Rust!!! How I Loathe Thee

[Old-Soul]

GRAWR!!! So what do I find in the last square foot of paint to be sanded off?! a 4"x6" hole. Wonderfull. Not a big deal you say? You're right, but I wanted to have my '53 in paint in 2 weeks time... well now thats gone out the window. I have to track down a patch for my fender, and re-learn how to weld. Oh well, shit happens right?

[bullet]

Isn't that always the way.
Best layed plans of mice and men will always be foiled by the unexpected.
Murphy's Law.
What will happen, will happen.
Shouldn't take to long to put a patch in there and be back on track.
Hell, I had to change the shape of my headlight holes because the fenders I had were for a Commander and I have Champion headlight buckets and bezels.

[Old-Soul]

Story of my life, of of everones lives? haha

Where can I source quality patches for '53/'54 Chevrolets? National chevy Assoc. has some, but I heard they leave a lot to be desired? Anyone have any tips?

[Techhead]

They have some patches at Cross Canada (http://www.crosscanadaparts.com/cgi-bin/crosscanada/product_list.html?img_num=725_726). Most shops can order in panels for ya, cheaper than it would cost to pick them up yourself from CC.

[obnoxiousjr]

sorry to hear the bad luck but good luck with the patch

[Old-Soul]

wow, CC is kinda expensive... but thanks for the link, I might have no choice :(

I need to call this guy who wants to give me another 4dr, regardless I'm taking it but maybe the fenders on it are good. *crosses fingers*

[Old-Soul]

Doesn't look so bad when burried in blue...oh wait, thats just hiding it's true size...

http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/3455/p1000732yo2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[amarthfea]

I think I would try to make a patch first, depending how you feel about patching. I would first cut the whole thing out, then you can get a better look on the inside to see if there is any more rust. :(

the curve on the fender doesn't look too too hard. depending on your skill level and past with metal work.

Just my 2 penny's on the table.

~adam

[John in Oz]

That's a blow alright Fencepost, but as Adan said I'd be cutting that and checking it out, maybe it;s not as bad as it first looks. Good luck with that.

It must have been the weekend for it because we did a touch up on the Galaxie and the paint was way out.

So you grin and beer it:)

Cheers, John

[Old-Soul]

it's rusted pretty bad, to thin to weld down to the bottom, so I think a patch is my only way to go, but you never know. I need to call that guy, keeping my fingers crossed the fender on that car is solid enough to use

[hotroddchick22]

wow, CC is kinda expensive... but thanks for the link, I might have no choice :(



Fencepost,

If you are going to go the Cross Canada way, come into Silver, we order it all the time, might be able to get a better jobber price than if you were to order it direcly yourself.

[Old-Soul]

HRC22, thanks! You might just see me, and since I'll be the only guy looking for a patch for a '53 Chevy...say hi!

[hotroddchick22]

I'm not downstairs much. I'm upstairs most of the day.

[Old-Soul]

So that other '53 body I was talking about, guy says 'bring me a quality bottle of whisky and she's yours'

can't beat that! Sounds like it's sitting on the ground... but it's all there, solid fenders he says, and has factory tinted glass to boot

[tinmann]

Looks like a pretty easy patch to fab. Get yourself a chunk of 18 ga and have a bash at it. What have you got to lose?

[49stovebolt]

I'm with Tinmann on this one. Spend some time cut out the old one and hand fab up a piece.

A little hammer and dolly work will go a long way and you will likely have it done faster than ordering a new patch panel. Good luck.;)

Todd

[Kustomshoebox]

Hey, if you need/want some company to go look at that car, give me a shout, I'd be happy to go along

[Old-Soul]

well guys, I will patch this panel regardless, but I want the glass out of that other car so if it's fender is good, I might just toss it on there.

my fab work needs practice, so I will be repairing this panel

[bullet]

Studebakers were bad for rusting out under the rear fender rock guards.
Both fenders had a big hole to fix.
Not the most neatest of patches, but it turned out OK.

http://www.angelfire.com/super/1950bulletnose/18inchwheels1.jpg

http://www.angelfire.com/super/1950bulletnose/RtRearFenderPatch.jpg

http://www.angelfire.com/super/1950bulletnose/LeftFender2.jpg

[Old-Soul]

nice work on the stude!

Well, that freebie '53 is 'frozen to the ground' so it's out of the picture for a bit, but my good buddy at Comfort Collision has told me he'll coach me through the repair process, and let me use his shop! What a guy!

stay tuned!