-up paint (very good stuff), some compound, and a little wax, you can hardly tell the crack ever existed before . The best part is that the crack hasn't come back (fingers crossed) and it's been over a year!! It appears that the PC-11 makes an excellent bond with the fiberglass as advertised. Try it -- I think it will work for you, too.

Good luck,
Roger (50141)