Thread: 1947 Biederman Truck Fender Repairs

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If he took it the truck would be trailered and he was concerned about the still separate pieces. So I think he will be there in the Red Mule and will be taking the Biederman to the Fathers Day show in PA (forget exact location)

Here's the Red Mule, in case you see it you can ask John about his collection.


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Some more progress on the Biederman fenders, here's where we left off last time...











On the passenger fender, we removed the cleco's holding the filler panel and John (the owner) media blasted the flanges where the panels overlapped..

















Cleco holes were enlarged on the filler panel flange to accommodate plug welds and the two parts welded together...

















After grinding the welds, John brushed some SPI epoxy in the lapped panels to seal them up..





























Back on the driver's fender, time to trim off the rusted and bent front edge....























The door skin removal tool is used to unwrap the wired edge...

















Once the wrap is broken free, the top is scored with a cutoff wheel and then peeled around. No cuts on the wire as this may weaken it..

















Trimmed and clamped in place for a test fit..

More very nice work! I did see The Red Mule a couple weekends ago too. It is a nice truck. Even if it is a squared off cab over old Ford.

Yeah, he does have quite a fleet of trucks to choose from.....


This evening we took the passenger fender over to John's so we could mock it up on the truck and locate/cleco it to the lower hood side..














The wing nut cleco's used in about four spots to hold things good and snug....





Back at the shop, we'll get this plug welded on Saturday..

Mr. Robert. If it isn't to much trouble.. how about a shot of the wing nut cleco's? Please??

How do they work?

.

Will grab a video tomorrow to show it...

Here you go:


https://youtu.be/7qSatc2rGEM






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Originally Posted by MP&C

Here you go:
https://youtu.be/7qSatc2rGEM

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Thanks so much! I never saw the wingnut version before.

I gotta get more stuff !

In some of the larger size cleco's they also make a version with hex nuts for tightening with a wrench.

tried to make some headway on the Biederman. John is taking it to the truck show in Macungie PA so we're trying to get the fenders complete so he can bolt them on and answer questions all day about their bare finish..


With the lower hood side cleco'ed to the passenger fender using wing nut clecos to pull things up nice and tight, lets get some plug welds done to join all three parts together...














Passenger fender lapped seams then had SPI epoxy brushed in from both sides to seal in case he runs into rain. We he returns they'll be ready for media blasting and paint..





Next onto the Driver fender, the remainder of the flange from the old filler panel is removed, a cut off wheel is used for releasing the OEM spot welds..














Next, we had a rub issue where the fender was a bit close to the cab....note the flat area, as well as a rust through. So we'll just trim this out and replace..

Today I finished up the TIG welding on the rust repair...








This area has a recess so it doesn't rub the side of the cab...





Next to clamp the front repair section, the vise grips tend to rotate after clamped and allow the weld joint to open. So to fix the gravity issue, we broke out the painters tape..















16 gauge sheet metal wiring, gotta love it!








Next time we'll get the filler panel added to the Driver's fender..

Very nice! The patch looks so nice. I've got to get some clecos. Do you have a preferred place you like to buy them from?

Ryan, try "The Yard" or Brown Tool, they typically sell aviation type stuff. The Yard sells both new and used..



This evening's progress, the bolting flanges were cut out of 12 gauge steel, and tacked in place using the TIG. Then welded and dressed..
























Next to trim the front of the fender, a laser is set up 13-3/4" above the table holding the fender. This is the differential we measured off the truck from the bumper filler panel down to the running board. all four corners on the table are checked to insure the laser is set correctly. Then the laser line is transposed to the fender and trimmed..



















The height was adjusted by sliding the blocks forward/backward in the fender.









Front mounting flange TIG welded in place and welds dressed..









Filler panel fitted to the fender and plug welded...














Test fit onto the truck, aligned to the lower hood side and cleco'ed in place.



















We'll get the lower hood side welded on tomorrow evening, holes drilled, and fenders bolted up to the truck.