Hey I thought you guys might like to see The fender piece that I scabbed onto my 40. I did run into a problem though. The top piece is off of an actual 40 pickup. The bottom I was told is off of a 38 pickup, Which I thought were the same. I could not get them to line up! its was off a perfect 1/4". I had to cut a pie almost two feet back. Any thoughts on why? I think I already graduated from stupid kid to young feller, so I don't think that was my problem Would it have been possible to get that much slop in the dies in two years...? The last pic is before I patched the fender. Not good when you can see daylight
The best explanation is that the fenders were made in different dies and with the then lack of quality controls there was that much variation. Having been in business making fiberglass fenders, we found instances where there was a fair amount of leeway in dimensions on fenders and hoods. 1938 to 41 was the same fender so the only difference was the dies it came out of.
It may not have even been a Ford produced fender. Several aftermarket companies produced "gypsy" parts that were made with the idea of "close is good enough". Most had oval holes to allow for adjustment.
The Jalopy Journal
