Any ideas about the best way to remove dents from the TPI runners?

 

One of the TPI books mentions passing a steel ball thru the runner to push out dents and the factory impressions surrounding the lower runner-to-intake bolts.

I've been kinda hunting for a steel ball the same size as the I.D. of the runner tubing, 38mm as measured by Mike Davis. No luck so far.

-Kevin

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1982 Z-28

See http://www.mycar.net/mafb/registry/detail.cfm?id=276 for details

 

Use a metal ball with a slighty less diameter and force it through. Use a lubricant to make the process easier, you do not want to get the ball stuck!

 

Any suggestions on where to buy a metal ball of that size?

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1982 Z-28

See http://www.mycar.net/mafb/registry/detail.cfm?id=276 for details

 

Any specialty/custom metal fabricator shop could make one, but it will not be cheap. Search the web, or check out any kind of specialty hardware shop or industrial supply company in your area.

 

try a piece of hard wood or go to a lumber supply and buy a wooden ball./The tubes are very thin...wood is plenty strong to pass through

 

I tried RP1987GTA's idea of the wooden ball. I went to Home Depot and looked in the cabinet hardware section and found 2 sizes (my dents were fairly deep). First attatched the supplied screw and attatched a piece of stainless safety wire. Then worked the smaller ball through the dented runners. The larger one was a little too big, so I put it in a drill and sanded it down 'till it fit and repeated the process. The runners don't look new, but they look a hell of alot better than before. There are only minor imperfections in them now. This also got rid of the indentions around the bolt holes inbetween the runners. Total cost was about $4, I got 2 of each size in case they got damaged while working them through. The 2 I used are not usable again, but they were cheap enough to get spares =). Good luck, Rob.

 

Go to the Dent Doctor. They have rods that are curved at the ends to different sizes. They massage the inner sheet metal to remove the dent. It would probably work like a champ on a TPI runner. THey took some door dings out of my cars and it's really amazing.

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Rob P
89RSconvtZZ4TPI
92Z28convt5spd
71Impala convt 402BB
BETTER DRIVING THRU SUPERIOR HORSEPOWER!

 

I use 37mm and 38mm steel ball-bearings I got at a local bearing supplier. Total cost?
$10, and works like a champ.
SC

 

Super Chevy - how did you push/pull the BB through the runners? How do they look after your "surgery"?

 

Never saw a response to this - how did you do it?


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Sorry, I must have missed Perth's post. I buy/sell and modify lots of TPI systems. A lot of the tubes have dents. I needed an economical way to remove the dents, so I went down to the local ball bearing supply house, stock tubes in hand, and bought a range of steel bearings starting with a 32mm up to a 38mm. You have to work the dents out gradually to get good results. If it is a bad,deep dent, start with the 32mm. Use a lot of WD-40 or light-weight oil, and gradually push/tap the bearing through - I use a wooden dowel. If neccessary, alternate attacking the dent from the top and the bottom, and use progressively larger bearings to work them out.
Hope this helps.
SC

 

What was the name of the supplier you got the ball bearings from.. I have been told that they only come in 5mm increments..

Troy