The topic of this post is a rubber spacer/cushion between the front fenders and the shell.
When I did the Champ, either this rubbers spacer was missing or I was too vain to recognize it's importance. I spent man days getting the doors and fenders re-aligned so that they didn't occupy the same space. At the time I credited my misery to restoration/correction of the lousy support the cab by the floor board instead of the A pillar concept.
Getting into the Speedster, I noted the 18" rubber spacer but it didn't turn on any red lights. At C Springs when I was gathering several hundred dollars of rubber parts in the SI ballroom I grabbed a new pair ($12 ea) on impulse. As I now am fitting the front fenders the Eureka bulb came on! Without those spacers I could plan on entry only via the windows. With the spacers the doors open but rub. Almost but no cigar.
I concluded that my garage shop insertion of the "L" channel into the new fender patches likely was not as deep or perfect as the factory pressed version into the original fenders... or the SI version is perhaps a bit thinner than the factory originals. In any case I have sheets of 1/8" recycled rubber cushion used to protect newsprint rolls from rough box car floors that I scavenged from a previous employer. Using the SI item as a pattern I cut several spacers of this material and used it as needed to thicken the spacer.
This morning, I would not even consider replacing a front Studebaker fender without this cushion spacer and building it up as needed with similar thin material. A little spray contact cement holds it all in place while getting the fenders on.
When I did the Champ, either this rubbers spacer was missing or I was too vain to recognize it's importance. I spent man days getting the doors and fenders re-aligned so that they didn't occupy the same space. At the time I credited my misery to restoration/correction of the lousy support the cab by the floor board instead of the A pillar concept.
Getting into the Speedster, I noted the 18" rubber spacer but it didn't turn on any red lights. At C Springs when I was gathering several hundred dollars of rubber parts in the SI ballroom I grabbed a new pair ($12 ea) on impulse. As I now am fitting the front fenders the Eureka bulb came on! Without those spacers I could plan on entry only via the windows. With the spacers the doors open but rub. Almost but no cigar.
I concluded that my garage shop insertion of the "L" channel into the new fender patches likely was not as deep or perfect as the factory pressed version into the original fenders... or the SI version is perhaps a bit thinner than the factory originals. In any case I have sheets of 1/8" recycled rubber cushion used to protect newsprint rolls from rough box car floors that I scavenged from a previous employer. Using the SI item as a pattern I cut several spacers of this material and used it as needed to thicken the spacer.
This morning, I would not even consider replacing a front Studebaker fender without this cushion spacer and building it up as needed with similar thin material. A little spray contact cement holds it all in place while getting the fenders on.
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