Asking this for a friend. He has a chopped 32 3 window body and frame that was a 60s hiboy rod. He is dead set on bringing it back to life as a full fendered car. He knows that slicing and dicing will be involved in making everything fit. What he is looking for is a recommended supplier who has the best product out there giving him the best chance for success. Quality over cost. I'm sure there are a few of you that have been down this road. Thanx for any input.
For STEEL fenders for a '32 Ford you have your choice of Henry and Brookville. Bob Drake has the best running boards. The sun is shinning this morning in Eugene.
If you are patient complete sets of original fenders show up in the for sale section about once a year (here and fordbarn). These come from the guys with original cars going to fenderless. Maybe he could work on other things while waiting then buy reproductions as a last resort. Charlie Stephens
Ron Covell ("Professor Hammer") pounded a Deuce front fender out of 18g. Aluminum killed steel at one of his seminars. The quality was astounding. As a 'repro' part, (which this was not) it was an extreme example... The 'pros' repopping fenders should have a better fit by now...they've been at it awhile. Adjustments are part of 'production'.
I've used several sets of Brookville 32 fenders. I did them on a pu, and I have them on my delivery and 3 window and am putting them on the 5 window I'm doing now. The rears are a bolt on with almost no work needed. The fronts need a little massaging where they bolt to the side of the frame and on some the outside edge where it joins the running board. If you can get to Bobby Walden's Facebook page or Instagram page and go back a couple of months there are really good pictures of what needs to be done. I also used Bookville's rear frame horn covers and front splash apron. The splash apron fits terrible and needs some major massaging to fit right, The only splash apron that fits right is a Henry but I wanted a sectioned one.
Original Fords would be ideal but tough to get ahold of. Like stated above the Brookville rears are better than the fronts. Maybe try and contact Walden's and get a set of Brookville's they've already worked over to fit right?
Why would you have to slice and dice fenders to fit a high boy? All I deuce highboy is, is a deuce with the fenders unbolted. If it is a stock body stick fenders should bolt on. I would send the time to find Henry Steel if it were me but I seldom get in a hurry for anything.
For those of you out there that have already massaged a set of Brookville front fenders to fit, I think that a full tech thread on how you did it would be a great addition here. There are a lot of questions about fitting Brookville front 32 fenders that come up and all we get are obscure remarks about how they have to be made to fit. A picture is worth a thousand words.. As a poor person, I would appreciate seeing how bad the fit is and how much work is required before shelling out some large bucks only to find out that its above my pay scale to fix them. Inquiring minds want to know
56Don, the problem is that every frame is different, so the fender will fit (or not fit) in a different place. We all think our frames are square and right with the world, but they are over 80 years old and have been welded on a bunch. Even a perfect original fender will fit different on each frame.
I'd like to know about the misfit on the new fronts "where they bolt to the side of the frame"? My car has a matching pair of Ford fronts from a beat stocker. My Ford frame was from a 50s rod and still had original F and R crossmembers, and mint K. Both front fender tails did not pull in on the frame sides. The tails spread out more and more as it got to the running boards. I never did find out why, and because there is no bolt into the frame at the very end of the tails, I could not get the other "frame side bolts" up forward, to pull the tail tight to the frame. I had to use a 1" x 1" piece of angle iron, 1.5" long, welded to the bottom of the frame rail, to be a gusseted bracket with a hole, at the very last part of the tail to be able to close the gap. Yes, I am thinking that the built in stress may cause a fender crack at some point. Is that the problem with the new fender tails?
F&J, NO 'gaposis' on your Cabriolet! That fender looks like it and the running board are a matched set. Every 'gap' and fit is perfect, near as I can see. These are gennie fronts?
Yes, original fronts from a dented stock 32, original frame from a 50s rod... but if I take out all the bolts at the frame side, and the running board, there will be a nasty gap at the rail...and both sides are exactly the same poor fit. No idea what is wrong .
F&J: I checked to see if you had any pics in your profile of your cabrio.....how about shootin some out there for us. The car looks awesome in the above pic! Tim
X 2!!!! brookville on my sedan. Rears were a bolt on and the fronts needed the edge where it meets the frame and where it meets up with the running board massaged. But still way less work than making the stock henrys I had work.
On the Brookville fronts I've used the flange that bolts to the side of the frame is a little short of mating to the frame. We usually cut the flange off form a wider piece and reweld it back on the fender, not a big job but that insures a tight fit to the frame. As to the running board to fender fit on some/not all the outside radius doesn't quite match. Simple fix but all this takes time. I will admit I'm a little anal and do my fenders without any welt which requires a good fit.
This is what we had to do. The first photo shows where we added material to meet the frame, the second shows the outside edge of the fender/running board againg it was sliced and material added.
The Jalopy Journal
