1950 Body Shim Replacement

[ReggieFoote]

Hi,

My 1950 Champion Starlight Coupe needs the "shims" replaced.

These are the rubber (at least the replacements are) shims, one per side, that separate the front fenders from the body. They are either 1/4 or 1/8 inches in thickness depending on the gap and about 3 feet long.

I purchased new shims from Studebaker International and notice that they have slots for the bolts that attach the front fender rear portion to the body.

Has anyone changed out these shims WITHOUT removing the fenders??

Secondly, when new from the factory, were they painted or just left as BLACK RUBBER??

Thanks in advance,

Reggie

[jclary]

My my...how time flies. It is hard for me to believe that it has been over twenty years since I did my complete restoration on the '48 Business coupe. Back then, I had no clue about a forum, and, in many instances, only consulted the manuals when I needed a specific question answered, or to clear up correct terminology, out of curiosity. The rubber "shims" you refer to, in my simple mind, were merely a matter of common sense combination, gasket/sound deadening/anti-vibration item. I never thought of them as "shims." Back then, I had been selling industrial conveyor belting, and had a stock of left over samples and pieces. Rather than spend the money for NOS or reproduction rubber pieces, I found a large enough piece of similar thickness conveyor belt, and cut my own.

Your post, motivated me to look up the part. Odd, to me, that this part is in the Chassis manual, instead of the Body parts manual. After all these years, I have difficulty figuring out how certain items, like fenders, hoods, grilles, etc., end up in a Chassis manual? Anyway, I looked up the part, and indeed, you are correct. It is listed as a "shim."

As to your question, I suspect, that if you count all the fasteners that hold the fender in place, you will see that, they are not "overwhelming," in number. I've never thought about (nor had the need) to change them without removing the bolts. I suspect, that if you loosen most of the fasteners enough, you could probably remove the three main fender to "A" pillar bolts, to gain enough space, to work the old one out, and slip the new one in place, without completely removing the fender. Either way, it will probably require some wallowing around, dirt in the eyes, finger cramping, and well timed grunting noises. Let us know how it goes.

[studegary]

Hi,

My 1950 Champion Starlight Coupe needs the "shims" replaced.

These are the rubber (at least the replacements are) shims, one per side, that separate the front fenders from the body. They are either 1/4 or 1/8 inches in thickness depending on the gap and about 3 feet long.

I purchased new shims from Studebaker International and notice that they have slots for the bolts that attach the front fender rear portion to the body.

Has anyone changed out these shims WITHOUT removing the fenders??

Secondly, when new from the factory, were they painted or just left as BLACK RUBBER??

Thanks in advance,

Reggie

They should be left unpainted.
The rear fender welting should be painted body color (unless your car is a dark color like black).
The front end was painted separate from the main body. When they were joined up, this shim material was used in between and was not painted.

[rockne10]

And, to answer John's question about the body and chassis catalogs, back in the day, a chassis included everything from the firewall forward.