70 inner fender R&R

[Dennis D.]

Can I replace the inner fender on my 70 without removing the front end? Procedure?

[Brandon Metzger]

Re: 70 inner fender R&R

I would think you could do it by removeing the tire. You would also need to remove the front bumper brace that runs threw the fender. I am doing a frame off restor on a '72. You would not have much room to work on the engine side but with some effort I think you would have enough room to maneuver the old one out and the new one in. Agian the hard part will be getting the bonding loose and rebonding the new one because of the lack of room.

Regards,
Brandon

Oh, I just thought of something to watch out for. The front of the the body is attached and supported by the radiator frame. There are three bolts on each side, make sure to support the body when you remove those--wouldn't want to get any stress fractures.

[Harmon C.]

Re: 70 inner fender R&R

Dennis How much of it is damaged? I have replaced the damaged part only in a corner or a seam and made the repair very hard to see. If you are using a new inter fender it probably will not match as the finish is different on the ones I have seen. I think it could be done on the car but the bonding at the fender may be hard to get apart.You may need to cut it in half above the tire to get it in. Lyle

[Dennis D.]

Re: 70 inner fender R&R

Thanks Brandon

As far as I can tell the inner fender is bonded vertically /outboard front and rear. Then the top horizontal has a 7-9" rubber seal stapled to it. The bonding then continues inboard along the under/back side fender lip the hood sits on. Making 3 seperate bonded areas. Right?

[Chuck S.]

Re: 70 inner fender R&R

Dennis, how bad is the damage? You may be better off to repair it if the damage is limited to fractures with no large pieces missing.

See AIM, UPC11/13, Sheets B1, B2 to see how the inner fender skirt is bonded to the fender. Essentially it has a continuous bond at the front edge, at the rear edge, and at the hood gutter. I figure the really tough part is going to be up in that front bulkhead area.

As Brandon said, breaking the bonds is going to be a job. The traditional way of breaking fiberglass bonds is to get a dull wedge-like tool started in the joint to break the damaged panel away the the good panel. My experience is that trying to limit the destruction to the damage panel is impossible...some collateral damage to the good panel is likely.

[Dennis D.]

Re: 70 inner fender R&R

lyle

The damage is where the rubber dust flap attaches. (or not in my case) There are a couple of holes missing on the fender. That bugged me for years.

Of more concern is that the inner bond gave way. I was able to clean the area up and rebond, but I'm not satisfied that the inner fender bonded high enough to the fender. I noticed when I put the hood on it's edge is lower than the fender from the hinge area 1/2 way back to the windshield. Figure since the hinge is on the inner fender, the inner fender isn't up where it belongs. Unless some hood hinges will level it all out. not familiar with thickness or count. Thaks Dennis

[Dennis D.]

Re: 70 inner fender R&R

chuck

The front and rear edge bonds are fine. The hood gutter bond gave out. I rebonded it, but the fender seems a little off(check my post to Lyle)Sounds like a repair may be the way to go. Not sure if I can graph a section where holes are missing that attach the dust shield. That part of the fender has a thick flange that would be difficult to duplicate with glass and resin. Any thoughts? Thanks Dennis

[Harmon C.]

Re: 70 inner fender R&R

Dennis The bond between the interfender and the hood ledge or the fender must be in the right place. If it is low you can shim the hood hinge but if it is too high you need to start over and rebond it in the right spot as you can't lower the hood hinge that sets on the interfender. This is a job you are luckey if you get it right the first time you do one. As for the patch I bought a used interfender that the part I needed was good and made the cuts in hard to see places so the repair was hard to see. Lyle

[Chuck S.]

Re: 70 inner fender R&R

Dennis, I'm afraid you got the horse before the cart on rebonding the hood gutter. You have to get the hood level correct at the hinge positions and at the back of the hood to the cowl, THEN you adjust the fender to the hood contour. Most likely you will be raising the fender...support the fender at the correct height level with the hood, then bond the inner fender to rear of the hood gutter.

If you are talking about the openings for the A-arm dust shields, rebuilding the edge of the opening with mat and resin and redrilling the holes will be considerably easier, and make a less obvious repair IMO, than trying to graft a section into the inner fender. The "flange" around the opening is actually NOT thick; it is the same thickness as the rest of the inner skirt, but there is an area about 3/4"-1" wide around the opening that is offset or countersunk to the outside; this area has the holes and receives the dust shield.

Fiberglass is a fun material to work because if you make a mistake, you can just grind it off and try again. Your ability to reproduce the skirt opening exactly is limited only by your skill and creativity. I use thin aluminum flashing to back up the area where I want to build up a surface out of resin and mat...start by bending a tiny little offset (say 3/16") in the flashing for the countersink, apply floor paste wax to the flashing, and duct tape it securely to the surface inside the wheel well. Use enough flashing pieces similarly bent to back up the entire edge to be rebuilt.

After taper grinding about 1"-2" around the area to be rebuilt on the engine compartment side with 36 grit disc, apply 3-5 layers of mat saturated with black tinted resin one at a time, rolling out each layer well. Let it cure. If you need additional thickness, repeat the process. preferably from the wheel well side. BTW, taper grinding means to start about 1"-2" away from the damage, and grind the surface progressively deeper until the fiberglass is very thin at the edge of the missing fiberglass.

Use the opposite side skirt as a "go by", and using a small grinder or Dremel tool, carefully carve away everything that doesn't look like the opposite side opening. Don't use the grinder all the way to the desired contour...leave a little material so you can sand the surface smooth. If the damage is limited to breakouts immediately adjacent to each drilled hole, the repair will be easy because you will have a lot of the original form as a reference. If the entire opening edge is gone, then the repair going to be a little more of a problem.

[Harmon C.]

Re: 70 inner fender R&R- Agree

Chuck You did a very good job of explaining how to rebond interfenders and fix damage. Lyle

[Chuck S.]

Than'kew. Than'kew, Than'kew Vera' Much...

Lyle, Eckler's book is probably a better way to learn fiberglass (and actually doing it hands-on). Even in a long post, small details will get left out... like, the resin should be catalyzed before use. Hopefully, Eckler's fiberglass book will be reprinted again.

[Dennis D.]

Thanks:Adding this to my "Chuck manual." *NM*

[Harmon C.]

Re: Than'kew. Than'kew, Than'kew Vera' Much...

Chuck I had the book went to Blomington Collage and got to do it over again till I got it right.Experince is a dear teacher but fools will learn and no other. Mr. Lord Fusor and a bucket of glass a grinder and lots of time can end up with perfect results. ( Beginers Beware ) Lyle

[Chuck S.]

Beginners Beware...

Lyle, you could say an anxiety ridden foray into alligator infested swampland begins with a single toe in the slime...On the other hand, how are you ever going to learn alligator wrestling if you stay on the bank?