Fenderwelt....opinions!!! Hate it? Love it?

I drive my car. For that reason there are two very real advantages of using fender welting:

One, it keeps the muddy water thrown by the tires from seeping out onto the exterior on rainy days. I don't particularly like that look.

Two, my car is so low that it's necessary to remove the rear fenders to change the tires. Ray Lund welded wing nuts onto the fender bolts so that this can be done without special tools. The fuel filler neck is a slip-fit, too. Is this a pain in the ****? Yep, but the "look" is worth it.

The fender welting is pop-rivited onto the fenders so it stays in place when the fender is removed. This makes reinstalling the fenders a one-man job and reduces the chance of scratching the paint.

Just my $.02

 

Fenderwelt is a must for a restoration, but be are not talking about that here. If I was building a show-only car and it was not built to look stock then I would go for the tight panel fit and do away with the fender welting in most cases. Even for a 'hotrod' I would probably go without it just because it is easier and I wouldn't care about panel rub and rust down the road. Then again, when we are talking about some custom work, well, I would do away with the welt because it just gets in the way when I am welding and leading the fenders to the body.

Doc

 

it is traditional,..aint it?

 

really dont like it.

 

I'm a fan of fenderwelt....when I put my '38 chevy cp. back together without fenderwelt it looked like is was missing something....maybe it's a fat fender thing...John

 

I agree John.....on a fat fendered car it's tough to leave the fenderwelt off. I painted a '40 Olds for a guy...we were too worried about the panels rubbing and squeeking together. I used the rubber-based stuff, it looked OK and fit very well, but it was sure hard to keep in place exactly where you wanted it so the gaps were perfect.

Sometimes fenderwelt is a neccesary evil.

 

The Chrysler product cars used a stainless beaded welting on the rear fenders from about 1940-48. It was form-fitted to the fenders from the factory. I have a tube in the attic with a couple dozen NOS rear fender strips in it for the rear fenders waiting for the day I buy another 42-48 Plymouth.

GM cars used a larger bead, 5/16" or so, fender welting because their fenders had a much larger "gap" than their Ford and Chrysler compe***ion. We're not talking a black non-fit gap here just a tapering together of the quarter and the fender leaving an "indention" that looks better filled with welting.

When installing welting it gives a better finished edge if you skin back the cover and cut the core(twisted paper or cord or plastic, solid or tube) to the edge then pull the cover back tight and double it back on itself under the fender edge.

Beaded welting and flat welting of varying widths and thicknesses was used on all old cars between panels to eliminate squeaks and groans from metal to metal contact and soften the lines and joints between dashes and doorposts etc.
"gap" to fill.

 

I'll be stickin it on my Woody! Keeps the squeaks down!

 

I'm of the opinion that fender welt belongs on fat fender cars, it was used at the factory for a reason and unless you are "filling" the gap with lead or body filler to customize, I would use fender welt.

 

My sentiments exactly !

 

I don't really care for it in most cases. On my '36 I used thin, high density black weather stripping. (So it won't absorb water.) By installing it flush with the fenders it compensates for any irregularities and prevents squeaks, without being visible. Of course it's black, so it really only works well with a black car in my opinion. On other colors I would probably stick to color matched fender welting, so it blends with the car lines. Then again, no fenders is a good option too!

 

OUCH! I am in the minority I guess. I actually like the look of the contrasting color, if used right with the rest of the car, like a pin stripe.
j

 

Fat fendered cars look odd to me without it, as mentioned the GM cars rear fenders don't fit the quarter panel bead exactly, and it fills the gap. Wildly contrasting colors or chrome strips don't appeal to me, but if you like that, it's fine.

Earlier, like pre-36 cars look better without it to my eye.

I'm old enough to remember that JC Whitney used to sell the chrome bead, paper welt stuff that always kinked, and old enough to have bought some!

Brian

 

I was always under the impression it was more for squeaking than irregularities in fit.
I have always used it, never really thought about leaving it off. I will follow this one.......

 

I've pondered this myself... If you don't use it, what do you use to keep it from squeeking? I saw one thread for using thin weatherstripping, but what about everyone else who didn't use it? How do you keep water from seeping up to the top?

 

I love the fake chrome welting on the peach streetrods with blue yellow and purple grapphix

 

I agree with tommy on this one.
I like the looks of the welt in my '37. I'm painting the car right now and plan on putting welt in it again even though the fit of the fenders would work without it. I'm just not sure if I'll use black or try to match up the color.

 

I can go ether way I didn't use it on my 34 ford because of looks and the stuff is so hard to put and keep in place.Darrell

 

That is a great idea!

Do the pop rivet heads contact and rub on the body any? I'm wondering if the pop rivets may cause any damage over the long term.

 

I love fender welt and pink is my favorite color for it.

 

Just spray the welting with some low tack adhesive... It'll stay in place, no rivet holes to drill, no rivets rubbing, and low tack wont peel the paint off if you make a mistake.

 

I like chrome fender welting on raked black lacquer 40 Ford coupes!

 

well if you would take the time to fit it proper it wouldn't get buckles and two don't use the one you buy from the ford stores, make your own, or have a upholstery make you some.
you make it a small welt if you really need it or if the customer wants it. then get the painter to paint it to match. also have him add the flex additive to the paint so it doesn't crack. you wont even notice it. thats why it looks like hell cause your eyes are drawn to it cause it doesn't match the color of the car.

 

You can call it traditional all you want ( should have known someone would pull that card)...you can still have it.

There's a lot that is traditional that I wouldn't be a part of.

I've worked on a lot of cars and never used it. My 48 has over 250,000 miles and never had it. Truck doesn't sqeek or rust between the fender and body.

It's been interesting to see the replies. Looks to be about 50/50.

BTW.. for the pop rivet guys. Did you ever think of the next guy or what you're doing to the car? I know of a beautiful 32 5 window that someone drilled and pop riveted the welt to the body. Now the car is fenderless.
Clark

 

Did you use anything in between? The gap has to be absolutely perfect too, right?

 

I like it!

 

Nothing between the fender.

Gaps are good...not riddler perfect. It's still just a hot rod.
Clark

 

Bad stuff .
Collects too much Salt.

 

fenders ????
pfft.

 

I debated using it on my 49 Cad. fastback. I ended up welding the fenders on and molding them in. On that body style that really cleaned up the body lines. On a 20's car welting looks right.
I ended up using the welting I had purchased to fill between the doors and the interior window frames.
Alden