Looking to weld up the front sheet metal to get the seamless look on my 49 F1. I am looking for advice from anyone that has done this. Did you weld the inner and outer metal? Any issues that I should be aware of? I just bolted the front together and I think i will need to weld the grill section in also. Not sure how I would get it in afterward. I know this look is not for everyone, but I like the look. Thanks in advance.

 

It's your truck and if you want to weld up all your seams, great. Just know it does come with some potential unintended consequences. If you ever damage anything, it's going to be a lot harder to repair. These old trucks flex a lot and you run the risk of cracking or breaking the sheetmetal somewhere near your welds, so just fyi. If I were to do it, I would have the entire front clip bolted together for the final time and installed on the frame where it is going to be forever. I would then make sure all me seams are clean and ready for welding, then weld only the exterior seams that show. These would be the upper to lower fender seam, and the header and lower valance to fender seams. You can grind and smooth all those seam welds for a nice, smooth clean look. I would not weld on the grille or grille panels at all. You can apply a nice bead of seam sealer around the headlight areas to fender inset and it will look just as good for a fraction of the work and effort, while still leaving it replaceable if necessary. It really doesn't show much, if at all.

Actually, as an alternative, you could use seam sealer in all of the seams instead of welding and it would look pretty darn close to the same from more the 3 feet away.

Also, on the 49, there is supposed to be a lip protruding at the front of the fender at the upper/lower fender seam that emulates the body line at the back of the fender. You can work that into your smoothing, or cut it out and rework the entire area. You might look at it and think it doesn't right right, but it's like that for a reason. It's a detail many people overlook.

 

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

Yes, I second that approach. I believe there is a lip on the grill panel and you could grind that off to make it easier to install once the front is all locked together.

 

Years ago when I first started working on my '49 F-2 I didn't realize the bottoms of the front fenders were supposed to protrude past the upper fenders. I reworked the bottoms to match the tops. I found out later about the simulating the lines in in the back of the fenders. I wish hadn't done it but it's too late 35 years later.

 

I did not realize that look on the front fenders. Just thought mine did not fit well.

 

Yes the lip would need to come off in order to make the installation easier. Especially if painted.

 

52 Merc--If I decide to leave it bolted--do the lower fenders stick out lightly on the sides of the fender, then mate up flush as it rounds to the front?

 

You can see in my pictures above the upper and lower fender pieces are flush at the grille and the wheel opening, then the lower part protrudes out slightly at the crown in the middle to match the body line at the rear. If they were one piece, the front corner would look just like the back of the fender with the body line behind the wheel opening. That was the look Ford was going for. It would be an interesting look to create that and break up that giant slab of sheet metal.