Patching some nasty 1936 rear fenders

[Rusk]

I know a bunch of you have been down this road. The rear fenders that I got with my car had lots of dents and tears and someone did a really poor job patching the rot where they meet the running boards. Since nice rear fenders are hard to come by (and big $$), I decided to fix what I had. Here are a few pics I took as I went along...





I removed all the bondo and fiberglass and cut out the rot. Then I made a new patch and welded it in...



Welds cleaned up...






Here's the other fender. It got the same patch and some other repairs. I spent many hours with a hammer and dolly and some time with a shrinking disc to get it to this point...still needs a little more before it'll be ready for primer.







I still need to drill the holes for the running boards and make the reinforcements for the inside.

I also had my buddy make a patch for my firewall on his Pullmax (I only have hand tools). We intentionally matched the passenger side X, but we could have made it like the original with the square if we'd wanted.





That's it. I just wanted to share the way I tackled some common problems my car.

[Brian]

Good work Rusk, it is real rewarding when you undertake the repairs yourself, Well done.

[Zeke...PA]

Great job of making patches and welding in, what type of welder, again you get great satisfaction to know you did it yourself. Zeke

[Charlie ny]

Rusk,
Outstanding !
Charlie ny

[JM 35 Sedan]

To be able to afford the new repros or find nice nos and afford those is one thing but doing a nice job at saving originals is something special. Good job Rusk! I need to learn how to weld sheetmetal myself. Wondering if you used a mig or tig to do those welds?

[the cooch]

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Wow! Awesome repairs and craftsmanship. Beautiful thing, keeping the original sheet metal on the road at the expense of using up our time and passion instead of just money! No offense meant to folks who prefer the checkbook shaped wrench, it is a bitchin' tool. To some, seeing that much progress in a thread that takes two seconds to look at is unintentionally deceiving, like reality t.v. How many hours into just one fender?

[Ken Crans]

That looks a lot better.. Nice job

[Lawson Cox]

Nice work. Having done a few like that myself, I know the man hours and beers involved getting results like that.

[Willit Stop]

WOW! That looks great Rusk.May I make a suggestion? It looks as though you are using a sanding disc for stripping.If you have a Harbor Freight nearby,they sell a 4-1/2" polycarbide abrasive wheel that fits an angle grinder (#60571).They leave very fine scratches in the metal and last a long time as long as you don't hit a sharp edge.They remove light surface rust and paint(after chemical stripper) like crazy and will not gouge the steel.Pretty cheap,6-8 bucks. I did a little experiment with one of the inside window trim pieces on my car.I stripped it with the wheel,etch primed,sealed then painted with base/clear.No swirls or scratches showed. Have fun!

[Don Rogers]

Very nice work. I wish I could do that myself!!! I was lucky and found a good body guy to rescue my 35 panel delivery fenders. Here's his repair of the rear section of my front fender............

[Rusk]

Thanks guys. I used a Miller TIG welder for these repairs. I used to MIG everything, but I never liked the way the seams on sheetmetal turned out. The welds are just too hard and brittle to planish flat, although I have seen some guys prove me wrong. The heat control on the TIG works better on thin stuff like these old fenders.

Originally Posted by the cooch

How many hours into just one fender?

I would guess at least 50 hours per fender...they were pretty bad. Glad I'm not paying myself!

I found a couple more pics of the driver's side...

Originally Posted by Willit Stop

WOW! That looks great Rusk.May I make a suggestion? It looks as though you are using a sanding disc for stripping.If you have a Harbor Freight nearby,they sell a 4-1/2" polycarbide abrasive wheel that fits an angle grinder (#60571).They leave very fine scratches in the metal and last a long time as long as you don't hit a sharp edge.They remove light surface rust and paint(after chemical stripper) like crazy and will not gouge the steel.Pretty cheap,6-8 bucks. I did a little experiment with one of the inside window trim pieces on my car.I stripped it with the wheel,etch primed,sealed then painted with base/clear.No swirls or scratches showed. Have fun!

Thanks...I'm always looking for options, so I'll have to check that out. I use everything from a body file, DA, Scotchbrite, 3M stripping disc, and various abrasives. I try to keep from removing any parent metal when possible.

Originally Posted by Don Rogers

Very nice work. I wish I could do that myself!!! I was lucky and found a good body guy to rescue my 35 panel delivery fenders. Here's his repair of the rear section of my front fender............

Looks good!

[FlatheadTed]

Nice work .

[the cooch]

Ahhh the TIG welder. Thanks! Wow, 50 hours each is gonna show when your car is done. You ARE paying yourself, in future compliments! Nice work, again. -Chris

[36tbird]

Looks great. I got a front one that I am going to cut and piece as you did in order to have a spare front clip.

[F-head]

WOW nice work

[cmbrucew]

Very nice work
Bruce

[Tim Brown]

That boy has some skills! Keep up the good work and I love to see the progress pictures.

[john worden]

Nice work.

[Rusk]

Thanks guys. I really enjoy breathing new life into this old tin.

Originally Posted by Tim Brown

That boy has some skills! Keep up the good work and I love to see the progress pictures.

Hi Tim!

[Royal Ryser]

I'm just starting this process on all four fenders on my 36. First, I tackled a running board. So far, it has been frustrating and humbling. Your work show that it can be done and I'll keep after it, hoping to end up as well as you did.