Anyone have experience fitting 1939/1940 Ford rear fenders from United Pacific? I’ve got it mocked up and the tire is offset in the opening to the rear about an inch. The running board and fender bolted up with little difficulty. Any ideas? I know OEM fenders fit best… Thanks!
For whatever reason, it seems like '39 and '40 Fords are some of the most difficult to get the wheel/tire centered in the opening of the fender. If you look at them at a show or event, most are not well centered. I don't have an answer for you, sorry. Hopefully someone will chime in with their efforts to solve this issue. It could be one of those things where a "happy medium" is all that can be achieved.
I had a 38 Chevy that had the same problem. The spring bolt on the stock springs is not the center of the fender opening. I had to make a bracket to offset the spring bolt.
very common on 40's. Look at many pictures--you will see most are not centered. Even stockers are off a bit toward the front. Many I have done required centering the rearend-usually as much as 1" but most times 3/4" Does the car have crossspring or parallel leaves?
Several ways-redrill main leaf forward or buy blocks with adjustable offset-Speedway has them or make them.
The first thing is to make sure your wheelbase is correct, then make sure it's square. Then measure the spring to be sure the 'center' bolt is centered. Since it is a parallel conversion, redrilling spring pads may be required.
You’re on to something. The wheelbase is 112.5” and 1/2” longer than stock. That’s the source of this issue. The axle will need to move forward thanks!
View attachment 5197654 This rear wheel is centered using the original 112 in. wheel base and 40 Ford rear end. Tire is 7:60 x 15. Previous 8:20 x 15 tire was also centered. Front tires are 5:60 x 15 on a 4 in. dropped axle and reversed spring.
I ran into the same problem putting the '36 Cabriolet back together...both sides equally a little off center...fortunately, skirts hide the issue
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