Decklid high in the middle of the front edge vs the front corners, how do I bend it without damaging it?

[jtfx6552]

I'm using my original deck lid with a repro deck lid to back window panel on my 65 fastback.

Deck lid sits high in the middle vs the corners. I suppose I need to support the edges and press down in the middle. BUT how do I do that without crushing the edge of the deck lid or distorting the flange of the lid. In short, I need to evenly distribute the bend across the whole lid.

Pictures of how it sits and what I don't want to crush when I try to support the edges while pressing the middle.

 

[RenewAP]

I would try several layers of thin plywood so they bend with the curve. It may not work, but it should be a safe starting attempt.

 

[chevman]

That looks like its way off. I would start searching for an original deck lid.
Edit: I read it again. How does the window fit?

 

[Chris_Hamilton]

Probably going to need a combination of things done. First thing I would do is pull the decklid back off and attempt to armstrong it some. Place your knee where it is high in the center and gradually apply force at the ends with your hands. Lift the ends up while bracing with your knee. Lifting the ends will help lower it in the center. I would move it as much as I could then reinstall and check. You may also have to end up slicing the panel you installed to either lower it or raise it in places.

 

[AAE]

Probably going to need a combination of things done. First thing I would do is pull the decklid back off and attempt to armstrong it some. Place your knee where it is high in the center and gradually apply force at the ends with your hands. Lift the ends up while bracing with your knee. Lifting the ends will help lower it in the center. I would move it as much as I could then reinstall and check. You may also have to end up slicing the panel you installed to either lower it or raise it in places.

Would inverting it and push down from the back with a 2x4 work?

 

[MJM]

That looks like its way off. I would start searching for an original deck lid.
Edit: I read it again. How does the window fit?

Good call ^^^

I absolutely would be placing the rear window in for a test fit before doing anything else. If the window doesn't fit, then I would be manipulating the new trunk lid to window panel to fit both the window, and the truck lid. Also if the rear window has a trim piece around it, I would dry fit that also.

Report back on the rear window fitment.

 

[jtfx6552]

Window fits good. I did test fit all this before welding, but evidently didn’t pay enough attention in tbe center of the deck lid. You can see in this picture that the corners were low and the middle was not.

 

[Chris_Hamilton]

Would inverting it and push down from the back with a 2x4 work?

Would be very similar to what I described.

 

[Chris_Hamilton]

@jtfx6552 Your first move should be trying to manipulate the deck lid some. Either the way I described or as AAE described. If you do you want to gradually try and move it. Don't go crazy with force all at once. Work up to using a lot of force. The lid will want to move. Will probably take several attempts of moving the lid then fitting it. You should be able to get it close. Just don't push so hard you start deforming the deck lid/skin.
Just bringing g the edges up will have the effect of lowering the center, which is why I said use your knee if you can. Position your knee right at the top on top of the edge. In the center. Less chance of deforming the outer skin as you just would use your knee for balance as you are pulling back. And because you knee is on the top edge, less chance of deforming the skin. If you have a large sandbag that would work well and help to support it in a larger area to keep from deforming it. Lay the deck upside down on the bag (center) and push the edges down.

Like I said above it may require both armstrong'ing it and doing some cutting of the rear panel to adjust the height of the panel. I imagine some of it is the repop panel and some of it is in how it was fitted. Very easy to get it off and often the repops fit is pretty poor.

If you can, put the weatherstrip on as well to test that things don't change drastically when you do.

 

[Chris_Hamilton]

To add to what I described above when you use your knee, you want to position that top edge of the panel just under your kneecap and above the bone. Right where the "dip" in your knee is. Provided your knees can stand it. When you do this it makes it harder to deform the outer skin as you are applying force. Hope that makes sense.

 

[MJM]

Good luck bending that trunk lid using your knee as support. It's not the trunk lid skin that would need to be manipulated, it would be the trunk lid frame structure that the skin is sitting on, and that isn't going to happen using your knee. If the trunk lid fit reasonably well before replacing the rear window to truck lid panel, then the panel to be manipulated is the window to truck lid panel. There will be a little manipulation of the truck lid at the corners for a better panel plane to the quarter panel. It is also most likely you'll need to skim coat the window to trunk lid panel from all the work that was done manipulating the window to trunk lid panel.

This is how I would approach the issue at hand.

Here's a video showing trunk to window panel manipulation. Jump to 2:22 of the video.

Skim coating window to trunk lid panel. This is a bit excessive but, it gives you an idea for a "skim coat" Skip to 5:12 in the video.

 

[MJM]

Just to be clear, I wouldn't hammer the corner up by, hammering at the corner only.

This is how I would approach it.

 

[Chris_Hamilton]

@MJM Do you realize what will happen when you hammer on the corner edges? You think it will just naturally progress to where it needs to be by hammering it? That's not how it works.

At this point the damage is done (ftting and welding of the replacement panels by the OP) Some of it is in the repop panels some of it is in the fittment of the panels prior to welding. You've got to try and recurve the decklid without making it scrap. Hand manipulating it as I described is the safest method to try first. If it wasn't able to be done I wouldn't have said anything about it. I don't talk out of my ass. I give advice based on my experience. It will move some, how much IDK. Next safest thing to try is to do as AAE and Renew described and use a 2x4 or some plywood to support it in the middle while spreading it (pushing down) on the ends. That will reform the skin and the frame. Whether it will do it without damaging the lid IDK. Whether you can get it all out with the lid, IDK. The last effing thing I would do is hammer on the edges.

 

[1A Rock]

Without being a smart ass, which is a challenge for me, obviously as it seems you know, this new panel could should have been fitted better before welding it in. One thing I would do before I bent around on the lid too much, take the lid off, stand in the trunk, grab the opening in the center and try to lift/bend it closer to the right shape. It's worth a try and if it doesn't work you have lost nothing.

 

[MJM]

Without being a smart ass, which is a challenge for me, obviously as it seems you know, this new panel could should have been fitted better before welding it in. One thing I would do before I bent around on the lid too much, take the lid off, stand in the trunk, grab the opening in the center and try to lift/bend it closer to the right shape. It's worth a try and if it doesn't work you have lost nothing.

That's a darn good idea, well worth trying. If that works, it'll fix the top center of the trunk lid.

 

[MJM]

@MJM Do you realize what will happen when you hammer on the corner edges? You think it will just naturally progress to where it needs to be by hammering it? That's not how it works.

. The last effing thing I would do is hammer on the edges.

Your right, the last thing someone should do is hammer directly on the edge. That's why i didn't say to hammer on the edge. Seeing as the OP has gotten this far with his repair, I assumed he would have the common sense not to hammer directly on the edge for obvious reason.

I had some lows on my truck lid in the corners, when I hammered the edges up I did so like this by placing my dolly away from the folded edge.

I used a metal block placed where the X is and used my hammer to strike the metal block.

 

[Chris_Hamilton]

Good to see you changed what you wrote in the pic above. But you did write hammer on the edges before you edited it. There is a big difference in tapping something up a few mm's versus the distance his lid has to go. What you wrote above will work for a small amount of movement. But in this case with the OP's car trying to get all that out doing as you described will start to bend the whole edge up. It will leave a crease of sorts (on the outer skin) beside it and the trunk lid line will look like shit. Again fine if we are tweaking something a couple of mm's but in this case it's not.

Plus it's high in the middle so the whole lid needs to recurve. IDK if it will be even possible to completely get it out but where to focus on is the whole shape of the lid. If you move the edges you need to have some reverse pressure on the middle to get everything to move. Why I suggested what I did, in the progression that I did. Try the safest thing first, progress to the most aggressive methods. I could armstrong it using my knee I'm pretty sure. Might not get it all out but I'd move it a lot. Done it many times in the past on things. Personally I think placing it upside down, supportting it in the middle, and applying pressure to the edge area (not the very edge but the last few inches) on both sides will get the majority of it out and reshape it to the new deck panel. When we would do something like that I would enlist another guy and the two of us would press down on each side. The support in the middle needs to be positioned high up, overlapping the edge. Too low and it will cave the skin in.

And if the OP does as I described, you want to only have support in a very small area in the center. Too wide will have the effect of flattening that area out which is not what you want. Single 2x4 overlapping the edge of the panel in the center is what I would try first. And gently/progressively try to work it down if you use the method I described. Too much force too quickly and it will make a mess.

 

[MJM]

Good to see you changed what you wrote in the pic above. But you did write hammer on the edges before you edited it.

That's not true. I never said anything about hammering on the edges. My last edit was to change the word reasonable, to reasonably. Also the area I would be hammering up was to match up with the quarter panel. The filler panel between the window and trunk lid i would relief cut it to lower and raise as needed. pretty much exactly how I described it with pictures and videos.

Anything else you'd like to complain about today?

 

[Chris_Hamilton]

You said hammer the edge in the text in the picture. Plus you said it in your post. Why would I refer to that in my post above if you didn't? You edited the word hammer to tap. I'm not stupid man.

 

[MJM]

And if the OP does as I described, you want to only have support in a very small area in the center. Too wide will have the effect of flattening that area out which is not what you want. Single 2x4 overlapping the edge of the panel in the center is what I would try first. And gently/progressively try to work it down if you use the method I described. Too much force too quickly and it will make a mess.

If the OP does as you described and screws up the truck lid, then he'll have no known good panel to work from. As far as we know at this point, the trunk lid is an unmolested true as it's going to get from the factory verses a used, or re-popped filler panel that was not install correctly (not disrespecting your work OP)

Common sense says it's better to rework the filler panel between the window and trunk lid again because you can shape it to a known good panel, the trunk lid.