My 14 year old son Cam is trying to get started on a 1937 Ford pickup project. He is trying to get this done as cheap as possible, but still look good, and wants to learn alot of building skills along the way. He needs to decide up front if he should restore it stock, or go lowered and fenderless. The existing fenders ar so beat up, that the rears are pretty much beyond repair, the fronts could be saved with a ton of skilled work. Or he could save up and buy glass fenders. Either way, using fenders will take time and $$. If he goes fenderless, that will save all the time and $$ of doing fenders, but how do you lower a 37 Ford Pickup? I don't have experience with this era of Ford. Would he have to buy a dropped axel? Different springs? Or what? How much will it cost? Which option would be faster and cheaper to do, stock, or lowered and fenderless? Thanks, Joel Here is a fenderless truck that he likes and his truck as it is now:
what are the laws pertaining to fenderless cars in your state? it may be better for him to follow the law and keep him out of trouble being that young. that's if the law is strict on fenderless. if there is no strict law and he likes dirty windows and a dirty truck..go fenderless and get some good wipers.
OR... throw some cheap trailer fenders over the tires and mount them so they float off the spindle/rear end.
personally i would save the money and put the fenders on the truck fenderless trucks after 34 just look a little off IMO. i know how it feels being young and wanting to get the truck on the road i started building my 34 ford pickup when i was 14 and wanted it on the road the fastest and cheapest way possible. i know the feeling of being young and no money it sucks. it took me four years to get my truck on the road. but if you two are wanting to get the truck on the road as soon as ya guys can and not run fenders atleast set it up so that later down the road when he saves up he will still have the option to run fenders. thats what i did but this is just my .02 Good luck with the build glad to see another young gun getting into this hobby heres a pic of my truck im glad i waited and saved a few more years before i really started building it
with that truck if you try and go cheap its going to look cheap. lowered WITH fenders. those styles are gorgeous...with fenders that is.
Fenders! Good learning experience working out the dents in the old fenders anyway, and at 14, he probably won't be able to drive for a couple of more years anyway, right?
Fenders! Front: Drop axel, reverse eye spring, drop steering arms. Rear: Longer shackles and reverse eye spring. This will add up quick. So it may be cheaper to go stock with glass fenders. But replacing all the bushing is a good idea. Could just take out some leafs and have the eyes reverse. (cheaper) but it won't give you that slammed look.
Exactly what I was thinking.... gotta keep the fenders. Looks like a good solid truck to start with, work the dents out of the front fenders and go w/ glass rears if you have to.
Fenders. The rears are cheap in glass. The fronts are a little tougher. I buy quite a few sets from guys on the hamb, the swap meets are a good source as well. Just don't buy big truck fenders mistakenly. The easiest way to tell is that the big truck fenders don't have a hole for the front bumpers.
Lowered with fenders. The rears are very hard to find in steel, go glass. Fronts are easier, or fix what you've got. I lucked out in that the rears on this one were repairable, I had to make front patch panels because they were rusted out at the running boards. A slammed bobber with an extended front axle, shortened bed, and an earlier grille is kinda cool, but these trucks in stock configuration/axle location without fenders look wrong - plump and incomplete. -KK
i like the black one in the last photo without a hood , truck looks a little weird with out fenders the fenders seem to give it some needed shape / or lines
You guys make some good points. Thanks. The boy has alot of different interests right now: building boomerangs and trebuchettes, animals, boating, biking, shooting, sports, etc. I want to keep the truck project moving and interesting, keep him seeing progress, and not make it drag on so long that he can't see the light at the end of the tunnel and gives up. I think that this weekend we will bolt the old fenders on to see how it looks and to better evaluate their condition. The chassis on the truck was already cleaned up and painted when he got it, and everything in the suspension seems to be in good shape. So maybe we should forget about the lowering for now, just get the thing in good driving shape with 4 fenders and get some paint on it. Then he can yard drive it and enjoy it, then pick away at mods like lowering, hopping up the flattie, etc. as time and money permit.
was looking through the classifides and found these maybe cheaper and easier way to get front fenders on for now?? just a thought http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=400981
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