34 Steel Fenders

[32Gnu]

Is there any way to to properly I.D. a set of aftermarket steel (rear) fenders?

My father bought and traded with Drake almost almost exclusively in the late 80's and I want to sell them but do not want to mis-represent.. Tried calling Drake and got a uhhhhmmmmmmm.....

Thanks.. Oh btw Thanks for the help on my dash/cable.... I now have a 32 with a 34 speedo... cross your fingers the speedo works!!

 

[gearhead1952]

The rear profile of the fender where the bead runs is the give away for me. Seems they can't make them look like stock fenders and if you have a pair put them side by side and compare to each other. Originals will match and repros won't. I can always tell a car that has repro fenders just by looking at them from the rear. Also on the inside where the sheetmetal is doubled up around mounting holes the strips of metal used are cut pretty sloppily. There is also a difference in how the bead looks, I can't describe it but is obvious if you can find an original car or part to compare against.

 

[Randy]

I don't recall Drake ever handling steel fenders for '32-'34s. The bead on an original '34 fender has a distinct uniform radius to it whereas the beads on the repros were flatter on the side. I don't remember when the steel repro '34 fenders came out, but not sure they were even available in the '80s yet. I've heard there were some early repros, made in the '40s/'50s with the original tooling, that had slotted mounting holes. I've heard the name, but can't think of it at the moment. If you can post a picture of the bead where we can see the radius and maybe a picture of the doubler in the runningboard mount area, we might can help.

 

[TJ]

In the late 70's and early 80's there were some repo steel fenders being made for 32s and 34's. The 32's were made by American Metal Shaping in LA. The company was owned by Bill Honda and he only made a few pair. Then another guy(can't recall his name) came along in the LA area and made 32 fenders(front and rears) and also gas tanks. The word was the fenders were being stamped at one of the big aircraft companies in LA . The business later moved from LA to Paso Robles. The 34's were done by a guy named Don Babb in Lancaster , Ca. He did a steel body and I think only did the rear fenders. Not sure but Steve's Auto Restoration may have bought up Babb's operation.

 

[deuce lover]

Neil McNeil was the guy in CA that made the 32 fenders known as "Aford".They were stamped at Douglas Aircraft in Long Beach,CA.Had a set(fronts) on my 32 sedan and they alligned perfectly on a repro frame with orig braces.Vintique made fronts & coupe rears also during that time.Vintique's dies went to Brookville.Bought a set of 34 repro fenders that were handled by Funk's - they did not fit without spending a lot of time to fit them(fronts).Rumor has it that Steve's will no longer make the 34 3W and the dies will be melted down.

 

[Carl]

Randy, I believe the name of the replacement fenders you speak of was Fostoria, in Fostoria, Ohio, who made fenders for many different Ford models. I found new genuine Ford, as well as Fostoria fenders in old Ford dealerships years ago. They were good quality but not exactly same as genuine fenders. The part # was stenciled on with white paint.

 

[DICK SPADARO]

Take a picture of what you want identified. If they were 34's and purchased in the 80's they were probably made by Arrow mfg which later sold tooling to Funk fenders.