i have a otherwise nice left front effie fender ,but it has rust out above the headlight on the flat ledge that catches mud .is this a common place for rust? also could i replace the whole section from a donor fender.it seems to be very hard to get into the seams in that corner.how can it be done with good results. any suggestions.i found a nos fender for the other side so i want it pretty nicely done.should i just keep looking for another fender? thanks for any replys

 

Most anything can be saved. Yes, these fenders love rusting there. To make the curves look great Ford put in a lot of "shelf" areas that hold dirt and water, hence the rust. Depending on how bad it is you can always cut it out and patch in good metal. If you can post a photo we can help you out. If its totally destroyed with rust, you could always graft a piece on. It all comes down to how much time you want to put into it. It can still be cheaper than a new fender. Anything used out there may have to have a lot of work done to it too. Good luck.


Not a fender but it gives you an idea of what you have to do sometimes. Make sure when you cut out that you cut back to good metal. Make sure sure you treat the area of with some good rust convertor, etc. I always coat the fixed areas with rust bullet or por15 to prevent further issues.

 

As noted, anywhere that can collect dirt and moisture, like that area on your fender, is going to be prone to rust. If you have an old donor fender with that area solid you can take a piece from, that's the easiest and best solution for fixing it. If the rest of the fender is in good shape, it's worth fixing, and can be repaired to match your NOS fender on the other side.

 

I see your hood has the same creases above the hood emblem area that I have on my hood, obviously a weak point in the hood as I've seen it on others as well. I had to patch the same areas as well.

 

I didn't have another fender to cut a patch from. From your description, your rust problem is on the underside of the "brow" over the headlight. My fender's problem was the brow itself. I fixed mine. It was rusted and crunched from an accident the PO had. The whole mess was under a sea of bondo when I bought the truck.

Being an amateur, my work's not pretty, but it goes to show that almost anything can be saved if you really want to.



The cardboard was my template to make sure the repair wound up the same shape as the other side.

This is probably no help to your situation.