31 roadster fender repair

[sphooch]

Hi guys , could use a little help on this one . my passenger side front fender has a crack in it. it had a make shift repair done to it some time ago and now I want to fix it properly. the crack is 3 1/2 in. forward of the spare tire well and starts from the outside in to just about the center line of the well. no metal is missing but I have to some how line it back up for a weld. if I push up on the fender from the inside I can see it wants to come back together. I should mention the fender is in a fixture to hold it in place as if it were on the car. Any one have any suggestions on how to compress the gap back to its original location and be welded?? thanks THE HOOCH

[Oldbluoval]

It's fairly rare that it can just be "welded up".
It usually takes a panel or piece to span the crack and weld back to decent metal
B Terry has a website with tips as does Kevin Fehr

[J Franklin]

do the bodywork to get the crack aligned, Tack weld and reinforce the bead area. mate sure it has proper frame and bracket alignment and weld along the crack. Care not to warp the sheet metal should be considered.

[Deny1950]

is the crack spread apart or together? If it is together or very close get some c clamp visegrip and get two small pieces of 14 or 12 guage steel one for the bottom and one on top of the fender. Put over the crack and tight with the vise grip, this should alinge the tin the tih might have to hammer and dolly a bit. If it is spread then you will have to lift up at the crack till it gets tight will have to have the fender clamped at the ends, once closed do the same as above and tack weld in place. once welded hammer and dolly the weld to tack out the shrink that happend when welded. I assume the wire is broken, if you can, open up the tin that holds the wire about two or more inches on both side of the crack and cut the wire out and replace with a new peace of wire. This is so the welded wire is not in line with the original crack, makeing it stronger . Hope this all makes sence Denis

[sphooch]

thanks, I was thinking along those lines , and its nice to have it confirmed. i'll give it my best shot. THE HOOCH

[Flop]

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if its cracked the wire edge is 99 percent of the time inside is also cracked . Proper fixing would be cut out the cracked area repair wire inside and reskin with new metal .

[JohnLaVoy]

How about just buying a new fender?

[Mike V. Florida]

This will help you to know what needs to be done to do it right so it lasts,

http://www.modelahouse.com/tech/fender/index.html