'32 Steel fenders

D

Dale Fairfax

Senior Member
After twenty years, I've decided to make my steel 5 wdw ALL steel-shedding the glass front fenders which were all I could afford at the time. Checking out both Gas Light and Brookville I find a considerable price difference. Gas Light wants $485 ea; Brookville wants $600 ea. ( Some have said Brookville was reselling Gas Light's but the Brookville catalog is quite specific in stating that they mfr their own.) Does anybody here have personal experience with the two-something to compare? Do they both fit up the same? Are there surface differences?
 
I used a pair of Gaslights on my last project. I had to "close the gap" where the front of the fender meets the frame. They cant get that part right on either fender as far as I know. Otherwise they fit ok. I have that gap between the running board and front fender which is supposed to be there for drainage.

I say go the cheaper route.

I got mine on ebay only because the seller bought fenders for his 34 Ford, accept the fenders he purchased were 32's. Saved some money and he shorted me on shipping so I made out. Offered to pay the difference on shipping but he was ok with that.
 
Aussie, how recent is your experience with Brookvilles?? This is a very cloudy point; I have heard that B used to sell Gaslight fenders, then started making their own with fewer problems. I have not found out when or if this happened or if the ones being made right now are good.
 
The way things were 5 or 6 years ago. Brookville stamped the fenders and GasLight finished the fenders since they had the Magee wire edging machine like Ford used. So the fenders were all the same and did not fit at the front. Brookville has since reworked their dies so the fenders now fit and supposly bought a Magee wire machine and are finishing the fenders theirself. Don't know what Gaslight part is now, maybe still selling there stock of old non fit fenders???
 
I'm on my third set of Brookville manufactured fronts and while they aren't perfect they fit a hell of a lot better than the Funks they were selling. Minor issues where they bolt to the frame but nothing major! It doesn't seem to matter whether it's a gennie frame or a repro the issues seem to be the same.
 
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As I said in the other thread the set we used on the front of Dave's pickup were Brookville and he had to do a little slice and dice work on them.

They are not perfect but better than glass. HRP
 
We sell both the brookville and the funks fenders. Funks owns the dies and does the fenders start to finish. They just supply Gaslight. Brookville tooled up about a year ago to make their own. The main complaint I get on the Funks is at the right running board. Usually needs cut to get the fit builders require. It's my understanding that the original fenders didn't fit too well at the running board. The brookville fenders fit better but still don't just bolt on. For the price difference, the funks only require a few hours work by someone who can fabricate and weld. We sell the Funks for $900 per pair.

Paul
Midwest Early Ford
Springfield, Ohio
 
you are better off repairing original fenders. at least they fit and looked right when they were new. i have never seen a brookville fender that didn`t need mega hours of slicing and dicing to get straight on the sides and curved properly at the front. you can`t straighten something back if it was never right in the first place.
 
Wow, I don't believe most builders(especially home builders) expect to have to "splice and dice" their new steel replacement fenders from Brookville or Funk and others to make them fit. I had heard Brookville fenders were near identical to Ford fenders. No wonder nice original Ford fenders are so valuable.
 
This is just a little input on the fender issue, years ago I made repro fenders for 32 Fords so I'm not shooting from the hip. Even thought these were fit to an original frame when they were shipped I had some people with issues.

From my experience I found that the fenders were best test fitted by positioning the fender front to back, meaning the fender was placed upon the frame rail and the front mounting screws were used as alignment pins. As the fender alignment moved to the running board mounting position, the fender aligns height wise to the height of the diamond pattern on the board, not to the top of the edge bead rubber. This leaves a 1/4" pie shape gap for about 2" at the junction of the running board, fender and frame rail. This gap is correct for 32 Fords, If you attempt to tighten it up the fender doesn't fit correctly.

The majority of issues revolved around that transition inward curve of the frame from the front body mount area to the front of the vehicle. It seemed that every repro frame maker had a different radius of curvature and that varied side to side. Didn't make a difference if it was a stamped rail or a welded rail frame. In most cases the positioning of the rear tab that mounts the hood hook and fender to the frame was the point of contention. In may cases the spot weld had to be cut and the tab repositioned to tighten the fender to the rail. In some cases the frames curve were too square and this did not allow the fender curvature to match the frame either. Now I think the tabs are not even installed on fenders and the customer must match their frame.

I also encountered problems when the center cross member had been replaced and the frame was slightly bowed outward, this kicked the fender away from the rail and the running board and made a tight fit difficult and if the front cross member was replaced and the frame pinched in slightly at the front.

I think that it is very difficult to cast stones at the products on the market with out a full evaluation of each fit issue as an individual case not even taking into consideration that the nice gennie frame may have been involved in collision 60 yrs ago, long ago repaired and difficult to note the damage.

Anyway this is just a little input into the fender fit topic.
 
I go to brookville roadster a couple times a month. When you buy a body and it has near perfect door gaps, dont think there wasn't some cutting and welding required. I've seen many a door edge split, tig welded and ground back to a perfect finish. it's just what it takes to get the perfect fit everyone wants these days. I've done many camaro's and chevelles and had to split some edges, put it where I want it and weld it up. I did a redneck fiberglass 32 that took all kinds of trickery to make the thing fit perfect. If you want it all to fit perfect, count on doing some metal work. These cars fit terrible when they were built. Especially guys building their first one think you can order all these parts, spend a few weeks bolting the thing together and have a car like they see on the magazine cover. Sure, the aftermarket stuff isn't perfect but at least we have it to start with. If Brookville and others weren't reproducing this stuff, we would see alot less of these cars being built. Imagine how many of these good ol bodies would go to the crusher if you couldn't buy parts to revive them.
 
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