Low Spot Around Antenna

T

Tiggie

Noob Question (forgive me)

The area around the antenna on my 68 Mustang is a bit low. The antenna mounts on the steel front fender which flexes very slightly if the antenna catches on anything. Picture attached for reference (not my car).

The low spot about the size of a 3x5 index card, it’s not deep but deeper than I would typically fill with a high build primer.

The flexibility concerns me. Any recommendations on what to fill with? I have Evercoat Rage Ultra on hand... could I use it?
 

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Perhaps the metal could be worked up a bit so filler could be mostly avoided. Possibly antenna mishaps over the years have stretched the metal around the antenna hole, which would make the area feel more flexible. If so, that would need shrinking during the repair process. We really ought to have good quality photos of the actual area before advice should be given.
 
+1 for good pics. Hard to tell you anything if we can't see what you are talking about.

Oh and I still listen to the radio. :p Country, Rock and Rush Limbaugh.:eek: (Maybe I am a deplorableo_O)
 
Thanks for the feedback so far. Here’s some pictures. I will hopefully get a video uploaded and post in a few minutes.
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The video should go live in a few minutes.

The car will keep its antenna. The car is a mostly stock restoration. It’s got a pretty unusual factory AM/FM that actually works (!).
 
I am guessing that there is old damage under that paint, I don't think a proper repair plan can be made until that area is stripped and epoxy primed.
 
It has been stripped and epoxy primed. That is the epoxy you are looking at. It has been blocked out with 220.

I can get good access to the back side so pushing it out gently might be a good option? I’ve seen the paintless dent guys use flexible rods to rub out dents.
 
Tiggie is it double or single layered there? If it's single you'd can do like Crash says and pull it up, after that use a dolly with the appropriate crown behind (backside) the dent then gently hammer on dolly and finish raising the dent and smoothing it. If you don't have the pull rod you can make something that'll work. An old screw driver bent to 90 degrees (or a little more) would do the trick (if it's double walled there. If it is just one layer you don't need the pull rod you can use a dolly like I described to bring it up.
 
Yeah, the pull rod can be a convenient tool when it's hard to reach the back of a hole that needs a little lifting, but it's pretty easy to get carried away and cause more damage than you are fixing. I honestly can't remember on those cars if you can just stick your arm up there with a dolly and push up with a bit of very light hammer-off to raise it up. Pardon me if I contradict Chris (which is rare) and say hammer-off because holes like that many times already have some stretched metal around the edges, so you have to be careful not to hammer the edges of the hole. But it's very common to have to do a bit of shrinking around an area like that anyway, since it's probably seen a bit of trauma over the years with all kinds of things knocking into the antenna.
 
After you get it as straight as you can, i’d consider making a reinforcing plate and panel bonding it inside the fender. Maybe some 18 gage steel. I’d feel better about having a little filler around there if I knew it wasn’t going to flex.
 
Make sure you pre-fit/mount the antenna before final prime to be sure there will be enough threads exposed to attach the base to, especially if you plate it. Or pre-drill the holes if it mounts that way, again especially if you plate it.
In other words, mount the antenna to check fit before final prime. Don't want any surprises after paint!
(Sorry that took so long to say the same thing 3 times....)
 
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