Skirts. I’ve had these for years and while I knew they were less than perfect, now was the time to discover just how much work they will need. At first glance in their dirty state they look the same, but are they? Mostly yes, but there are some odd differences such as the the bottom edge. One has an upturned flange, the other turns down. The vertical bar for mounting the upper latch is wide on one and narrow on the other. (BTW I reversed the flange on the one folded down.) Both had this rubber folded into the edge, helping to grow rust. That had to come out. Using my flange opener
Several repairs were need like here and around the edge where it had rusted through. Very thin metal. After much hammer/dolly/shrinking as well as rust removal, I decided to re do the edges with wire rather than fresh rubber. (I’ll glue a strip of rubber on the surface that sits against the body. This had been part of the old rubber but was mostly broken away.) I used 3mm stainless steel wire. Hung on with a clamp for a try out, fender also needs plenty of work for a good fit but it's getting there.
Before I committed to molding the fenders etc. I thought it would be a good idea to fit the running boards. I had boxed the frame and welded pieces of 8mm bar inside the mounting holes, so all these had to be drilled and tapped for bolts. Which I did and that went well. On the other hand, the thing is, the boards are in pretty poor shape, especially the left side. Both were banana shape, but the left one had heavy rust outs as well. This edge is also critical for the fitment of stock running board covers. Although CadMad had a go at replicating it, the smallest he could go was just too big, so I elected to do my best to resuscitate the right board and use part of the board CadMad folded to repair the left one while retaining the original folded edge. It took a lot of tap tap tapping to get these boards in shape, not to mention welding and grinding on the left one, but eventually things started to come around. Test fit of covers (yes, wrinkly but not glued on)
Oh goody, now I can get on with the fenders…or so I thought! I had never fitted the left board before because it was in such bad shape. Also, a previous ‘restorer’ a couple of decades ago had installed a rust repair in the lower quarter behind the door. Now, I assumed this was correct… …um no. Not even close! So before the fun part on the fenders, more work!!!! Grrrr. I was too pissed off to take pictures of fixing this. Anyway, I did fix it.
Okay, after fixing the issue above, it was time to move on to things a little more custom, which ultimately is the whole point. And for this, you know it’s getting serious when… …the fenders get welded on! Progress so far. A lot of welding to go
Well you are committed now.....at least the fender is committed..... This first section looks good, happy welding and grinding!
Ha ha, thanks...but is there any such thing as happy grinding? And from here on with the fender, it just gets worse. Well, it gets better after a while, but the welding/grinding ramps up double. I must say the end result is satisfying.
Sure there is happy grinding....there is just no such thing as not making a mess when grinding. I think I am wearing my brooms and dust pan out cleaning up after all of the grinding I have been doing lately. What are you using for abrasives in that concave fender joint?
Same. It's grind hog day. Regular 125mm (5") disk. I use the edge and hold it on an angle in relation to the join. This way the curve of the disk can be adjusted to be the same as the concave shape. I only take the top off the weld this way until flush with either side of the join. I also steady one of my hands against the fender as I move.
I've loved your sloper from when i first saw pics of it years ago, so glad you are back on it! I had missed this thread till last night, am all caught up now!
With the fenders attached it was time to move onto the tail/gravel pan. I'd already formed that and it fit fairly well. Tweaking was needed as usual, but I was pretty happy so far. Once the piece was tacked in place in place I thought I should also work on the roll at the ends. Here is the process I went through. I started by cutting the fender for the reverse curve. Got that on both fenders, then to fill the gap and finish the ends. I thought I should enclose the bumper brackets in the process.
Work on over riders eliminating the mounting indentations and bolts. Bend a filler piece with profile to match the over rider. Weld and smooth.
Also as part of that I have been addressing the turn signal issue. We have to have amber turn signals. I did not want to clutter or take away from the 41 Stude lights so needed another solution. What about in the overriders? I consulted my build guidelines booklet and in the lighting section it told me that rear blinkers are to be a minimum of 300mm above the ground and minimum of 500mm apart. Measuring the C to C of the overriders was 5mm shy so I moved them out 3mm each side. For lights I found some small motorcycle pieces that are very bright, including side-on. You can see in the pic the holes for them. They will be flush. I have also made a new plate bracket. I am about to mount the license light inside the cross bar so that it shines up through a slot.