I have to come up with some new rear wheel houses for the Merc body swap. I cut away all the Lincoln ones, they're gone now. What's left of the stock Merc is cheezed. They are rusted away from the quarters, so I figured replaceing both halves would be easiest, plus I have to adapt them to the Lincoln's floor/trunk anyways... I was wondering what people have done in terms of fabbing their own or what. I have seen the tub kits in Jeg's and Summit, they have them in steel...but I don't like the pro-street look. I was thinking about buying repro wheelwells, and adapting them to my application, since none exist to my knowledge for the 49-51 Merc, and if they did, I probably couldn't afford them. I was thinking about maybe using a Camaro, Chevelle, or Shoebox chevy, since I know they are available in both halves, and it will look more factory. I'll be running normal sized passenger tires, so extra width isn't neccesary. What is your opinion? Check out the pic to see what I'm working with.
i am getting ready to do the same thing to my air ride s10 and decided to use trailer fenders because they are cheap and basically just trim them up and weld them in YOUNG Buck
my car has the original fender wells, but they arent tall enough for me to lay frame with the rear bags down, so i have been trying to think of something. the trailer fender idea is great, do you have any sugestions for where to find them cheap? i did a quick search and only found galvanized. need plain steel.
man thanks for the idea of the trailer fenders. I was just about to fab my own rear wheels for my 59 el camino. Never thought of it. Thanks again
I think your on the right track with some re-pops. The lincoln floor gives a nice "factory" look to the trunk area. I'd want to keep that, rather than put in something that looks "fab'ed". Too bad you tossed the lincoln wheel houses
call around to your local welding shop and ask them who builds trailers and they might be able to help you. or call around. I know there is a place 10 min away from me that sells a bunch of trailer fenders they also supply a good portion of my metal for projects. good luck Garth
Got a Tractor Supply near you? They have a bunch of different trailer fenders in stock cheap. I don't think they are galvanized either just bare mild steel.
60's and 70's chevy wideboxes used a bolt-on inner fender that can be trimmed to fit just about anything but they're not real tall. Chevy still sells 'em new.....the tops of 'em is flat....
[ QUOTE ] the trailer fender idea is great, do you have any sugestions for where to find them cheap? i did a quick search and only found galvanized. need plain steel. [/ QUOTE ] Bass Pro shops. http://www.basspro-shops.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=23459&hvarDept=200&hvarEvent=&hvarClassCode=4&hvarSubCode=3&hvarTarget=browse I have a friend who uses the narrow ones on motorcycles. He buys them by the armload and sells them to guys that don't know any better.
haven't ordered from them yet but this place has trailer fenders dirt cheap... http://www.etrailerpart.com/fenders.htm
We are doing a Merc on a Morrison Chassis right now. I will post pics of the tubs we are building tomorrow. Easy job, requires drilling some factory spots.
Here you are, we drilled the spot welds on the inner lip and mated a tub to this. the inner part of the tub will get a flange rolled with our hem roller and welded to the tub.
I had forgotten all about using the trailer fenders until young buck mentioned them. That was a good idea. I poked around a little, and found these on Northern Tool's website (they're kind like Harbor Freight). Go here and look-see. They even have "Jeep Style" ones, which might look good as tubs for pickup truck beds... http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/LLCategoryDisplayView?storeId=6970&langId=-1&catalogId=4006970&PHOTOS=on&TEST=Y&productId=556173&categoryId=166841 The one pictured here is the biggest, on another part of the site they say this size is for 15" tires. Ths backing on it would mate up the the trunk floor, and I could weld in the outer lip to the Merc quarter. Thanks to all that replied!
Or cut down, I could see this as a pickup tub. They have them in plain steel too. And they aren't too pricy.
Hey Mercman ! In your post it sounded like you were going for a more factory look.Checkin out the bone yard for wells is a good idea. Measure out what ya think ya need and hunt a set down.Down side is removing them there.I have used 55 gallon drums for tubs before you could mail order them.Saw a racecar years ago that had em and copied. Doesnt R & D mean research and duplicate? The ones I have done I scribed the tub so I left a 1/8" gap to the inside of the fender. Then sand a 2" stripe to bare metal following the shape of the tub on the inside of the fender.After all welding is complete on the inboard side then use a silicone / adhesive to attach the outer tub to the fender.Do the top side one day and the bottom side the next. I use sikaflex its super stuff you can get it in black and its paintable.Try a marine supplier they will have it. The reason behind gluing them versus welding them is body expansion due to weather changes.I have seen tubbed racecars that had problems when the sun comes out.When they are coned the body can move separate from the tub.If the surfaces are clean it will last for years.---Feder
Thanks FEDER...I went ahead and ordered the fenders I pictured...I'll see how they look. If I don't think they'll look right, I'll send them back. After I thought about it, I was planning to do the trunk eventually with full carpeting, so you won't even see the wheelhouses. From underneath thought... Honestly, I don't have the time to go junkyarding, and around here, the pickings are slim. Most places are at least an hour from me, and most places won't let you ramble around looking at stuff anymore...they want you to tell them exactly what you want, then they charge a removal fee, plus cost of part. Nice. Then they claim it's EPA related....yadda yadda...then there's the issue of getting the tubs out of a doner. I may end up using a repro, I dunno. But I do understand your point about gluing on the quarters. I saw a lot of newer cars that came into the body shop that were glued from the factory, at least where the tub met the qtr. Damn shit would always catch fire when cutting off the old quarter for replacement! I'll see if I can locate some of the glue you speak of. Thanks.
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