I'm moving on to some body work on my 72 and need some suggestions on fender patches. i have the lower rear patch panel for the fender ,but the inner support is also rotted including the little brace that extends along the bottom where the inner fender bolts, do people just fabricate these pieces or are they actually available?some pics of this process would be helpful .thank you.

 

That brace is not available new. You'll have to dig up an original fender (not really likely but possible) or fabricate your own. I subscribe to Muscle Car Review and they showed the entire process of making the new bracket and getting the fender patch panel to fit on a 70 442 a year or two ago. Maybe you can find something on youtube that is similar? I think most of these A body fenders were constructed similarly. Hope that helps.

 

Go to the thread Re vamping the old girl. I fixed my fenders and made my own section for the brace . Its on the major builds section. I might ad the patch panels that are available kinda suck and should be a last resort. The wheel opening edges are really soft. I used a pair before because I had no choice had I known better I would have done what I did with the fenders I just re did.

 

Thanks I figured I'd be fabricating nice work on that fender copper doubt mine will be perfect but going to give a whirl tonight

 

I have no idea if the reinforcements are similar but I have a left and right one I would be willing to cut off of my 65 fenders if you could make them work

 

This is correct, however, the repro 70-72 fenders come with new braces installed. Ergo, SOMEBODY is making them. We all need to contact the usual sheet metal sources and start asking them to make the brace available separately.

 

Just came in from the garage and failed miserably on the fender brace not sure if the 65 brace would match up. It's true joe we should get on the fabricators it's very rare the brace is in good shape if the fender is rotted . And as a side note the patch panel I got from year one is a poor fit it's going to need a fair amount of grinding and bending to fit just right

 

Olds442redberet may have some fenders that require less work. Keep in mind that some cars need less work than others because of area in USA they resided. Before you spend boo coo bucks on yours , check for better ones. Oldspackrat may have some too if red beret does not. Good luck and congrats on the convertible.

 

Shipping fenders is not as expensive as it may seem. Fastenal company, if you have one in your area ships cheap. Google them.

 

Thanks I'll look into it . The car definitely lived in the worst part of the northeast but I got it for 1000 bucks so I'll see it through

 

Yah the patch panels are lousy, I would look for a good replacement fender...

 

Grey hound is a good option too 2blu442 sent me my 65 fender both wrapped to geather was less then 100.00bucks from Orgeon to Utah

 

These guys are reasonable on parts. Contact them because these guys are just like you. 1000.00 bucks will go farter than you think compared to reproduction. These guys are just like you. Read the forum. They are not in it for the money. When dealing with someone, check their post tally. The more they post, the more you can trust them.

 

Worst part of Northeast may require a check of the frame. Polk it with an awl from front to back to make sure the frame is solid before you BUST the bank. Don't want to see you waste money on a car with a bad frame. ( Frames rust too). Good luck and hope you end up with a super cool convertible!

 

Yes I poked pounded and prodded the frame it's solid as a rock as is a lot of other stuff on the car . But then other parts not so much . Definitely worth redoing as a good solid weekend cruiser

 

I know the conversation has moved on but I dug out the MCR issue I referred to and it has step by step pictures of how they cured the cancer for the lower fender and the brace. It was the July 2010 issue (my how time flies!). Here's a link to the back issue. They spent several issues fixing rust all around that particular vehicle, including the tail panel and quarters.

https://www.circsource.com/store/sto...ckIssueId=1779

 

Does not have to be perfect. Can be enjoyed for years as is. It is what life is about. Enjoy!

 

The most fun is the fab work! Just jump in and don't look back
I know 65 isn't the same as 70-72 but if it's close that you can make it work just let me know

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I can go on a long explenation on how I do my fab work .You will need some "special" tools but I usually modify allkinds of tools just to serve a specific job. I spend probably about 4 hours making my patches then I still had to fine tune them then weld them in and more grinding. It takes a little time , patience and a macgyver mentality lol. That last one comes in handy btw.

 

here is what my brace looked like after I made it. All I used was some flat bill pliers and made my pattern from some poster board along with the bends before hand.







here is how I pre made it with cardboard .

 

If you have a vise you can do the 90* bends with it and a body hammer nice and crisp

 

I'm going give it another shot tonight thanks for posting the pics . If anyone has a drivers side lower front section from an old fender let me know the odd thing on that side the rear section is perfect .

 

thanks to all for the suggestions. i took my time, built a new brace, and cut out what i needed from the patch panel and welded it in .new at this but pretty happy with the way it turned out

 

That's what its all about.

 

X2 copper!
Post up some pics so we can see I like seeing how patch panels are made and seeing how we can make them better then factory