I'm looking for info concerning putting 55 Mercedes fernder eyebrows onto a 55 Mercury. Does anyone have any info of someone who has done it or know the whereabout of a donor car to get them from...or maybe a good suggestion on how to make them. I have an idea but I could sure use some more. 10 heads are better than one as long as they're not drinking out of the same straw...thanx in advance...db
So you are looking for a '55 SL to cut the fenders off? That may the hardest part... I think it would be easier to make the eyebrows from scratch. And the guy you'd hire for that will know how to put them on your car as well...
Gentle curve on exhaust tubing by rosebud and water, then slice the bottom off flat and split it for two eyebrows.
How about early Lincoln fender flares? Probably cheaper than Mercedes (who copied Lincoln in the first place).
HAHA...Yeah. I wanna cut up an SL. No, I just figured there might be some knowledge of a relatively easy way to make something like that. I've been thinking about it through the night, between the naps, and it seems like some tubing cut into 1/4s would be good to start with. I'm no body man, but I can't afford to pay a good fabricator either, so I'm trying to figure how I can do it myself. The only thing about using tubing is how do I get the smooth, gradual taper at the ends? I'll get it figured out or change to another idea. Just thought I might get some helpful advice on here. Can't you just see me taking a sawzall to a 55 SL fender???? haha
That is kinda what I'm thinking...something like that, anyway. It's getting that gentle curve part that I'm not so sure about. Still running it through my brain. Thanx for the thoughts. db
I suspect the Lincolns are more rare than the SL, but that's the idea. I had forgotten that Lincoln did that. When was it, like early 50's I guess??? I don't really expect to steal them from another car, just want to figure out a way to duplicate the idea. I've got a 55 Mercury with too little front tire clearance for the too low stance it rolls on, so trying to think of something creative to help alleviate the interference without making a big wheel opening which defeats the low stance and look in my opinion. thanx. db
So, back to the rosebud and exaust tubing..I guess you just heat it til glows dull red and then try to roll it over something with an appropriate shape til it's what I want? I hadn't thought about that. That's why I posted. I knew some good ideas would come from this. I really wish I had spent more time learning body work and fabrication when I was younger. Gettin old ain't for the faint of heart. thanx, gentlemen, etc. db.
A friendly muffler shop will bend a pipe, any size, to the curve you want, any curve. Then cut out the part you need. Make a pattern of thin wood or stiff cardboard to show the outside curve you want. Exhaust tubing is basically the same metal as body sheet metal and can be cut and trimmed with tin snips. Or, if you don`t like that idea, plenty of fender flares and other custom parts have been made from conduit tubing. Remember to grind off the plating before you weld it.
No. with rosebud heat the side you want it to pull to until it is red hot, then quench with a wet rag and it will curve the pipe. I used 24" pipes as end stops for 50'+ deep concrete pours and would straighten them like this if they got bowed. Just keep the heat moving as the large tubes also got a bit of a circus balloon necking down due to the heat. The keeper half may want to spring back when you cut away the shrunken half so you may want to anneal it before cutting. For a decent eyebrow you will probably want 3" or 3-1/2" pipe so no local muffler shop is going to be able to bend it.
When ambition outpaces capability, you get bondo...... My truck has taken years longer than it should, but I've always found (eventually) solutions WITHIN my capability and budget..... You'll get there!
I always liked those flares. I've seen other cars with them, besides the Mercedes, but I can't quite come up with the makes. So, I was driving to Home Depot after I read your thread & I pull up behind a Mercury Sable at a light. Above the trunk, there was a chrome lip, which probably houses the trunk latch the keyhole to open it. Anyway, it strikes me that this would make a perfect fender flare, perfectly tapered. Then, I started noticing other cars with the same sort of deal. Maybe a trip to your local salvage yard would produce some ideas to repurpose some already existing newer cars pieces to what you're after?
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