Technical How to make drip rails or wheel opening mouldings

Sometimes you need something for your car that you just can`t buy, that`s when you need to figure out how to make it. Sometimes the part is just missing when you buy the car and sometimes it`s just rusted off.
We needed drip rails for a `37 Studebaker, they just don`t exist so here`s how we made them. This also works for wheel opening moldings.



This was made with aluminum, but stainless steel can also be used if you`re making a wheel opening molding.

First we scribed a piece of sheet metal to the desired width which in this case was 1".

We then cut it on the shear and cut it to length, which in this case was 40".



Then we put it in the brake and bent a 90 degree bend 1/4" wide in the piece.







We then put a 3/16" piece of round bar stock in the bend and used "C" clamps and a piece of flat bar to hold it in place.



A body hammer was used to bend the lip over the bar.
This is what the result is.



The next thing is to bend it into the shape you need. I thought this would be harder to do than it really was, but it bent into shape easily. We used the top of the door to get the right shape.








It was fitted and bent by hand until it fit perfectly and this is what it looked like on the car.






This is the piece off of the car.
More pictures of this car can be seen @ http://mccainautomotive.com/Studebaker.htm

 

Beautiful job. HRP

 

Great idea, great job, and great post !
Thanks..

 

Very nice. Thanks for taking the time to post.

 

Thanks for posting. A how-to like the good old HAMB!

 

very nice job

 

Where can I get a gradated scratch like that?

 

Nice work!

Google sheet metal scribes there are all sorts out there. I find the ones that come in a set so there are only 4 or so sizes on each scribe are easier to use.

I have these ones from So Cal and they work great.

 

Great job! Thanks for taking the time to post this.

 

Great post thanks for sharing your technique.

 

Excellent, great post

 

Great way to do it. Thanks

 

That's some very cool work there my friend!!!! Thanks for sharing. tim

 

Brilliant! It's amazing how simple some things can be when you know what the hell you're doing. I would've beat my head against the wall for a solution.

 

Now THAT is a great idea. Thanks for posting it.

 

Thanks for sharing your work and ideas.

 

You guys blow me away.

 

...how is that atttached to the car?...rivets?

 

The drip rails will be plug welded to the body. In the picture, they are just wedged in for the picture.

 

You just have to be smarter than the equipment you`re working on.

 

Is that an open drip rail and away from the roof skin - like a gutter ?
Or is it tight to the roof skin like a rain lip?

 

It`s a gutter about 1/4" from the roof. It`s just hard to get a good picture of it.

 

It's a nice clean look and a very nice piece. I'm just not understanding how the details of its form and attachment will actually function. ( form follows function)

What's the plan for getting some paint in there and sealing the seam between it and the door jamb. Hoping for some cool tricks here. Thanks

 

What a nice job! Noticed that scribe right away, good to see the links to other sheetmetal scribes. Bob

 

I'll take 8' please.

Really nice. I'm surprised it bends around corners without flattening.

 

That's very nice workmanship

 

Fantastic work, thanks for sharing your technique

 

We`ll use weld through primer and Black Jack epoxy sealer where the drip rail is attached to the body.

 

Nice job! We have a CNC folder/brake at the shop, I bent up drip rails/channel for my 30' Chrysler coupe project that were almost exact to the originals. I didn't use them, I bent up a drip molding instead that I plug welded to the roof skin above the door that really turned out good. I have pic's somewhere I'll post them if I can find them. The CNC brakes are pretty cool! Whatever you program in it will bend and turn out perfect taking only seconds to bend the piece!

 

Awesome job