Jiffy front fender tune up

[buckroseau]

Figured I would post up a few pics of a quick front fender tune up I did today.

I was debating on ordering a new set of front fenders. But, I didn't really want to spend $400 bucks. I also figured once I started taking the old ones out that was going to open up a whole other can of worms. Decide to invest in $5 bucks worth of 18 ga. steel and about 4 hours of time.

I didn't get any really good before pics. Someone had riveted some sheet metal over the rusted areas years ago and filler'd it up. It had rotted away and there was nothing keeping the bottom from flapping in the wind.

Cut out the rusted area, slightly differed from each side. Sheared the pieces out of 18 gauge and bent a 90 in the bottom.

[buckroseau]

I slightly formed the 18 gauge to the fender. I also formed a piece of 1/4" round stock and tacked it to the back side, on the edge that would be near the door. Figured this would firm it up.

Butt welded it in and flap disc'd it smooth. After it was welded in I cut the bottom edge and radius'd it to match the stock look. I also sheared a couple pieces of 18 gauge a 1/2" wide and welded those in on the bottom to build up a ridge to match the fender edge.

On the back side (sorry, didn't take any pics) I welded a 5/16" x 3 1/2" bolt to a 2" fender washer, then welded that to the inner fender. That allowed me to the bolt the fender to the lower fender mount.

Sprayed everything down with some self etching primer. I think for the rat rod look it turned out pretty good.

[dougf]

Hey, that turned out really nice!

[markeb01]

That's amazing! Great work!!

[Mathew21]

Wow great job!

[RANDY COX]

I never saw anybody repair a fender like that to that degree, while it's still on the truck. excellent job....

[Palf70Step]

Very Nice!

[Mackie]

Nice job, good metal work. I'm getting ready to weld in rear patch panels I bought last year.
Did you do anything with the fender braces or just secure your panels at the bottom?

[buckroseau]

Originally Posted by Mackie

Nice job, good metal work. I'm getting ready to weld in rear patch panels I bought last year.
Did you do anything with the fender braces or just secure your panels at the bottom?

What you see is what I left. I cut some really rotted stuff off the bottom, what you see is the solid stuff remaining.

That was the reason for welding that 1/4 round stock on the back side. Stiffen the panel up since I was missing some of that bracket. I will take a pic of the bolt I welded in the bottom when I get home.

I view this fix the equivalent of polishing a turd.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by buckroseau

I view this fix the equivalent of polishing a turd.

I wouldnt go that far, haha. there is more rust problems if you look around your pics but the flappy fenders is the one worst thing about 60-66 rust, that rust stripe on the rear of the fender makes a big difference. I can live with some rocker holes and the normal footwell holes, and even the stuff you cant see like the holes in the air boxes behind the fender, but rusty flappy fenders are a pet peeve.

cliff notes: nice work, dont be too hard on your truck!

[buckroseau]

Pic of the lower bracket I made to bolt the fender up. Welded a 5/16 x 3.5" bolt to a 2" fender washer at about a 20 degree angle. Then welded that to the fender. I didn't want to weld the bolt directly to fender because I felt that the mounting point would be to localized in 1 area and create a stress point.

[Mackie]

I agree with jeodoh. Maybe not restoration work but definitely not turd polishing. The OG design makes for a mud and snow trap. Your solution looks strong structurally. I'm looking to come up with some kind of splash guard, maybe plastic. I'm sometimes forced to drive mine in sloppy conditions.....like yesterday in the snow.

[buckroseau]

Nothing to do with the fenders. Backed off the front torsion bars as far as they could go. Lowered the front at least a couple inches. I put some jack stands under the rear frame and heated the rear coils with the rosebud tip on the torch. The weight of the truck did the rest. Lowered the rear approximately 2".