Hi all I've been working on my front fenders. I used 1/4 x 1" strapping to make the supports. I have taken the car around the block a few times (30mph) there is some shake on my local roads. Is some shake inevitable? l can reinforce these supports but I don't want them to be too bulky or do I need to start again. Thanks Phil ok
I would have made them so they were closer to the tire, pretty big air gap. They're going to shake around either way since they move with the rest of the suspension.
Close that air gap and possibly add an arc shaped reinforcement bracket, mimicking the fender radius. That bracket will stop the shimmying from occurring by adding some inherent strength.
No, you cannot stop the shake without making them from industrial grade material. I wouldn't go more than 1/4 inch thickness, they'll look odd, and I agree that you should build them closer to the tire, I use a few small pieces of 2X4 for mine, 1 1/2 inches off the tire is about right and looks good. The shorter the bracket, the less shake you'll have.
When I made the rear fenders for my T , I used 1/2" round bar , they vibrated .I doubled the bar , it helped . I put. a diagonal bar from the fender mount lower to the axle mount upper , I still get a bit of movement , but not bad ...
Look at all the original fender braces over the years. They all have some sort of contour built into them for rigidity. None are built from flat stock. Maybe try tubing , either round or square.
Mine are made from rod and have a bend in them. They have broken over time so gussets were added and a brace between the two supports concentric with the fender arch. Sorry I don’t have a photo of that. Life is tough for this type of fender because it is responding directly to every bump in the road. Watch them some time when your driving. I believe the right fender has it worse. Hope the pictures to give you an idea.
1/2" square tube, sliced and diced to shape. Split the tube and capture flat stock for mounts. Tape 3/8" rubber hose to tire for space, set fender on hose and join everything accordingly.
many years ago we tried cycle fenders on the front of a roadster--cracked quite a few times. Finally made braces out of round rod as mentioned and put springs between the brace and the mounting point--they shook a bit more (not much) but didn't crack anymore.
Flat metal obviously won’t work well. I used a bunch of used bicycle forks to build the mounts for my cycle fenders The tapered oval tubing did the trick.
Did play that bike type fender game back in early 1960s,only do to one of the cops who was given our part of town for a short time =was not at all a good guy,most are good guys. Anyway he would give out tickets for anything just to be a asshole for stuff that didn't matter. So I had to make a set of fenders for my hot rod. I did them from 2 spare tire covers cut kind of in 1/2. The brackets I made from 1/2 in. tubing I bent to shape. They were bolted to brake backing plates ,by bolts that,by there self were bolted in the plate with a nut, an stuck out,so the tube bracket then fit on to bolt an a wingnut with lockwasher was used to hold the fender bracket=temp,so I could remove,I hated the fenders,but was the law. After the asshole no longer was asigned to our part of town,I lost the fenders. I did not have prob with them,having vibs other then a fairly big bump,I guess the tubing was strong enough. Some one pointed out tires,yes ,I do see a number of guys now days fail to understand that tires are part of the suspension.The tire design of it's side wall an the PSI it's run at control the flex an how much it acts as suspension along with the springs an shocks. A stiff tire with around 20 psi and up is a bad ruff ride,an kind of ignorant for a street driven hot rod. Now days often seen as tractor tires with only rib treads, as some one saw it in a old photo. But that photo was a dirt track race car and they misread it as a hot rod for the street. Did it ever happen,sure lots of add ball things did,but don't copy dumb stuff. I've done some dumb stuff to,that I would not do again an hope no one ever copy's any of that. Have fun,only thing I like a little about having my bike type fenders was in the wet,less water got in my face on a left turn. LOL Old photo of my fenders in early 1960s,I still hate'm,roll bar went with'm. Happy I lost them,an that cop.
Like almost everything else in my garage I built the stands myself. Cut out of 3/16” steel plate and welded up. Strong and stable, 12” high they are really good.
I made my brackets out of 1" x 3/8" bar. Actually that is not quite right. I did drawings of all the components and particularly at the front some had curves in them so I had them all laser cut out and then only really had to bend or roll them over in one direction. I also had a arc cut to tie the two components arms together that ran in the same curvature as the wheel. With my rear brackets I have tried something different just because I could. Love it or hate it I am sure that it will be strong enough to survive the test of time and miles... [
Thanks everyone I went out to the shop today and made some modifications. I tightened up the radius of the fender so I could bring it closer to the tire. I redrilled the brackets to shorten them. Even 1" shorter seemed to stiffen them up quite a bit. I will try a small reinforcement from below the top bolt to just above the offset as that seems to be were all the vibration originates from. Phil
Used 5/8ths dia DOM tube. Light, strong, no vibration. Added 1/4 in flat plate for 3 mount points, (viewed Outward on right side) @ 10, 2 and 4 o'clock on the spindle. Never a problem.
Ahhooogah...howdy Neighbor...the lowered tire lid looks much better...what's the horn attached to? Does Stogy see a bobbed rear fender?......see you at Hazeldeen next year...
The horn bracket is attached to the headlight to headlight stand bolt. Your right, rear fender made from trailer fenders, I copied that from someone. Re Hazeldeen, I'm hoping next year will return to some kind of normal. Phil
Seasons Greetings Phil...hope all is well... How's the project rolling along...I'll bet you've already been cruising around ironing out the minor details needing addressing...you really moved quickly on it that's for sure...
All is well here, l hope all is well with you and yours. With the buying and selling of houses and all the renovations here I haven't had time to work on the car since last Christmas. I did drive it out here. I'm planning on starting to work on it after the new year. I don't like the front fenders I've fabricated and I'm going to start on my 2x6 carbs. Phil
Thanks, yes we're just weathering the twists, turns and curve balls... 2x6's......very cool a driving...awesome...moving......that knocks the wind out of the sails...but hey I think we're alot closer now...Congrats on so many fronts...I look forward to getting together when the bug dies down...
Another option is to as a rib. 1/4x1/2 would work real well. Just adding an option here @mgtstumpy 's advice is good.
The Jalopy Journal
