Jive-Bomber submitted a new blog post: Running Cycle Fenders... Continue reading the Original Blog Post
If you look at the spare tire cover on Ford "Woodies" the outer cover made a great cycle fender. Guy's would cut them up to fit the wheel and fabricate the brackets. They have a nice raised center section and were perfect for a cycle fender. That, and they were a pain in the ass to get on, so many people just left them on the side of the road when they were finished changing a flat tire. That is one of the reasons that the spare tire cover for Station Wagons are so rare.
A lot of the spare tire covers on RV’s are stainless steel and have the correct radius for big tires.
here’s a 1956 Rodding and Re-Styling article on adding fenders- Just incase you want to reignite the trend. @Jive-Bomber What month?
Cycle fenders were available in my shop through the late '70s, into the '80s. Engineering the brackets for the fronts (and unattached-to-body rears) was a challenge. Brackets went from 5/16" formed strap to 9/16" tube, finally to oval tube from my local steamfitter shop! Inertia was the enemy of heavy, suspended 'bike fenders', as fronts were cut from '35 Ford spare tire covers, with the attractive bead down the center. But SO sharp! Rears had to be rolled from 18 ga. flat steel, then rolled at edges, then again for that center bead that matched the fronts (only wider) Lots of guys had OEM rear fenders attached to bodies, then bobbed. I always preferred the unattached rears, as they stuck with the 'No Fenders' theme. My high school car was a channeled '30 'A' coupe, no fenders. Drove it year round, big rooster tails on rainy days... One morning I was on my way to school, made my left arm signal, then a fast left turn on Dana Ave... Wide gutter runoff, and the drivers 5.90 X 15 delivered a wave of cold water through my door window, my lap was drenched, I was "Arrrgghhh!" Soaking wet! But I held out, no fenders for the kid.... My roadster got 'bike fenders' a couple of years later, mainly from daily pressure from the local fuzz. These days, when I see them I like 'em. Appreciate the work to attach, and look clean...
Most early V8 tire covers make neat front fenders, but like anything else they are getting harder to come by....
I made these from an early tire cover I paid $20 for!. I like that they keep shit from being sprayed all over my black paint!
I ran bobbed rear fenders and cycle fenders on the front of the coupe years ago when Pa. still had a fender law. When the law was finally thrown out I removed them and said FTF. I do like the front cycle type fenders and think the bobbed rear fenders look cool.
Got a spare cover, looked like '35-'36 fords...but aluminum, bolted them to the backing plates, i could not keep them on the car... built a set for a '34 project, used sections of tapered A rear wishbones as arms mounted to the framerail, mounted the fender towards the rear and lower area of the tire [1;30 to 4;30] so it did not need to move with the tire... they take the vibration of the frame not the vibration of the wheel... pre computer no pix...
Hello, Having owned, modified and ridden our Harley Sportster all over So Cal doing my photography business, I was thankful for that front fender. When I first got it, I took off the front fender and thought it looked faster. It was like a roadster without fenders and a lightweight look. A lot of motorcycle riders go without front fenders. It is/was personal preference. But, I wanted to arrive in clean clothes and the smell of exhaust fumes was already prevalent. I just did not like a little puddle on the street to splash stuff up into our faces and clothes. It was something necessary, so I put the front fender back on and arrived with non-stained clothes for any appointment. With the color on the rest of the motorcycle, the front fender looked like it should be there all of the time. A couple of hot rod guys I met wanted to buy my fender when I had taken it off. They were also looking for something to cover their front tires. They got tired of “things” flying into the cab and on the hot rod. I told them that our automotive/motorcycle swap meets in Long Beach always had people selling primed Harley Sportster fenders for low cost. They were the only wide fenders that fit hot rod tires. Jnaki Fenders serve a purpose and the small ones on the fronts of hot rods work. It just takes a while to get used to them. For us, full fenders were the choice for hot rod coupes and roadsters over the small Harley sportster fenders. But, any fenders angled correctly would keep grime and make less of a disturbance on the coupe or roadster. (And occupants on a Harley Sportster.)
I wanted to put Harley fenders (springer forks '36-49) on a project truck I have, I dig the shape and side skirting they have , but the cost, even repops was prohibitive.
shoebox woodies tire covers were about an inch wider than the '35-'36 ford spares... but they did not have the raised beadwork...
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