Rear Fenders

[LeroyM]

How close or tight should the rear fenders on a 31 coupe or roadster fit to the wheel well and body? I'm doing some body work on my coupe and in the process I've stripped down the rear fenders to bare metal only to find there was lots of bondo on the fender that filled the gap to the body.

The passenger fender had seen some poor patch panel work over the years were it meets the running board and some of the outer beads were broken which would allow it to flex. With the welting in place the round part of the welting closes the gap but it's still easily removable and I feel it's to big of a gap.

Just a fyi I haven't fully bolted down the rear fenders. Just put the bolts in place and held the fender up tight. I didn't get a measurement yesterday but if I had to guess I'd say it's about 1/4" gap. More so near the front toward the running board.

Does anyone have a decent set of rear fenders for a 31 coupe, roadster or pickup that they could measure the area near the running board of the fender and tell me what they come up with? I may have to remove the old patch panel and replace it because I feel it's part of the problem.

Thanks.

 

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

A folded envelope should be trapped between the fender and the quarter panel when the fender is bolted on.

 

[LeroyM]

Thanks Brent. At what point do you look into another fender instead of repairing the one you have? The passenger side rear fender is the worse on mine. Someone over the years brazed in a replacement patch and filled it with bondo over top. I'm not even sure it's the correct size patch. It's off compared to the other fender. Would you just cut out that bad area and replace it with a new patch or look for a better fender?

 

[Gunmetal blue2]

I would try to save the original fender, Look on the AA-Forum there they so a fender saved from the scrape yard. Just posted it.