Front cross member dent remover.

[Terry F.]

Hi, I had an idea and made a tool to remove the typical caved in front cross member on my 68 corvette that I have been restoring for years. The dent in the cross member has always been an eye sore any time I was under the car doing something. Well, today I tried out the tool and the darn thing worked like a dream. My front cross member was smashed in about 1 1/4 inches total and about 6 inches in diameter. I am wondering what to do with this thing. Does anyone know how similar all the front cross members are in the C2 and C3 cars. This thing works so well I might have to patent it. I didn't even use a torch to heat the metal. Just pulled it out. Later, Terry

[Joe L.]

Re: Front cross member dent remover.

Terry-----

The front crossmember welded-on lower panel is virtually identical, if not absolutely identical, for all 63-82 Corvettes.

[Terry F.]

Re: Front cross member dent remover.

Thanks Joe! I will send you a picture of my invention. Thanks, Terry

[Mike M.]

Re: Front cross member dent remover.

denting of the front x-member of 63-82 a common problem as ole bubba positioned his floor jack in the midline of the x-member which almost always squashed the member. seen lots of such damage on my c-2's. patent it and you'll have them beating a path to you door.mikie

[Terry F.]

Re: Front cross member dent remover.

I hate to say it but it worked slick as snot. The dent on my cross member was nasty too. I keep looking under my car at my nice cross member. I will take pictures and document it. Then see what to do with it. I have a hard time believing someone else didn't make something like it. All for now, Terry

[Jack H.]

Patent

If you've not had experience in the area of inventions and patent protection, here's some FYI.... US patent law provides several 'acid tests' or 'bars' regarding patent validity. One of these is a timeliness issue. You have 12-months from your first public disclosure of an invention in which to file for patent protection OR you've placed the invention into public domain.

This forum is open to the public. So far, you haven't provided enough information to 'disclose' the invention, but when/if you show pictures of it or explain it to others outside the protection of a non-disclosure agreement, you've essentially started your 12-month count down. BEWARE and seek the advice of a competent patent attorney in this matter!

[Terry F.]

Re: Patent

I will make the phone calls tomorrow and see what comes of it. I think there are some intermediate steps that can be taken without spending a lot of money. In that time, I could make a lot of them and start to sell them. Actually, I would probably pay a local shop to run off about 20 or so and then see what happens. I have invested in worse things and this seems to be something that many would benefit from. I still keep looking under my car to look at the cross member and keep asking myself if it really worked. If nothing else, I will turn it loose on the NCRS community because I am certain there would be others that could either make it or would want to use it. It took me about 3 days of goofing off in the garage to make it. Maybe a total of 8 to 10 hours because I don't have much in machine tools. But, once the parts are cut out, you could put one together in about 15 minutes or less. A computerized plazma cutter could whip out the parts very nicely and it would come out infantly better looking than my own. I might just have the parts cut out and then weld it together myself and save some money. I like welding on stuff. Sorry to drag this on. All for now, Terry

[Harmon C.]

Re: Have Tool Will Travel

Terry At NCRS shows their are many Corvettes but you find very few hands on people who would or could use a tool like you describe. Most people who do their own work can get a dent out but I never have too many tools so I could be a buyer. You might want to put your service in the drive line as (Have dent tool will travel) as most would rather pay than work as I see it. Lyle

[Terry F.]

Re: Have Tool Will Travel

There are many aspects to consider. A restoration shop could offer the service and do the work in short order. A "Do it yourselfer" could handle it very easy also. But the person that is not interested in getting dirty, need not apply. My plan is to make a short run of them regardless. I plan on having the parts to it made and then welding it together myself. I think the average person can get good results with it. Somebody that wanted to play with it a while could get even better results. So, the results would depend on the severity of the small dents and the users ability to get the most out of the tool. The main large dent pulls out fast. If your want to work the little stuff out, that takes more time. I am trying to be realistic about it and not get delusional. There are plenty of people as talented as me in restoring a corvette and plenty that are even more talented that could put the tool to work very well. But, if I could make a buck or two in the process, that would be rather nice. Later, Terry

[Patrick H.]

Re: Have Tool Will Travel

I think there is an interest. Enough of us actually enjoy working on the cars that it would likely sell. As long as it is easier to use the tool than to replace the bottom portion of the crossmember with the currently available replacement metal piece, I think it would do well.

Might be nice, for example, to use it on a Bowtie-type car and have it look prettier from beneath. Just a thought.

Patrick

[Terry F.]

Re: Have Tool Will Travel

Thanks for the words of encouragement. My frame was an eye sore. I always worried about how I could get that dent out of there. The dent is gone now. It worked very well. Can't wait to show people how it works. I am sure there will be critics. But, I used it so it must be a little dummy proof. Terry

[Chas Kingston]

Re: Have Tool Will Travel

The title on this portion of the thread has a double entendre.

[Craig S.]

Re: Have Tool Will Travel

Terry - I think it's a great idea....but I confess I am a tool freak, make many of my own tools with my metal lathe, bridgeport mill, or welding/plasma cutting equipment....... Craig

[Terry F.]

Re: Have Tool Will Travel

I made the initial steps in patenting it. No big deal as it seems. I will run off a few and see what happens. Thank you for your interest. Terry

[John A.]

Re: Front cross member dent remover.

Terry,

I recienty "pulled" out a crossmember dent. It involed a small floor jack, some scrap steel and some eye bolts. I'd be interested in seeing how yours looks now. My method was not inovative, but it worked!