Anyone have any insight as to differences in early/mid 50s Ford car fenders? I have a 53 Mainline and getting a fender doesn't seem to be happening less than $600. Seems to me the only difference is the front so I'm thinking I can get a different year and cut and weld. The front of mine luckily is in good shape, its moreso the wheel well and back thats all boogered up.
52 and 53 are the same except around the grill area. 54 should work also if you are using just the rear area.
The '54 fender is different, I bought a NOS '53 and found out the expensive way, fortunately I was able to recoup most of my money. HRP
The forward grille area on the 54 fender is different and the '54 fender has a slight peek the others don't have. HRP
Ideally what I would like to do is use entire fender but cut and weld the front grill area. Provided I find a suitable donor that doesn’t cost a mint. Thanks for the info! Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
From the head light back on top of the fender, it will work but body work will be needed to match your '53 Ford. HRP
actually the crease is on the side of fender it is on the bezel and runs for a short distance back toward the rear. it fades out and the shape of fender resembles the 52-53 the attaching to the inner fender will differ from 52-53 I think because of the flathead vs y block.the canadian 54 may differ on that point as well as we retained the flathead in 54
Did you try the H.A.M.B. Classified "Wanted" Section? Or the Ford Barn? Seems like you could do way better than $600.00 for a used fender. Of course I'm stuck in a 40 year old time warp with respect to prices. But still ...
Yeah I’ve been looking for a few years and the only decent 53s have been in the $600 range. Guess that explains why previous owner filled it with bondo. Thanks for the heads up, I’m going to post in wanted section and check the barn Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Check this out in the H.A.M.B. "Cars for Sale" Classifieds - '53 Ford V-8 with Overdrive It would provide the fender you need plus lots more parts including a very rare power steering option. You could sell what you don't need and wind up with a free fender.
It’s pretty rough. That side must have taken a good hit at some point and someone attempted to unmangle the fender and fill it with a gallon of mud. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Only pic I have at the moment. It doesn’t look too bad here but on the inside there’s a lot of waviness and creases Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Only seeing that little shot of your damage I can tell you I would just fix it. Now you gotta understand 70 was not my last B-Day and I've been at it for most of my life. Metal work is a skill for sure but if I can learn it so can you. Some times a novice metal man works way to hard to save a section instead just hand building a new one. I have built many a round as well as squared off wheel opening and metal finished then into a quarter or fender. That fender would need to be in bad shape in more places than what we see before I would even up bolt it from the car. That's a fix in place for me.
Looks like a fixer to me, been bending tin over 60 years. Get the little book the Key to Metal Bumping . Amazon has it so does Jegs and they are on evil bay. They are put out Martin Tool and Forge. They also make great hammers. I have given a copy to all my helpers-trainees. I have used Fairmont and Martin hammers and dollies all my life. Frank
Yeah that’s not the only bad spot, it’s just the only one where mud popped out. I’ll get some better pics over the weekend. I definitely don’t feel it’s unfixable, but it’s a bit outside of my capabilities. I was looking at a different year donor and some welding as an easier route because it’s a little more in my wheelhouse Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Post up a few more photos of the complete fender and maybe 1-SHOT and I can encourage you to expand your cut-n-weld talents into saving you some $$$ while discovering a hidden talent. The lip on the opening is the least to worry about unless you want a concourse restoration job. That can happen too but maybe not the first time out the gate. Check this out. The black line is a piece of 1/2" x 1" rectangle tube that will be the new opening. Note the horizontal line below the tube and above the blue tape. I'm going to move the horizontal line up and above the wheel opening, and it's not that tough. With this same basic treatment you can save the wheel opening on your fender. You can do this if you like with a little help. May take a little more bump and grind with a skiff of filler but a bucket full. Shaping the tube is quite easy. What do ya think?
Wellll,,,,,, let's just say it's off Topic on this sight but I can still use photos to explain How to do things. That said I must confess it's the Rambler from Hell.
Exactly. I've been nudging metal awhile myself, but got the book and learned volumes. My wife got into it also, it's very distinct. My '54 Ford coupe had front fenders that were rusty in the water traps, luckily my bud Dennis Moomjean had a '54 Customline he gave me for $100. Perfect front 'clip', and many boxes of parts before I junked the bare body. Parts car is the answer.
That project has been in paint and doing Time for a few years now. I just keep some Fab photos around to post up when I think they may help with some visual aids.
I have a pair of 53 Ford front fenders in my garage. They do have the slight peak along the top of the fender. The peak starts at the headlight and runs the top of the fender. Now you may ask why a guy with a 52 Chevy has a pair of Ford fenders in his garage. I picked them up when I was a little more ambitious. I always admired the way Bob Klessig had flaired front fenders on his Hard Top turned Convertible. I asked Bob what he used and he told me they were 53 Ford fender flairs. So, I picked up a pair and never used them. Are they what you're needing?
Yes it is 1-SHOT. It's way off topic for here so I only post up construction shots when I think they may help explain things and help out.