My body guy is urging me to replace my right front fender. I’m inclined to do so and put the money saved into upholstery. So my question is UPC or Brookville. If I could do body work I would probably save it but I’m paying someone so savings would go back into a nice headliner.
I'd go UP. Their fenders seem to be a good fit I'm told plus they're close. Shipping a fender is truck freight and gets expensive.
I just had a conversation last night with my good friend who's fitting Brookville fenders to his Deuce. He's having the same problems I had. We both had to slice and dice the fenders to fit. But I will say, we are both anal about fitment. Someone else might just bolt them on and go with it.
That fender not bad , If you replace look for Original, BV only reproduction , If looking for OEM Fit , Plain for hours invested in fitment I would like to have my Originals used as mold into Carbon fiber
I've done 1/2 a dozen 32's with Brookville front & rear fenders. Rears fit I think good. The fronts need a little loving where they bolt to the side rails and some finessing at the outer edge where they bolt on to the boards, the radius of the board and the fender are different. If your really anal like me the eyebrows need some work so they match. I have no experience with UP. I suggested them strictly because of the shipping costs and everything 32 from them I've used has been high quality, fit and worked good.
I realize that the fender is “ not that bad” but I’m paying a “guy” lol. I think one of his concerns is how long the repairs will last, cost to repair v massaging out a new one. I’m not to concerned with side view matching, more concerned about the front view
I know this comment isn't very helpful but it wouldn't even occur to me to replace that fender, it looks like a fairly simple fix, and I'm betting making a new one fit is going to be nearly the same amount of work as fixing this one. Plus, the allure of original panels would be worth the premium price of fixing it, to me at least.
I'm with @Squablow on this. I'm NOT a body man but I would repair the original fender. It would take me 3-4 times longer than a body man!!! This is a tough spot to be in because either you pay for his time on an original or repop. Also, you can buy a new one and sell the old one to help recoup cost. Good luck either way you go.
When answering all the car show questions about body and such, isn’t the best answer-all original henry steel? Not sure if this is the case, but if it is…
I am another one in the save it category . That one is better than the one I started out with and am massaging now. But after research about Brookville fenders and having to tweak them, I decided to stay with original and spend my time on them. I have yet to find one that does not have a broken bead or a repair there.
The photos really don’t show the full extent of the damage. (I’m talking my self into pulling the trigger) 1, I don’t have the wherewithal to do the body work, 2 ,I trust my “guy “ and his recommendations and opinion, I have seen his work. 3, I am doing almost all the other work on this build, See “blowing this thing apart” so I understand the work and money involved in repairing this fender, 5, I would be ok if he cuts up the repop for patch panels. Believe me I’m heartbroken having to replace as this was my dads car. You guys rule
I've original to the car fenders on my sport coupe that are beginning to show some cracking on the front, & will probably repair when it becomes more evident, I did purchase a fender at the recent Greenfield swap meet with original paint & minor damage but without any cracked beads etc. While the labor rates can derail repairs, a novice can often times off-set some cost by doing prep & finish to the degree one is comfortable with, a donor scrapped fender for patches if available might also be of help.
Looks great, I've seen your postings before & liked the car as it were, I'm sure the end result will be nothing less than perfect, like those mobile stand off supports as well.
Looks to be a competent full line shop, as has been said, some reproduction front fenders had differing frontal areas that required work to be exacting matches & additional work mating to the running boards..... but then again, an original may well have similar issues from previous body work, sorta flip of the coin situation whatever choice you make & wish you the best outcome..
I pulled the trigger, ordered from Speedway, gave my “guy” the ok to use the new fender as patch panels if need be. (Ouch)
I think you did the right thing. I haven't used UPC's but my friend's '32 roadster pickup had a set of front's installed not long ago and the fit was close to perfect. This car is being built for the AMBR so it has to be done right. The only complaint I've heard about them is that the raw edge of the bead is ragged and needs to be cleaned up. I've installed Brookvilles and the rears fit and the right front is acceptable but the left front is terrible. I've had to cut a slice out of the the section that bolts to the frame to get it to fit flush and get the correct fit to the running board. I could have done more to get them better, but the he other problem is that both sides of the fronts do not lay flat on the front of the frame rails, and they angle up to the outside. I've had to relocate the headlight bar mounts too. I'd never use Brookvilles again if I didn't already have some. If you could find nice originals that would be the best but you can run into trouble there too if they have been reworked. Sometime when fixing them they don't end up fitting either if they've been reworked and welded on. One thing I always do is to cut the fender braces off just after the headlight bar mount. I like the extra clearance above the front tire and I don't like the extra stress on the fender by bolting it to the outer edge near the bead. I've seen a lot of originals that crack there, so why ask for trouble?
My thoughts are save the original because A)it was your Dad's and B) the rest of the car is Henry steel. The fact that you've done most all of the other work yourself, justifies paying a pro to make the OG fender right. You've saved a ton of money investing your own labor, so don't feel bad about treating yourself here and there, be it pro labor, some chrome or polished stainless, etc. BTW, great work! The car looks bad ass!
get the origs. fixed. The beads on a Brookville are not the same. All I have seen the bead is flat at the outer edge and genies aer round. I notice this when I look at a 32.
That wouldn't be so bad, if your body guy just cut a foot of the outer edge of the new one off and welded it into the original where it's all cracked and repaired, and maybe the lower corner by the running board. That'd be easier than making those pieces from scratch, it'd probably be just as fast as working a new fender over to make it fit, and it'll still be the original fender when you're done. If that's what ends up happening, I think it'll be a fine compromise.
As a note, my dad did several repairs to this fender on a farm with a gas torch in the mid 50’s and he wasn’t a body man.
At least fenders are available for your car. Those of us with orphan cars learn to fix them because there isn't a clear alternative and I agree those fender stress cracks across the bead are a scary proposition.
The fact that your dad gas-welded up that same fender in the 50's would be an even bigger selling point to me on keeping it. If you cut out the old repairs and used pieces of the new fender to weld into it, I'd even keep the old bit, just to hang it on the wall. Also, not sure why the body man doesn't think a repair on that old fender would hold up, after all, your dad wasn't a body man and his repair lasted 70 years.
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