Dave8876

My 92 has a crack at the passenger side rear wheel well. It is right in the middle above the wheel. It starts at the edge of the wheel well and goes up about 2-3 inches. I've had the car 2.5 years and the prior owner (who was also the original owner) said it happened about 8 years prior (so 10.5 years counting my ownership). The crack goes thru the panel completely, but has not gotten any bigger in the time I have owned it. The original owner said the same.
I want to get this fixed next year, but the idea of the cost frightens me. I only paid $5k for the car and I am worried it will cost that much to fix it. I have also read conflicting information about moisture and a crack in the SMC material. Will rain and washing the car hurt the crack? The car has only seen rain once in my ownership, but has been washed as well. Everything still seems the same as the day I bought it. Is there anything I can do to brace the crack (maybe from within the wheel well). Cosmetically it doesn't really bother me, as it doesn't stand out, but I don't want to hurt my car. I know pictures would be helpful and I will try to get them ASAP. The car is in winter storage at the moment.

Thanks.

Kevova

Repair will depend on your skill set. The materials are less than 100.00 + paint. If you can spread and sand filler to match contour. You are good. Votech, moonlighting body or marine tech are options.

jv9999

Look on YouTube, there are lots of videos on fixing SMC cracks. It's not all that hard if you have some basic body work skills.

Dave8876

Thanks for the info guys. I actually thought about buying a junkyard C4 hood and practicing on that. I know it wouldn't be the cheapest thing to do, but I think it would be a good investment for being able to work on this car and a future second Corvette I hope to buy.

So will rain and washing the car hurt the crack? Is there anything I can do to protect it/brace it until it can be repaired? It hasn't gotten any bigger in the years it has been there, but i want to play it safe.

Mr. Peabody

1) rain and washing will not hurt the SMC either before or after you repair it.

2) If you are going to take it someplace to have it repaired simply ask them what experience they have in working with SMC as opposed to doing fiberglass repairs which are somewhat different and user different materials. And if someone tells you Oh it's all the same thing..... then go someplace else.

3) If you are worried that you may not get your investment in the repairs out of eventually selling the C4 then I think that you are looking at it incorrectly. These cars are NOT an appreciable asset. they are an investment in fun and enjoyment.

turbobuick33

Can you post pics of the crack?

65Z01

Are you at all handy with Bondo and small paint jobs? What color?

If you're not into such jobs, I think a decent repair shop should be able to do the job for $2-3 hundred.

Goldcylon

This is key. This is a SMC repair not a bondo patch process. Normally SMC repairs start from the underside up. DO your research and practice as you intended so you only have to do this job once. If you repair it the bondo way it will repair but the repair will flex and not look right. GC

TravisSchoech

For what it's worth, when I started working on my 88 coupe and didnt know the "proper" smc repair techniques...

I'm a metal fab guy, commercial HVAC business owner, self taught mechanic, re-engineer, etc. So I just do what I think makes sense.

I had a crack about 2" long from the middle of the right rear wheel arch going up. I drilled a small hole at the end of the crack to stop its progress, ground the crack out on both sides (in and out) to make a small "V", and filled with 2-part epoxy (JB weld). Sand, prime, block, seal, done.

it's been 3 years and countless times of leaning against the car and kids running into it with crap in the garage. If I hadn't told you about the repair, you would have never known it was there.

the point is, do what makes sense to you based on life experiences or what a professional recommends. Do it right, and do it once.

2-part epoxy as a bond/filler is probably not a recommended body repair technique, but it works just fine and will likely last longer than the car.

zachaeous

I had this happen to my c4. I did it myself when I used the fender to brace myself when I was getting up off the garage floor. I removed the inner fender and cleaned the backside of the crack, I then used some Corvette panel bonding adheasive to attach a piece of SMC material to the cracked panel. I then ground out the crack and used SMC approved materials to fill the area and then final finished the area. I did this in 2011 and it is still looking just fine after 7 years.

My car is painted black and the repair does not show from the outside at all. Good luck repairing your car.

A good shop with Corvette experience will fix it good as new. It could be a bit pricey due to the price of painting in todays market.