Rally Car Body Repair

[Kris82]

While there are plenty of threads about the technical side of rally racing I wasn't able to find anything that would describe or explain how the body work of a rally car is fixed after it gets damaged. While there are plenty of videos on the internet showing how the mechanics hit bent body panels into their approximate shape in between stages there aren't any videos showing how a beat up car is restored to it's original shine after a serious body damage. We know a team of technicians is able to fix anything as long as the cage hasn't been bent. We see rally cars after rollovers reenter the race and then being restored to a show like condition before the next rally. Does anyone have any info, articles, videos about how a WRC or lower class rally car's body is fixed between rallies? I'm more interested in serious damage that requires body panel work/replacement. I wonder if they just hammer them out to as straight as possible and then bondo the panels (which would add more weight to a vehicle and probably isn't how it's done) or do they take the bent panels completely off straighten out the frame of the vehicle and weld new panels on? I'm most interested in panels that can't be easily replaced like the rear quarter panel.
Thanks for responses. I'm sorry if I didn't post in the right section or missed a thread about this topic. The search yielded no results.

[N.O.T]

you have some strange fetish about panels? your job revolves around that? or you are just weird ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS9KkhKl_Zk

[Tarmop]

Cut the damaged bits of, pull it straight, put new pieces back. Like any other car ( exept most of the time it`s cheaper for an insurance company to buy it and pay the market value).
https://scontent-arn2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/12079597_501505206691384_6808044448466251432_n.jpg ?oh=1c7d5d836e51bcfa100b73ba2671fb02&oe=5B1811FB
https://scontent-arn2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/12074748_501505180024720_7579237380959825820_n.jpg ?oh=4240efd453f19f9fcb579217a6219927&oe=5AE4258C
https://scontent-arn2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/12105895_501505220024716_17258468350150126_n.jpg?o h=bdf8c136cdc421b581419855852c3e91&oe=5ADC9F39
Pics by E. Sups

In the end it looked like a new and shiny red evo again.

[AL14]

you have some strange fetish about panels? your job revolves around that? or you are just weird ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS9KkhKl_Zk

There you go http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06BFsQ_28Co&t=0m15s

[AnttiL]

Cut the damaged bits of, pull it straight, put new pieces back. Like any other car ( exept most of the time it`s cheaper for an insurance company to buy it and pay the market value)..

I think R5 and WRC cars need to be fixed at the factory if they are too badly damaged, from the rollcages for instance. Also, sometimes they just take out all the rally technics and put into a new bodyshell.

[Tarmop]

Yes, but the point stays the same.:D

[racerx1979]

The cars are put back on the chassis jig and checked for tolerances. If the shell is within tolerances they will repair it.

[Coach 2]

Cut the damaged bits of, pull it straight, put new pieces back. Like any other car ( exept most of the time it`s cheaper for an insurance company to buy it and pay the market value).
https://scontent-arn2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/12079597_501505206691384_6808044448466251432_n.jpg ?oh=1c7d5d836e51bcfa100b73ba2671fb02&oe=5B1811FB
https://scontent-arn2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/12074748_501505180024720_7579237380959825820_n.jpg ?oh=4240efd453f19f9fcb579217a6219927&oe=5AE4258C
https://scontent-arn2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/12105895_501505220024716_17258468350150126_n.jpg?o h=bdf8c136cdc421b581419855852c3e91&oe=5ADC9F39
Pics by E. Sups

In the end it looked like a new and shiny red evo again.

It's probably not quite like this when it comes to WRC or R5.
The chassis is made of steel with very big differences in hardness. Some parts are completely impossible to correct with regular tools. It's okay to know how to distinguish between these qualities on the chassis. It makes sense to get a chassis fixture with the manufacturer if you do not know how to do the job right.
Too many think they know, but do not. This sometimes leads to fatal consequences.

[Tarmop]

There are complete wrecks rebuilt into a shiny racecar again, inspected before (sometimes during) and after. Talking about roadcars ofc there are deathtraps moving on our roads. Youtube is full of those suspicious restorings of fancy sport and luxury cars. But the main idea is, how they are restored, when they are restored. No filler and hammer, only new pieces welded correctly (old pieces also removed correctly).

[Mrpengski]

The car is partially stripped down and spends 1 or 2 days in the bodyshop after a particularly hard rally. By that I mean the expected wear and tear without any unplanned activities like a roll, etc. Even then the bodyshop guys make it all look easy, they are very talented indeed. You would be surprised how often certain panels must be replaced (cut and shut), but equally how much of it is done "freehand". I think it is not so difficult to position new parts when you have a good supply of bodywork straight from the assembly line, probably broken down more into smaller subsections than a normal workshop would be able to obtain. After all, if any important bits get bent out of tolerance, it's new chassis time anyway. And for areas that are not structural or visible, it's usually just buff and paint. No need to replace a panel that will get dinged up in the first kilometer of the next rally.

[Tarmop]

Paint is not very popular on WRC cars i believe. :)

[Kris82]

Thanks for the answers guys I appreciate your input.


you have some strange fetish about panels? your job revolves around that? or you are just weird ?


I'm just weird :). It's the part of rallying that is rarely covered since it takes place behind the scenes and isn't as fascinating as the technical or competitive aspects. The link you provided doesn't answer my question. But thanks for trying :D.

[Kris82]

Cut the damaged bits of, pull it straight, put new pieces back. Like any other car ( exept most of the time it`s cheaper for an insurance company to buy it and pay the market value).
https://scontent-arn2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/12079597_501505206691384_6808044448466251432_n.jpg ?oh=1c7d5d836e51bcfa100b73ba2671fb02&oe=5B1811FB
https://scontent-arn2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/12074748_501505180024720_7579237380959825820_n.jpg ?oh=4240efd453f19f9fcb579217a6219927&oe=5AE4258C
https://scontent-arn2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/12105895_501505220024716_17258468350150126_n.jpg?o h=bdf8c136cdc421b581419855852c3e91&oe=5ADC9F39
Pics by E. Sups

In the end it looked like a new and shiny red evo again.

Great pictures. Tell the whole story. The car is basically completely rebuilt with body sections or panels from the scrap yard. I bet in the case of WRC they use brand new spare body panels they got ready for situations like this. Wish there were actual official videos showing how it's handled. It's fascinating stuff. Much more time and work consuming then mechanical work.