fender fix/repair?

[mongocanfly]

I've got a fender thats in great shape but has the spare tire cutout...I've got a nonspare tire fender that's in sad shape...
Its going to take a lot of work and patching to fix the non spare fender...I'm considering cutting out a section of the bad fender to fix the spare tire hole in the good fender....any suggestions?
I've been looking for a good nonspare fender for about a yr and they're nearly impossible to find...theres lots of spare tire fenders out there...

[MARTINSR]

Man, that is a tough one. Cutting that fender and welding the piece onto the one with the well is NOT easy. A patch, cutting off the bottom and welding it on, piece of cake. But that area up there is pretty tough, I am thinking by the time you get it done you could have fixed the old fender.

Now, if you had a really rough fender that was wasted but that one section was good, hell yeah, cut it off and see how nice it fits and see if you want to keep going. But to cut up your best rough fender, that sucks.

This is the thing I am thinking about, and this is a big one. There is a very real possibility that those fenders aren't shaped the same there! That one with the spare wheel well may be completely different from the stamping! If they had a whole different dies, and made the fender on them, without a doubt it could be different. If they made the cut one from basic stamped well-less fenders and simply modified them, they could still be different. A slightly different shape could make doing that a LIVING HELL.

So if I personally didn't have another fender to cut up and give it a try I would be leaning towards repairing the well-less fender.

Brian

[Foot Stomper]

From the pictures posted, I don't see much wrong with the fender you want to use. I'm with Brian, spend your time and energy getting it ready for paint.

[mongocanfly]

you both have great points.....I hadn't even thought about different dies stamping the fenders different....
the "bad" fender is worse than it looks in the pic...the flange edge where it bolts to the bed is really bad or gone on the rear half
after giving it some thought I will try to fix the bad fender...ive got nothing to loose...if it doesn't work out then ill have a donor...

[mongocanfly]

these are the really obvious areas on my bad fender
1.rusted out and dent full of filler
2. was big dent...I had already hammered the worst out of it
3.big dent full of filler
4.big dent full of filler
5. big dent and rust thru
6. big dent,rust thru.full of fiberglass and filler and mounting flange rusted off
7.rear mounting lip mostly gone
8.wheel well lip needs replaced

just will be a bunch of work..thanks guys

[Foot Stomper]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

these are the really obvious areas on my bad fender
1.rusted out and dent full of filler
2. was big dent...I had already hammered the worst out of it
3.big dent full of filler
4.big dent full of filler
5. big dent and rust thru
6. big dent,rust thru.full of fiberglass and filler and mounting flange rusted off
7.rear mounting lip mostly gone
8.wheel well lip needs replaced

just will be a bunch of work..thanks guys

That fender is in great shape. Finding a better one would be impossible. You're lucky to have it!

[mongocanfly]

I wish it was as good as the white fender...it doesn't have a single dent on it that I could find...and solid as a rock....practically no rust
ill get the bad fender blasted next week so I can really see what ive got to work with

[sevt_chevelle]

Are you any where near Huntsville?

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

these are the really obvious areas on my bad fender
1.rusted out and dent full of filler
2. was big dent...I had already hammered the worst out of it
3.big dent full of filler
4.big dent full of filler
5. big dent and rust thru
6. big dent,rust thru.full of fiberglass and filler and mounting flange rusted off
7.rear mounting lip mostly gone
8.wheel well lip needs replaced

just will be a bunch of work..thanks guys

You would need to post close up photos to see how bad it is. But if it's that bad, yes cutting it and making that patch work on the one with the well would be the way to go. I know it's doable, I just figure if you aren't into fab work you might as well fix the old one. But it seems it's pretty funky.

Brian

[mongocanfly]

Chevelle....I'm about 20 miles from h-ville...

Martin I'm up to my ears in fab work on this truck....I know it can be fixed...just gonna take some doings
At first I was just thinking scab in the piece on the white fender...but when you pointed out the different die stamps a light came on.....wouldn't be the first 2 of kind things on this truck that didn't match....I'm gonna give repairing the rusty fender a try first before I try a scab.....

[MARTINSR]

I was even thinking of sectioning it like this. Just so that shape stays the same and that if there is some difference it would be easier to join them like this. Cutting right below that body line.

Brian

[MP&C]

This exact repair was done by Janne Jarvinen (Finland), his video here should give an idea the amount of work to fabricate the part...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGt4XUQ3Wg4


He has a thread on Allmetalshaping covering same, but you'll need to be member on that site to see the uploaded pictures..


http://www.allmetalshaping.com/showthread.php?t=15010

[mongocanfly]

Thanks Robert for the video....that guys looks like he took lessons from you...I don't have the equipment to fab anything that complicated....I can do small stuff though....I'm gonna try and repair the rusty fender first...I may be over thinking it....it may not be as difficult as I think it'll be...just need to get it blasted first to see what I've got left..
I can see his pics on the allmetalshaping site...

Martin...I hadn't thought of cutting it like that....

[theastronaut]

Delmo did this on one of his builds and posted pics on Instagram.


https://www.instagram.com/p/BiHfEqGhdKH/?hl=en

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by theastronaut

Delmo did this on one of his builds and posted pics on Instagram.


https://www.instagram.com/p/BiHfEqGhdKH/?hl=en

It doesn't look like the same fender though? This one looks like it would be much tougher.

Brian

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by MP&C

This exact repair was done by Janne Jarvinen (Finland), his video here should give an idea the amount of work to fabricate the part...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGt4XUQ3Wg4


He has a thread on Allmetalshaping covering same, but you'll need to be member on that site to see the uploaded pictures..


http://www.allmetalshaping.com/showthread.php?t=15010

OMG that skill is just crazy! But again, it's not the same fender, I understand it would basically be the same to the guy with the semi truck full of talent but damn that is quite different.

Brian

[theastronaut]

Correct, not the exact same style of spare tire fender. Same idea though.

[sevt_chevelle]

I know a few very well skilled metalmen in Huntsville that might be willing to give you a guiding hand on the repair.

[MP&C]

Dan Shady?

[sevt_chevelle]

Dan Shady, Kerry P also a younger guy that works for NASA. Dan is one of the nicest most knowledge guys you'll find and has a hammer collection that brings me to tears.

[MP&C]

Jeff Newton, forgot he was from AL...

[mongocanfly]

Dan Shady from vintage automotive?

[MP&C]

Yes...

[MP&C]

Sent Dan a link to this thread, he asked me to pass on his contact info to you. PM sent..

[mongocanfly]

While I've been working on other things...behind the scenes Dan Shady from vintage automotive has been working on my fender...he gave me the ok to share some pics so here is what hes done...his work looks outstanding....
1st pic is making a pattern to transfer
2nd pic is the patch panel clamped in place but not trimmed to fit
3rd pic shows the right fender clamped to the left to make sure the shape is consistent and the patch tacked in....
I think he's doing a great job...