1938 Oldsmobile Convertible Restoration / w53



tfix@pacifier.com

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Repairs to the rear fenders


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Like the front fenders, the rear fenders have also been previously repaired. On the positive side, they don't have as many cracks around the wheel openings like the front fenders. Never-the-less, some old sloppy repairs must be redone which makes up for that!

Seen in the photo above, the LH rear fender is jig mounted to a table. Both the left and right rear fenders at one time, had the entire mounting flange (the edge that mounts to the body) cut completely off and replaced. Unfortunately, again, a poor job was done. When we tried to mount the fenders, they would not fit the body at the rear of the car, flange had been welded on in the wrong position. There were also areas where they neglected to finish welding the spliced pieces.

The red arrow indicates the seam where the fender had been cut and re-welded front to back. The area between the white arrows had to be cut loose again and straightened properly, then positioned and welded back on, so the fender would fit to the body. (Next photo)



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Here, the rear mounting flange has been straightened and the fender is mounted to the body and positioned, as the flange section is tack-welded. The white arrow points to the direction the fender flange had to be moved so it would fit tight against the body. The slit must be fill welded to close the gap where the piece was cut loose.



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After welding together & metal finishing the welds, the rear of the fender fits the body like it should. Now it's time to move on the RH rear fender, where the same repair is needed.


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Again, the mounting flange was cut loose and moved toward the body. As indicated by the white arrows.


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The gap represents how far off the edge was originally positioned on this side. The white arrows point to some preliminary tack welds holding the pieces in position. The gap will be carefully fill welded together. (Next photo)


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Here, the final welding and metal finishing of the gap is complete.


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Indicated by the white arrow is an old patch at the bottom edge of the same fender. (White arrow). The patch was not installed evenly with the edge of the fender. A new section was made and installed. (Next photo),


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New patch installed. (White arrow)


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Another problem on this right rear fender, was a rusted away corner at the back edge. The area between the white arrows was missing. A patch has been welded. The next photo shows metal work on the patch complete.


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Corner patch with metal finishing complete. This completes all patching on this fender.

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