Prepping my inner and outer fenders I realized I totally forgot how they go back together and may not have all the parts It's been 15 years since I tore it all down, just knowing it would all be put back together within months. I did a search and didn't find what I wanted I'm looking for pictures and text on how it all ties together. Sure can use some help Dennis

 

I bolted the inner fenders on first. They bolt to the firewall (top/rear) and to a stud on the frame (bracket bottom rear). The front bolts through the radiator saddle/mount with the braces mounted to the same bolts.

The outers bolt to the top of the inner fenders, and then the other front sheet metal goes on (upper and lower center pieces, lower fenders, grill). They will be rather "floppy" until you get them bolted to the running boards.

It is a good idea to leave everything loose until they are all tied together for final fit. Not great pics but you can see the inners mounted, then the outer

 

Congrats on the reassembly progress. Some - like me - found it easier to assemble the front clip as a unit and then install on the frame.

DW

 

My 49 F4 is just about at this stage also. I have been told by several people that the hood needs to be installed and aligned first and then the fenders fitted to the hood. Is this necessary?

 

I guess that I don't understand how you fit the fenders to the hood. The hood has more adjustment built into it. Once the hood is in final paint, I plan to fit it to the inner fenders and grill/front sheet metal without the front fenders installed. The primary reason is ease of handling the hood during assembly. You do not have to lean over the front fenders.

 

Your way makes sense; as to the ease of not having to negotiate the fenders and possible damage to either or both hood and fenders. Thanks.

Jim

 

This is commonly done for cars and trucks where hood mis-alignment is very obvious. Take a close look at the 1942-1948 Ford cars the next time you are at a car show. Frequently the back of the hood does not fit the cowl and the front of the hood does not center over the grill. The accepted way to prevent this during assembly is to get the hood to fit the cowl first, then get the grill to fit the hood.

On the 1948-1952 trucks this doesn't seem to be that big of a problem. Our hoods are generally strong enough to maintain their shape and fit the cowl properly. I'd still set the hood on first to check fit. If all looks good, put the front sheet metal together in the order that works best for the space you have.

 

Thank you for posting this, I will certainly need this when I get to this point. I am currently looking for inner fenders and can't seem to find them any where. Any one have any ideas?

 

What year truck? I've had a set of '51-'52 inners for sale in the classifieds for a couple years, take a look: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ody-parts.html

(Says it's closed but I still have some stuff, including the inners and grille parts)

BTW the biggest argument for assembling the front end before setting as a unit is the sheer number of bolts in the grille area, and they are a PITA to get to once they are on the truck. But if you do it that way, you still have to leave them loose so you can tweak things.

 

And I have some 48-50 inner fenders available.

 

It's been a while since I've installed the front end on my '49 F-2 but I started with the radiator bracket, with the radiator, then the inner fenders, the grill and then the fenders, tops then bottoms, leaving all the bolt loose.

I also edge painted the fenders, leaving the overall fender sheet metal in primer. I did have the radiator, inner fender panels and grill painted before I installed them. I left the fenders in primer because it's easier to fix nicks and scratches in comparably cheap primer than in expensive urethane paint. I do this with all body panel I have to hand on a vehicle. I then tape off the parts in sections and painted them after they were bolted on. I hate handling painted parts any more than I have to. It does help that I do all my own paint work.

Here are some pictures from the part catalog.

 

Wow that is awesome thank you so much for all the input. I guess should share some pixs coming soon

 

Get your location posted in the upper right corner. You do it by going through the control panel you used to set up your account. There might be someone close by could lend you a hand.

 

 

I used 5/16" carriage bolts for the inner fender to fender and regulars 5/16" bolts for everything else.