Body / Glass: Studebaker curse of the front fender trailing edge.....

[mmagic]

Of all of Studebaker's good design features.... the trailing edge of their front fenders...'47 forward was not one of them! Basic existence of the car guaranteed that rust would eventually eat through 2 1/2 inches from the back of the fender, even on Arizona cars.

You old timers can probably make this fix in your sleep and I soon will be able to as well as I have begun the patch panel job on my 3 Studes. I'm glad I am using my Champ as practice before I dive into the Speedster. I'm 2 days into my first fender and have taken lots of notes and pictures. There is a bit more to it than unbolt the fender and slip on the Patch. Since I am learning to weld with a toy welder from Harbor Freight at the same time, you old pro's should get comic relief from my story.

Classic Enterprises supplies a nice clip but the fine print on their instructions indicates that their dimensions are merely approximations and you will need further panel beating to make them fit. They were definitely correct on that count but the critical dimension from the crease to the top of the fender was spot on... curvatures earned the attention of my 5 pound mallet.

I try and avoid saying I will do something because my plans always seem to get changed, but I hope to put my tricks and mistakes learned into a youtube for the benefit of any newbees who have intentions of fixing the problem instead of just adding another layer of bond.

I figure at least on the Champ, I can't cause much damage that can't be cured with a grinder, hammer and a couple of pounds of Bondo !

[rockne10]

Merlin,
Aptly stated! Classic Ent panels are not factory but fussed over and the best we have. Best installation is accomplished with experience. There is no other option.

[avantilover]

If they went to the trouble of making panels why didn't they do so to correct dimensions???

[mmagic]

Avantilover... I was not complaining about the fit as much as sharing the cold water in your face realization of the reality that 50 years ago, no one had lazer fit/cut and robot built cars. dimensions of the original car had tolerances far looser than we have become accustomed to. So, the Classic Ent patches are really quite good and consistent as the variability is likely in the original product. I ordered them with a mindset of out of the box and weld them on. Mix in my own learning curve and bringing the curvatures into alignment and removal, patch, fit and weld was 2 days for the first one. I would venture that by the last one I'll have it down to 4 hours or so. I am impressed that these are even available and as good as they are.

[rockne10]

why didn't they do so to correct dimensions???

Dimensions are correct; it's just the fine contours that need massaged. Perfect original contours will only be achieved with original molds.

Got any?

[studegary]

Of all of Studebaker's good design features.... the trailing edge of their front fenders...'47 forward was not one of them! Basic existence of the car guaranteed that rust would eventually eat through 2 1/2 inches from the back of the fender, even on Arizona cars.

!

Bob Bourke knew this to be a problem area. He couldn't get Studebaker to go with what he wanted for this area. The key word in your statement is "eventually". In those days, cars were designed to last five years under "average" conditions, not a half of a Century.

[52 Ragtop]

Here's what I did on my 57 Golden Hawk on the right front fender. Bought a decent used rt frt fender from Bill Oliver for $50! (probably the late 70's) Cut out the rust, welded in a patch panel (before Classic was around) did all the welding on the fender that was needed, took it to the metal laundry (dip stripper) and had it dip stripped. Once I got it back, I did the final repairs on the fender, then used a primer (equivalent to todays etch primer) painted in under the brace coating everything, (I put so much in there, it was running out) let that dry, then brushed more paint in there, and let that dry, finally, I seam sealed it from top to bottom, completely sealing that rust prone area. Today, I would probably do it the same way, but using a lot of "body wax" in that area.

Jim

[StudeRich]

It should also be noted that you are off by several years on this. It is the 1953 to 1963 models that this occurs to.

The '47 to '52's do not have fenders that overlap the "A" Pillar so there is no issue unless the entire body has been subjected to salt spray and is ALL gone.

The '64 South Bend Cars have deep dip rustproofing applied under the primer, the '65 to '66 Canadian built may also have it, I do not know if Hamilton was equipped for installing it.

[mmagic]

OK, here is the weekend's work on video.
http://www.viddler.com/explore/snowbrush1/videos/66/

The video stops before inserting the fender to cowl angle piece in the fold. My current plan is to Master Series the fenders inside and out, plug weld the inside fold to the angle, body wax the angle/fender and fold then apply a rubberized undercoat to inside of fender. This is over kill for the Champ that I hope to finish and flip by the first of the year, but the Champ is practice for my Speedster so I'm testing my theories/plans on it.

[1962larksedan]

My 1962 Lark has no visible cancer anywhere except when the Batwings meet the floor (which may be more surface rust)..........which does surprise me since the car spent its whole life here in the Phx area.

[warrlaw1]

Classic Enterprises' inner fender kit is hopefully keeping that crud out of those nasty places on mine. I also use "OilTech" every fall as a rustproofing system. It sprays on, creeps in, then cures up like a wax. Not even visible. Good luck!