https://www.theultimatejeep.com/blog.php?35-NeilSmith en Wed, 05 Aug 2026 03:52:09 GMT vBulletin 60 https://www.theultimatejeep.com/images/misc/rss.jpg https://www.theultimatejeep.com/blog.php?35-NeilSmith https://www.theultimatejeep.com/entry.php?26-Tales-From-The-Body-Shop Mon, 30 Aug 2010 23:00:08 GMT Well, I finally got time to begin this blog. I have been so busy with vacation, Camp Commander, school starting, not to mention work. Wheew !! So... Well, I finally got time to begin this blog. I have been so busy with vacation, Camp Commander, school starting, not to mention work. Wheew !!
So we have this BMW at the shop. Some models have an issue where the rear suspension mounts are actually ripped from the uni-body because of drivetrain torque. This is the third one we have repaired for the dealership. This particular one is a 2000 3 -Series.

In this picture you can see the mounting points, in the middle of the unit. There are four mounting points.

The part that fails is the " carrier " , which is a structure that is made of sheet metal. This pic shows the replacement part.

The carrier welds up into the floor between the wheel wells, forward of the spare tire well. The worst part is cutting the original piece out. You have to scrape off the undercoating, then the seam sealer, then drill out the spot welds. There are probably a hundred spot welds on this thing.


The kicker is, the replacement part is exactly the same as the original. It has not been re-designed one bit. What is going to keep it from happening again ? You have to present that question to BMW.
While our technician was doing that, I had the every day simple task of painting. I had two new bumper covers and a rear quarter trim panel for a Honda Civic. Here are the new parts , shown in the factory primer.


The parts are scuffed with a red Scotch - Pad and then sprayed with a " wet - on - wet " sealer.

After ten minutes, the base-coat is applied.

After about ten minutes, two coats of clear are applied.

The parts will be ready to be installed first thing in the morning.
Stayed tuned for the next installment of " Tales From The Body Shop ". ]]> NeilSmith https://www.theultimatejeep.com/entry.php?26-Tales-From-The-Body-Shop https://www.theultimatejeep.com/entry.php?14-Tales-From-The-Body-Shop Sat, 03 Jul 2010 19:24:15 GMT I'm starting this blog today for a couple of different reasons. First, I want you guys to be able to see what I see every day at the shop, and second, I am kind of bored. My plan is to take a lot of pics at work and post them here with a nice write-up explaining what is going on in the pics. I know most people that need their car repaired just drop it off at the shop and picks it up when the work is complete without ever seeing the inside of the shop itself. So, maybe this blog will give you a " behind the scenes " look at the collision repair industry.
First off, I guess I should give a little info about myself. I graduated high school in 1989 and took auto body class at the local tech school during my junior and senior years. The class doesn't make you a technician or custom painter, but it gives you the basics so that you can get started in the field, probably sweeping the floors. I was able to paint one car while there and it turned out pretty nice. I got my first job in a shop in 1990 doing just that, sweeping up and washing cars. I spent about a year and a half there, but my boss wouldn't let me do anything constructive so I moved on. I called around other shops looking for work. Now the town I live in only has about 45,000 residents, so the amount of shops here is pretty small. I managed to find a small shop in town that could use some help at the entry level and I started a week later. This shop only had two employees, plus the owner, and I got my hands dirty right away. One day soon after I started, the painter called in sick, so my boss was doing the painting. He got me to trim in a new hood , which is painting the underside so it could be bolted on and then the topside was painted with the rest of the car. He then asked me, " Wanna learn how to paint ? " . I thought to myself, " Damn right I do ! " I became the painter and stayed with the company until the spring of 1997 when they had personal financial problems and had to close the doors. I then started at the shop where I am at now, going on 13 years. Over the years I have been to multiple training classes and am certified by PPG, DuPont, and Standox. Our shop is also a BMW certified collision center, one of only two in the state, certified to repair the aluminum structures on their new vehicles.
So, enough at about me. I need to get some pics together for you guys and more importantly, get my stuff together, so it may take a few days for my next post. If this goes as I hope, I think it will be very interesting to you and you will see some pretty cool stuff that you maybe haven't seen before. I hope to heve a Commander torn apart for you but I can't guarantee that, we have only had one in the shop, ever. But a car is a car , and I know we all like cars , so it will fun none the less. So until next time, take care. ]]> NeilSmith https://www.theultimatejeep.com/entry.php?14-Tales-From-The-Body-Shop