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How To Graft Wheel Wells - Fender BlenderHow To Graft Wheelwells From the September, 2009 issue of Custom Classic Trucks By Kev Elliott
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If you read my Texas roadtrip story in last month's issue, you'll have seen my '46 Ford roadster pickup, though it hasn't been formally introduced to the Custom Classic Trucks readership yet. So consider this that introduction. Originally a Fordor sedan, it passed through a few of my friends' hands, getting rougher as the years passed, until I laid claim to what was left around 12 years ago. "What was left" consisted of the front sheetmetal, cowl, doors, and B-pillars. Using a '65 F-100 bed and fenders, and inverted rear corners of a VW camper van for the rear cab corners, it became a roadster pickup with Chevy mechanicals, and very definitely a budget beater.  Here's what I started with....  Here's what I started with. Though the huge wheel opening and its square lip don't suit the truck, the forward-leaning front edge of the fender ties in with the back edge of the front fender and the rear of the roof. This I wanted to retain.  My first plan of attack was...  My first plan of attack was to remove the fender lips using an air saw, in order to be able to lay the "new" sheetmetal up against the old.  Alongside the truck you can...  Alongside the truck you can see the difference in fender shapes and sizes. The F-1 fender is almost flat on the top edge, unlike the F-100, which slopes away to the sides of the truck. I used masking tape to mark the area I wanted to use, then cut it out. A tip I learned years ago was to never throw anything away until the job is done (and even then it may become useful at a later date) so I put the remainder to one side. However, the mismatched front and rear fenders always bothered me, and the huge wheel openings in the rear made the front wheels look too small, plus the lips on the rear fenders just looked "wrong." What it needed was a pair of F-1 rear fenders, with swage lines to match the '46 passenger car front fenders, but I liked the way the front and back sections of the F-100 fenders leaned forward in the same way the back edge of the front fenders did, and wasn't madly excited about the big, boxy, and over-long F-1 fenders. So I decided to combine the swage line and rounded wheel opening of the F-1 fenders with my existing F-100 versions.  Your eyeball could be your...  Your eyeball could be your most useful tool here. It took a few attempts at clamping the new section in place and standing back to look, not to mention several minutes of beard rubbing, before I settled on this location. The lower front section aligns with the existing fender edge, the swage line tapers off ever so slightly to the rear, and the compound curves match up way better than I could have imagined. It also visually lowers the truck, and-here's a bonus-I can still remove the wheel and tire. Just.  Not having any fancy tools...  Not having any fancy tools like clecos, I used self-drilling metal screws to attach the new section to the fenders, and used a Sharpie to mark its perimeter. The vertical lines refer to a previous alignment when I'd clamped the panel in place and decided after staring at it for a while that it was too far forward.  With the panel removed (the...  With the panel removed (the screw holes serve as alignment marks) I trimmed the old fender to within 3/4-inch of the marked lines. I actually ran 3/4-inch masking tape along the lines but it's not necessary to be totally accurate. Now, a word about the "new" sheetmetal I used. I was offered a pair of F-1 fenders for $50 and bought 'em sight unseen. The good news is they weren't rusted out. Well, maybe a little on the tops but I didn't plan on using that part anyway. However, they had seen the wrong side of some bondo magician's palette at some point, but that's nothing a little heat shrinking and body an' hammer work won't sort later. On the plus side, the wire-rolled edges were perfect.  Using a small air grinder...  Using a small air grinder with a soft pad, the paint was removed along the Sharpie lines. It's not necessary to trim to the edge, for reasons that will become apparent.  Here's the trick part to this...  Here's the trick part to this whole operation. It's a little difficult to see, but I cut the existing fender exactly along the edge of the new metal, but only about 5 inches at a time. This removes that 3/4-inch strip of old metal that the screws are biting into, but more importantly, it allows the new and old to join flush, in a butt joint rather than a lap joint.  A little hammer and dolly...  A little hammer and dolly work was required to perfectly align the two sections. Care here will save time and bodywork later. The easiest method of adding the new fender lips would be to cut out the unwanted F-100 metal and weld the new opening on over the top, either with a swaged step in the steel or simply a lap joint, but I wanted to butt-weld the seam, not only to avoid rust issues later as moisture would be able to get between the layers of steel, but also so I would be able to work the join with a hammer and dolly to get the reshaped fender as straight as possible and use a minimum of body filler. There are various ways to hold the metal while butt-welding, and a number of specialist tools to help, but ever the cheapskate, I used nothing more extravagant than a couple of clamps, a C-clamp, and some self-drilling screws. Now, let's cut to the chase and fit those puppies. Or fit one side at least. Yeah, I'm currently driving around with only one side done.  Before welding, remember to...  Before welding, remember to bend back the 3/4-inch section on the reverse side. Working in short sections, this is what the butt jointed seam looked like from the rear. A little dressing back with a grinder, and it'll be easy to finish-work this fender with a hammer and dolly, something that couldn't be done with a lap joint.  As the F-1 fenders were longer,...  As the F-1 fenders were longer, I'd cut through the swage line, the alignment of which needed attention. A cutoff wheel made short work of cutting 4 inches along the lower part of the swage line. The lower part of the panel was then pushed in to meet the old fender, and the now-tapered end to the swage line welded up.  I'd temporarily welded the...  I'd temporarily welded the two parts at the lower rear, and here's the discrepancy between the two panels at the lower edge. You can see the wire-rolled edge of the F-1 fender (arrow), which I chose to continue around the rear using another section of the F-1 fender. Good thing I didn't throw it away!  At first I planned to use...  At first I planned to use the lower F-1 section right around to the lowest bolthole on the mounting flange, but the differing angles as the fender comes away from the pickup bed made me rethink. Note also the differing curvatures of the fenders.  Viewed from the backside,...  Viewed from the backside, and with the mounting boltholes of the new and old fenders aligned, I chose to join them at this point, just above where the wire ends on the F-1 fender, marking and cutting accordingly.  Carefully removing the section...  Carefully removing the section on the right left me with 1/2 inch or so of the wire protruding from my patch panel (arrow), which will offer some extra strength when it's welded to the inside of the F-100 fender flange.  With the new section clamped...  With the new section clamped in place and the wire-rolled lower edge aligned with the section already tacked to the fender, you can see the difference in curvatures. As it had a rolled edge it was possible to re-bend it to suit.  Re-bent and trimmed to fit,...  Re-bent and trimmed to fit, and with a couple of relief cuts to allow some movement, the patch followed the curvature of the F-100 fender, and was screwed in place, with a couple of tack welds at either end.  Following the same format...  Following the same format as before, cutting along the join and removing the strip of old fender, some hammer and dolly work was required to align the sheetmetal prior to, and during, tack welding.  Once the seam was tack welded...  Once the seam was tack welded its entire length, I could go back and seam weld it, no more than 1/2-inch at a time, and moving around to various points on the seam to avoid heat build-up in any one spot. The entire seam was then ground smooth, and should require very little filler.  This is the view looking up...  This is the view looking up inside the fender, with good weld penetration along the seam. The join in the wire-rolled edge (arrow) has yet to be welded; note that I beveled each edge to provide penetration. I don't want the edge splitting in the future.  Hmm, hadn't banked on all...  Hmm, hadn't banked on all that Bondo in there. My $50 fenders were still a bargain, but will require some heat shrinking and straightening before they're ready for paint. We'll show you that next time.  With a quick shot of rattle...  With a quick shot of rattle can satin black to protect it for a couple of days before I tackled the metal straightening, here's the vastly improved appearance of the truck, with matching swage lines and rounded wheel openings. A day well spent methinks!  Compare the driver side to...  Compare the driver side to the as-yet untouched passenger side...  ...The truck appears lower...  ...The truck appears lower thanks to the dropped wheel opening and the lower rear edge to the fender, yet retains the angled forward appearance of the later fenders. Now I just have to make the other side match!
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The Thinker??? - Haul Monitor
Ryan talks about the friendly badgering that goes on around the shop and overcoming obstacles that seemly pop up out of nowhere during a project....
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