Technical 31 model A repro fenders.

does this look right? they look like they droop on the outer edges. does any one have a dead on front photo of a '30-'31 A with original fenders?

 

I think I can see the droop in yours. These are the best photos I have but the camera angle is too high . I will make it a point to get some better ones at the Model A Ford Pancake breakfast in Orange California in a couple of weeks.

Charlie Stephens

 

thanks, i think when they made them, there is too much material between the headlight bar and the bend at the frame. it does look like the top photo you posted tho.

 

Your headlight bar looks like it has less bend in it between the fender and the headlight. That could make it longer thus pushing out the fenders, making them droop.

 

i wondered that also. i traced it out on the work bench, then flipped it to compare. it had an even arch. if it was too shallow it was done evenly.

 

What you need to confirm this, is a horizontal measurement from one headlight bar mounting bolt to the other on a stock 31A without droopy fenders, to compare with yours. Then you will see if the top of your fenders are spread too far apart.

 

are those fibergl***?

 

00Q0Q_dg3xTDgHS0t_600x450 by Chappy444 posted Mar 19, 2018 at 3:18 PM

 

It's the reproduction fenders, it's not the headlight bar or too much metal anywhere.

These are made by Gaslight, their dies are worn which results in this. You'll also have to confirm the splash apron fitting in the curve area, they're usually off in that area too.

You just have to rework them a bit, it's not terribly difficult to do.

 

Not dead on but original metal!

 

Long shot, is there any chance your fender braces are '28-'29 and I wonder if this would cause it?

Charlie Stephens

 

Gaslight fenders are pieces of **** but they are the only game in town that I know of. We had to section and re-shape 31 front fenders in both directions to make them fit. A call to Gaslight was a complete waste of time. Not a real good view from side and front.

 

i can do that.

steel repro's, painted and put on a year ago without any fitting. they had rubber shims and a couple rubber pads with the bolts all loose. now i am doing the whole car and the question came up. "why do you have to repaint the fenders?"

those look just like these, are those originals?

i fit it to the splash apron, that was easy. i think i need to take some metal out between the bar and frame. to confirm this i would need a measurement from an original.

those look much better.

they are the later braces........i think

i remember doing a lot of cutting and tweaking on repro fenders 35 years ago.......i would have thought they would get better.
the outer lip was flared out, so lifting the outer part of the fender to get rid of the droop would make that worse. i worked the whole outer lip to stand straight now, i got the fender and brace to bolt without fighting it.

 

can we get these measurements?
from the fender where it makes the bend at the frame.
from bottom bolt hole to hole on the bar.
and from the fender where it makes the bend to the outer fender brace bolt.

 

Yes, original Henry steel. However, they required a fair amount of work to get them back in shape.

 

From the bend at the frame (at the bolt hole) to the lower light bar bolt hole is 13"
From that same spot (the bend at the fender to frame bolt) to the outer fender brace hole is about 29 3/4" (over the top measurement)
I can't get a straight line under the fender measurement until I take the tire off.
Those measurements are the same on both sides of my car.
I have a different light bar on mine so that measurement would be different I think
Chappy

 

thanks! i made some measurements also to compare.
the light bar is 38 1/4" from the bottom edge to the bottom edge.
i also had about 13"

 

here is how i measured the bar 38 1/4"

 

i used a string and some tape over the fender. i marked each location then stuck it to the bench and measured.
i have 13 3/8 which explains the "extra" metal and 29 15/16" to the center of the bolt.

 

My light bar is about 38 1/4 from center to center of the lower bolt holes.

 

thank you, i really appreciate you taking the time.

 

Full disclosure:
I measured from approximately the center of the radius where the fender bends at the frame and I used a narrow metal tape measure over the top of the fender (tape not perfectly flat across the entire measured surface). Also, I had to measure just aft of the installed light bar not directly over the holes.
This could add up to +/- 1/16" (or more) variation between our measurements
Looks like we are pretty close though.
Once you get it mocked up with some tires on it you may find that it looks better.
Chappy

 

The "droop" in the reproduction has been do***ented by some of the members of the Model A clubs. I don't keep my back issues, but if I can find the time, I'll see if I can find the article.

 

Even if you find a nice shape original fender, you will probably see a little more droop than it came from the factory with. They are handy seats, and as such have been squooshed down over the years.

I bet you won't paint any more parts before they have been fit!

I spent days fitting the fenders on my little brother's Model A a few decades ago. He had really nice fenders, and repro splash aprons. It still took a whole lot of moving, bending, filing, hammering, and even a bit of welding to make them all agree with each other. But they were nice enough for black paint and NO fender welt when done!

 

hah. i never paint stuff without fitting. i always prebuild a car before putting any finish on.
i am doing this work for another restoration shop that started it.
their motto: do it back wards, do it twice, then give it to Ted to make it nice.
you should have seen the rest of the project. they took the metal work to a "guru" who welded it together without fitting ANYTHING, then they tried to get things aligned, then it came to me to show them where the problems were, it went back to the "guru" to fix it. it came back to me and i cut it all back apart and started over.......

 

here is what they gave me..............

 

I love it !!!
You should make them a sign for their shop

 

We all learn that Reproduction parts are just a good place to start, they are never exact. So if you have already made the Fenders fit the aprons and brackets and all that don't look right is they hang wrong what would be wrong with lifting the fenders without the light bar to get the fenders looking correct and adjust the Headlight bar to fit between the fenders? Who, where and why would it ever get sized up to see if it's Exactly Correct to a Stock pair of Fenders?
The Wizzard