Fender Repair
- Thread starter Smitty
- Start date
Im with u
Well, according to the link on post #7 (Reproduction Front Fender) - making a new 1930 fender fit looks at least as difficult as fixing a cracked bead.
Mitch//pa
BANNED
I guess it depends on ones abilities and hours involved to make the original fender durable and straight as an arrow. For me i was able to hang repo 1930 / 31 fenders a lot easier then spending 100 hours screwing with junk. They are not very hard to do.. im not a body guy by trade / strictly mechanical ..
JMO
Last edited:
Originally Posted by BN 
Well, according to the link on post #7 (Reproduction Front Fender) - making a new 1930 fender fit looks at least as difficult as fixing a cracked bead.
I guess it depends on ones abilitys and hours involved to make the original fender durable and straight as an arrow. For me i was able to hang repo 1930 / 31 fenders a lot easier then spending 100 hours screwing with junk. They are not very hard to do.. im not a body guy by trade / strictly mechanical ..
JMO
I wasnt implying buying a "new" fender, just a replacement wo a broken bead.
I prefer the path of least resistance in life. Life is tough enough as it is.....
Well, according to the link on post #7 (Reproduction Front Fender) - making a new 1930 fender fit looks at least as difficult as fixing a cracked bead.
I guess it depends on ones abilitys and hours involved to make the original fender durable and straight as an arrow. For me i was able to hang repo 1930 / 31 fenders a lot easier then spending 100 hours screwing with junk. They are not very hard to do.. im not a body guy by trade / strictly mechanical ..
JMO
I wasnt implying buying a "new" fender, just a replacement wo a broken bead.
I prefer the path of least resistance in life. Life is tough enough as it is.....
Thanks Mitch. Your comments are helping me make a decision on whether to buy a repo and make it fit - or, buy an original with good areas I can use as patches for my bad areas (if I can find one). My Right Side early 1930 original has a large section in the brace/headlight bar intersection removed (which included part of the crease) and a patch (lap joint) welded on the inside and lots of bondo in an earlier "repair". Also has about four fractured bead areas. So, yes, I'm thinking this qualifies as a high ability high hours project. Surprisingly, the rest of the car is not in that bad of shape.
hardtimes
Well-known member
Hey Will,
You are one impressive builder !
Is it true that you invented Rubik's Cube
JtownJoe
Senior Member
Hi Steve, A lot of variables to that answer, the condition of the car, quality of the paint on the fender, severity of the crack & etc.
I have a DRIVER quality 30' Tudor with a very presentable paint finish on my fenders and the rest of the body. Since am not a welder and didn't want to ruin the finish on the fenders I fixed my nasty crack on the bead as follows: I cleaned up the area of the crack on the under side and replaced about 6" of the bead wire with some SS wire about same gauge and JB Welded it in place and kept it steady with small C clamps for about 48 hrs. I then JB Welded a small plate (16 gauge metal) about 3" long and slightly wider than the bead, to the under side of the fender, to stiffen that area, I hand shaped it with a hammer to match the fender curve as best I could. I then primered and painted the underside with Rustoleum spray can paint and then ground away the smallest area possible at the crack on the outside of the bead and filled and shaped with bondo until it was no longer visible and touched up with a spray can.
It has held up perfectly after 5 years and a few thousand of miles and is not visible unless you know its there.
This is in no way a meant to argue with the merits of the professional approaches suggested, just a common sense cost v/s reward approach to the problem, depending on the general condition and use of the vehicle.
I have a DRIVER quality 30' Tudor with a very presentable paint finish on my fenders and the rest of the body. Since am not a welder and didn't want to ruin the finish on the fenders I fixed my nasty crack on the bead as follows: I cleaned up the area of the crack on the under side and replaced about 6" of the bead wire with some SS wire about same gauge and JB Welded it in place and kept it steady with small C clamps for about 48 hrs. I then JB Welded a small plate (16 gauge metal) about 3" long and slightly wider than the bead, to the under side of the fender, to stiffen that area, I hand shaped it with a hammer to match the fender curve as best I could. I then primered and painted the underside with Rustoleum spray can paint and then ground away the smallest area possible at the crack on the outside of the bead and filled and shaped with bondo until it was no longer visible and touched up with a spray can.
It has held up perfectly after 5 years and a few thousand of miles and is not visible unless you know its there.
This is in no way a meant to argue with the merits of the professional approaches suggested, just a common sense cost v/s reward approach to the problem, depending on the general condition and use of the vehicle.