curve at bottom of '36 rear fender

[Steve in Denver]

Does anyone have a right rear fender off of their '36, I have a 5 window, that they could look at, and take a picture, to see if there is a curve at the bottom? I am sure I did not bend the fenders when I was welding a new support seam where the holes go to the body, but now they don't look right next to the body.

[RalphM]

Here’s a picture of one I have, fender on the right is 36.

[Steve in Denver]

Thanks, yours sure looks a lot straighter than mine, guess I have a problem.

[RalphM]

Here’s another view.
Back of my 35 shows a a slight curvature, but fender is mounted.

[Steve in Denver]

Thanks, looks like I have more body work to do. Not sure what caused mine to twist as I patched it up.

[Don Rogers]

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Steve, Your problem might not be the fender. Look at these images from Bob Drake showing his 36 fender. A friend bought one a while back and it fit perfectly.

[Steve in Denver]

Thanks Don, maybe it gets pushed out as it is tightened down. I'll have to try that before I put a bunch of bondo back in that area.

[Kube]

Originally Posted by Steve Kennedy

Thanks Don, maybe it gets pushed out as it is tightened down. I'll have to try that before I put a bunch of bondo back in that area.

If it gets pushed out when tightening down, the body work is poopy. There should be nearly zero stresses induced upon the metal when tightening it down.

[Karl Wescott]

Two major variables here. The body and the fender. You need to figure out where the problem is body, fender, or both. Looking at the photos I suspect both.


Try to find a known well fitting fender or two, hopefully fit to a car with a VERY cooperative owner. Clamp cross bracing to the fender so it does not twist when removed from the car. Now use that fender as a gauge to true the bodywork on the car. With care, that could be done without scuffing paint on the fender. Then mount your fender to the car and do the body work while it is attached. That will help prevent warpage from body work. Clamp the cross bracing from the gauge fender onto yours to keep it from flexing, twisting, and warping during final priming and painting. A lot of work but a method to achieve top quality results.


This is the process we try to use when building a mold for a fiberglass fender, of course we build a mold instead of painting.

[deuce_roadster]

Unless you are working on a circle track race car, a "bunch of bondo" should never be the answer to an issue. Save yourself trouble by making the body profile correct then the fender. You probably know someone who has a car you can make a template of that area on the car. Good luck. Anytime you weld metal it shrinks when it cools, and if that area is where you welded it most certainly changed. I agree with Karl, probably neither the fender or the body are correct at this time. I hope you find your solution.

[Kube]

In response to posts 9 & 10:
You two probably know that bondo is a huge "no no" around here.
I have actually made a number of templates through the years so as to KNOW where contours should be. It is perhaps amazing but not surprising just how often the fenders have been tweaked. Perhaps not a lot, perhaps not even readily visible to the naked eye.

I stand firm with my opinion that fenders, etc. should bolt on with no force needed. In other words, each should fit right up to the body and the installation of fasteners not change anything.

For my very last blocking on the rear fenders, I bolt them to the body as there is at times a very slight amount of stress put on the sheet metal directly adjacent to the mounting bolt.
By blocking with the fender on the car, once painted and (re)assembled, there will be zero "waves" in this area.
I have noted otherwise beautiful cars where this method was painfully / obviously not employed.
Yeah, OCD for certain but why not attempt to achieve perfection as long as a guy is doing this amount of work?

[swedishsteel]

I have a '36 five window that had no rear fenders when I bought--only the body sitting on a bare frame. I found a pair of really tough fenders--had been stripped and then left outside, lots of swiss cheese, globs of weld that looked like chicken coop. It was all I could find at the time. I patched and patched and patched and made them fit to the body, which wasn't rusted out below the tail lights like so many are. Had them on and off the car several times during the repair. Show quality--not a chance, but they were solid and with bondo was able to make them smooth. Not so long after, Bob Drake announced that he was going to start making '36 coupe rear fenders and was taking preorders. I figured that new steel fenders with no patches or bondo would add that much value to my car if I ever decide to sell, so I ordered a pair. Long story short I had a hell of a time getting them bolted to the car--it was like they were too long where they met the body. I had to use a floor jack where they meet the running board to put enough to get them to line up and have the wife crawl inside the trunk and put nuts on the bolts as I put them in the holes. I even double the number of mounting bolts to take up any slack between the mounting strip and fender. Then, a couple of weeks later I noticed the the passenger side one had pushed out from the stress about a foot above the running board. The only way to fix it is to pie cut and reweld. After all was said and done, I wish I had kept my old patched up ones that fit. I have read where others have had Drake's fit perfectly, but they sure didn't on my car, which wasn't warped out of shape from any repairs. Only thing I can think of was that the first run of Drake's wasn't quite "right", but that is only speculation. Good luck on your project.

[RalphM]

I’ve had that issue with a lot of model A body parts, but most of Drakes parts I have bought have been very good quality.
He’s not reproducing 35 coupe rear fenders any time soon is he?