Pig Posted September 27, 2007 Report Share Posted September 27, 2007 I actually noticed this the last time I washed my car and thought it was just a door ding, but after washing my car again yesterday, I have new concerns. On the rear side body panels, above the wheel wells, I have "dings" on BOTH sides of my car. I thought it was just a simple door ding from some careless person parking next to me. However, they are identical dings, in the exact same spot, on both sides of my car. Actually the passenger side is a little worse, but dings on both sides nonetheless. It was difficult, but I took some pictures and if you look closely at the reflections hopefully you can see what I'm saying. passenger side... Darn file restrictions....2 more pics to come.... Anyways, could any of you other fellow vert owners take a look at your car to see if you're getting the same thing? Like I said, I thought it was a simple door ding, but now that its on both sides of the car, I'm wondering if the body is starting to buckle from the power or hard launches or something? Pig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pig Posted September 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2007 driver's side... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pig Posted September 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2007 and location... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Snake Posted September 27, 2007 Report Share Posted September 27, 2007 driver's side... WOW is it possible they have been there since it was new? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pig Posted September 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2007 WOWis it possible they have been there since it was new? I don't think so. I'm pretty picky and looked it over with a white glove when I bought it. I'm sure I would have noticed the passenger side as it is worse than the driver's. I'll try to look at some older pictures, but don't know if I have a close enough pic to tell. Car has about 6500 miles or so now...purchased March 12th, 07. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pig Posted September 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 ok...just looked at some old pictures taken about 5 days after purchase...No dings. This really sucks if the body is actually warping/bending. I wouldn't think this would happen on a coupe, as verts aren't as structurally solid. Any other vert owners (with some miles and occassional hard launches) seeing this at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ati Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 Pig, I just checked mine and its perfect but I'm still mostly stock. If thats from excess RW torque check with farmdog or iceman, I think their at about 700+ RWHP. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobeydick Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 I actually noticed this the last time I washed my car and thought it was just a door ding, but after washing my car again yesterday, I have new concerns. On the rear side body panels, above the wheel wells, I have "dings" on BOTH sides of my car. I thought it was just a simple door ding from some careless person parking next to me. However, they are identical dings, in the exact same spot, on both sides of my car. Actually the passenger side is a little worse, but dings on both sides nonetheless. It was difficult, but I took some pictures and if you look closely at the reflections hopefully you can see what I'm saying. passenger side... Darn file restrictions....2 more pics to come.... Anyways, could any of you other fellow vert owners take a look at your car to see if you're getting the same thing? Like I said, I thought it was a simple door ding, but now that its on both sides of the car, I'm wondering if the body is starting to buckle from the power or hard launches or something? Pig I just had a Proglass hood painted and installed on my Vert, 5,600 miles. My painter pointed out a depression in about that same spot on the passenger side. We thought someone might have leaned on it. It's dark right now But I will be checking it Friday Morning!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobeydick Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 I just moved it so the lights of my shop are in front of the car, Mine is in the exact spot yours is but I don't have one on the Drivers side yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SVTGT5OO Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 Well I just checked mine and there is no sign of any on either side... Is there 2 cars with them, one black and one red?... Nobody would have backed into you in a parking lot and buckled the quarters a bit?... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLB8SNK Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 Mine is to new with 225 miles on it and an 08, but I see nothing. Could that really be possible due to torque? I mean even if flex was there, I would think the underside would stress before the outer shell? And that high up on the metal? Wow, hope we figure this one out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShelbyDude Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 We took a 06 Saleen Coupe in trade that only had 150 miles on it and it had several dings like that on both sides of the quarter panels. The car was won at a casino so I assumed they got there somehow from being on display at the casino or something. They were straight up and down along the quarter panels. You couldn't really notice unless you were looking down the side of the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckySnake Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 We took a 06 Saleen Coupe in trade that only had 150 miles on it and it had several dings like that on both sides of the quarter panels. The car was won at a casino so I assumed they got there somehow from being on display at the casino or something. They were straight up and down along the quarter panels. You couldn't really notice unless you were looking down the side of the car. Two different causes IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrfarmdog Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 I just went out and checked mine. Since black has a strong reflection I looked at the reflection across that area and saw nothing abnormal in the way of waves or dings on either side. I also used a shop light and looked carefully across both sides and found nothing. Something I did notice the other day is that when I put my top up the pins at the top of the windshield do not exactly fall into the holes. I don't remember if they did originally or not. They are not far off and I don't have to force them in but they are off a little. Not sure if that could be a sign of structural deformaty or not. Can anyone else chime in on this? New or old vert owners (relatively speaking)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry19702 Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 Not a mark on mine, almost 8,000 miles, with lots of hard launches. I find it hard to believe that these cars have enough torque to bend body panels but I may be wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pig Posted September 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 I just moved it so the lights of my shop are in front of the car, Mine is in the exact spot yours is but I don't have one on the Drivers side yet. Man that bites! And we both have mods. I would be VERY interested if any stock verts are having this. The one on the driver's side is very faint, but its definitely there. We took a 06 Saleen Coupe in trade that only had 150 miles on it and it had several dings like that on both sides of the quarter panels. The car was won at a casino so I assumed they got there somehow from being on display at the casino or something. They were straight up and down along the quarter panels. You couldn't really notice unless you were looking down the side of the car. They are as you describe them, straight up/down....like a pole fell against the car (although it couldn't have because of the side profile and where the dents are). But on both sides in the same spot? You say this was on a Saleen coupe? is it supercharged? Just wondering if its an "added power" thing, or if its happening under stock power. Maybe its a weak spot on the body...one of the buckle points in case of a rear-end collision??? Sure, its possible someone could have bumped my rear end in a parking lot without me seeing, but my bumper's flawless, not one scratch. So I don't think it was a collision, but could the amount of hp/torque these cars are putting out cause this weak spot to buckle? This is all hypothetical at this point, unless any tech out there can confirm that this is indeed a collision buckle point? I'd be interested if ANY 05+ Mustangs were experiencing this, coupe or vert in stock or modded form. And how the hell would something like this get fixed anyways? Ugh this is frustrating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pig Posted September 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 I just went out and checked mine. Since black has a strong reflection I looked at the reflection across that area and saw nothing abnormal in the way of waves or dings on either side. I also used a shop light and looked carefully across both sides and found nothing. Something I did notice the other day is that when I put my top up the pins at the top of the windshield do not exactly fall into the holes. I don't remember if they did originally or not. They are not far off and I don't have to force them in but they are off a little. Not sure if that could be a sign of structural deformaty or not. Can anyone else chime in on this? New or old vert owners (relatively speaking)? My top has always been off a hair to the passenger side. The passenger side latch goes in fairly easily, but the driver side I have to pull down kinda hard. It seals up fine, no leaks...just a bit tough to close. Oh and my doors aren't lined up perfectly either, you can see in the first picture. Pisses me off, but its hard for me to hand it over for service, so I haven't gotten them fixed yet. Not a mark on mine, almost 8,000 miles, with lots of hard launches. I find it hard to believe that these cars have enough torque to bend body panels but I may be wrong. I hope you're right and mine's just been hit by something. I would hope the body would be strong enough to withstand high torque hard launches. I'm probably way overthinking this anyways. Thanks for all the replys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ati Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 I just went out and checked mine. Since black has a strong reflection I looked at the reflection across that area and saw nothing abnormal in the way of waves or dings on either side. I also used a shop light and looked carefully across both sides and found nothing. Something I did notice the other day is that when I put my top up the pins at the top of the windshield do not exactly fall into the holes. I don't remember if they did originally or not. They are not far off and I don't have to force them in but they are off a little. Not sure if that could be a sign of structural deformaty or not. Can anyone else chime in on this? New or old vert owners (relatively speaking)? My roof has done this from the beginning, I figured it was normal. When I put the top up I just grab it the last couple of inches and guide the pins in the holes. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iceman Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 No marks on mine that I see no structural issues I can tell - I will look in the morning as I just got in from the track.....THis would be icing on the cake though. Hit a boulder a truck flung up on a country road on the way there. Couldn't launch (best 60' was 1.74 and then ran 11.4x all night at 129.xx mph. I didn't get my 10 that I wanted so badly but it's in there - I have to master this launch and then I'm there. May have to go to a taller tire too. Running the 26" tires I'm at the limit at the end. If I do well on the front I may hit it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrfarmdog Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 My roof has done this from the beginning, I figured it was normal. When I put the top up I just grab it the last couple of inches and guide the pins in the holes. Alan Cool ati thanks for the feedback. This thread has me worried. Surely this would have been seen in an 05-07 GT vert already. Underneath the verts there is extra bracing for support. I would check to make sure it is intact. I am also trying to understand why it would show up at that location on the body. The back end of the car (behind the dents) has no force to try to pull or push it up or down that would cause that type of body flex does it? I would expect issues to show up in door alignment, rattles and squeaks, and top closure. I also would expect the underside of the car to have damage that would be visible at the seams like cracked caulking, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrfarmdog Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 No marks on mine that I see no structural issues I can tell - I will look in the morning as I just got in from the track.....THis would be icing on the cake though. Hit a boulder a truck flung up on a country road on the way there. Couldn't launch (best 60' was 1.74 and then ran 11.4x all night at 129.xx mph. I didn't get my 10 that I wanted so badly but it's in there - I have to master this launch and then I'm there. May have to go to a taller tire too. Running the 26" tires I'm at the limit at the end. If I do well on the front I may hit it. Did you run your ET streets tonight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pig Posted September 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 Cool ati thanks for the feedback. This thread has me worried. Surely this would have been seen in an 05-07 GT vert already. Underneath the verts there is extra bracing for support. I would check to make sure it is intact. I am also trying to understand why it would show up at that location on the body. The back end of the car (behind the dents) has no force to try to pull or push it up or down that would cause that type of body flex does it? I would expect issues to show up in door alignment, rattles and squeaks, and top closure. I also would expect the underside of the car to have damage that would be visible at the seams like cracked caulking, etc. I would think so too. I'm going to get under and poke around tomorrow and check everything out. I might try looking inside that panel also, see what it looks like. For those of you with a vert, whether you have the dents or not, do you have the CDC Light Bar? (mine does) I know its not for "rollover protection" and probably has nothing to do with this, but it does add a little extra bracing. Could it be preventing the body to flex enough to cause these spots? Like when you're on a rough road or hit a pothole, causing the body to shake violently. (yes I try to avoid those situations at all cost, but you never know whats around the corner) These "dents" are not really that noticeable to the "average" eye, but I know they're there and it bugs the crap outta me. This is my "baby!" iceman, sorry to hear about the rough evening. Hope the boulder didn't cause too much damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grabber Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 Pig, This situation of yours stinks. Keep us posted after you look into it more. Iceman....what happened. Crapola...double crapola! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT500FLYBOY Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 I do have a little wrinkle, but further back on the driver's side - past the gas door. It's at the top right if looking at the quarter panel. I did attribute this to body flex, since the car seems to have so much. I heard the vert has thicker body panels, the quarter's included, for just this sort of thing. Maybe just not thick enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrfarmdog Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 Well this thread definitely has me concerned but the thought about the light bar did go through my mind as I noticed you had one. My gut tells me that this is not an issue of structural integrity for the following reasons: 1) This vert was purpose built from the ground up for structural integrity. I talked to several people at AAI that described how the vert was built different from the coupe in many ways to make it a stable and rigid platform. This is also quoted in just about every article on the vert that has been published. It was purpose built to be a vert. Not a coupe with the top cut off. 2) I am hard on my car and have had a KB since it first came out. I recently thrashed on my car in two separate days of trials consisting of about 20 back to back runs and I have DRs on my car. The only other thoughts that come to mind are if you were using slicks and therefore transferring as much force as possible through the drive train and chassis, extreme wheel hop with the stock suspension, or something to do with the lightbar (that one seems a bit far fetched in my opinion). At least in my first inspection I can not find any issues. I will look again tomorrow to see what shows up in better light. 3) This issue surely would have surfaced before now with two years of production and people modding their cars. It is not difficult to take a 4.6 liter into +500 RWHP and these cars are prime for aftermarket parts. My searching tonight did not bring up any instances or concerns over the convertible. I am not saying it is bullet proof, only that it has a good track record and was purposely built to be more stable that any other vert platform ever built by Ford. Pig - Let me know what you find out tomorrow. I will send you an email with my contact info if you have any questions and want me to check something specifically on my car tomorrow. Let's research this until we get to the bottom of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrfarmdog Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 I do have a little wrinkle, but further back on the driver's side - past the gas door. It's at the top right if looking at the quarter panel. I did attribute this to body flex, since the car seems to have so much. I heard the vert has thicker body panels, the quarter's included, for just this sort of thing. Maybe just not thick enough. GT500FLYBOY - Can you post a pic of your location? Also did you just notice it? You have the light bar as well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pig Posted September 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 3) This issue surely would have surfaced before now with two years of production and people modding their cars. It is not difficult to take a 4.6 liter into +500 RWHP and these cars are prime for aftermarket parts. My searching tonight did not bring up any instances or concerns over the convertible. Thats what I was thinking, that it definitely would have surfaced by now if it were an issue. And I couldn't find any other instance either...cep for mine & mobeydick's (so far). I'm just under 500hp at the wheels with just a JLT & tune, Fiore LCAs, stock tires. And with you and iceman spinning KBs, makes me think it might not be a power/torque related issue. But if that's the case, and these are really just random dings....Who the hell's been beating on my baby?!?!? Honestly, I really don't think its random dents from someone or something hitting it, since the dents are almost identical, in identical spots on either side. It just boggles my noodle as to how it could have happened. Definitely will be taking a better look tomorrow. ...still curious if anyone else has the dings tho... ...and if that spot is a rear-collision buckle point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobeydick Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 Cool ati thanks for the feedback. This thread has me worried. Surely this would have been seen in an 05-07 GT vert already. Underneath the verts there is extra bracing for support. I would check to make sure it is intact. I am also trying to understand why it would show up at that location on the body. The back end of the car (behind the dents) has no force to try to pull or push it up or down that would cause that type of body flex does it? I would expect issues to show up in door alignment, rattles and squeaks, and top closure. I also would expect the underside of the car to have damage that would be visible at the seams like cracked caulking, etc. That location looks very close to the front of the rear Spring Buckets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KKhanlian Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 I have one on the drivers side as well. It's slight but none the less it is there. My light bar was installed shortly after receiving my vert back in Aug 06 so I can't tell you if it was there prior to me installing the bar. I was shocked when I noticed it because I'm a nut when it comes to detail and couldn't believe I missed this when I picked up the car from the dealer. But I chalked it up to something that happened prior to delivery. Will try to post a pic over the weekend. Thats what I was thinking, that it definitely would have surfaced by now if it were an issue. And I couldn't find any other instance either...cep for mine & mobeydick's (so far). I'm just under 500hp at the wheels with just a JLT & tune, Fiore LCAs, stock tires. And with you and iceman spinning KBs, makes me think it might not be a power/torque related issue. But if that's the case, and these are really just random dings....Who the hell's been beating on my baby?!?!? Honestly, I really don't think its random dents from someone or something hitting it, since the dents are almost identical, in identical spots on either side. It just boggles my noodle as to how it could have happened. Definitely will be taking a better look tomorrow. ...still curious if anyone else has the dings tho... ...and if that spot is a rear-collision buckle point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLB8SNK Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 I just went out and checked mine. Since black has a strong reflection I looked at the reflection across that area and saw nothing abnormal in the way of waves or dings on either side. I also used a shop light and looked carefully across both sides and found nothing. Something I did notice the other day is that when I put my top up the pins at the top of the windshield do not exactly fall into the holes. I don't remember if they did originally or not. They are not far off and I don't have to force them in but they are off a little. Not sure if that could be a sign of structural deformaty or not. Can anyone else chime in on this? New or old vert owners (relatively speaking)? Farmdog, again I am all stock with few miles and have no dings but my top does drop slightly off. Not enough to worry about but I do need to guide with my hands. I drove an 06 GT Vert last year for a few weeks and it did the same so I assume it is somewhat normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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