I think if you look at some early pics of factory cars and pics in the Schield book the factory got that center section beat back too. They must have had an even bigger hammer.
Pic of original car here:
http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Number=6410500
By the way... Is it possible the center section was heated and top was fixed, before it was hammered by the Hurst guys..
