I finally have my bed finished, and am beginning plans to rebuild the fenders on my 46. I have two types of fender welting, rubber and cloth. The rubber welting seems like it would be the best, but is it?
The holes in the welting for the mounting bolts need to be punched out, with I assume a hole punch. Is there an easy way to get them properly positioned?
And finally, it looks like getting the welting in place as the fender is attached
could be very frustrating. Any tricks in that area?
And here is an editorial:
For those who maybe considering rebuilding their 60 year old beds into a
piece of art, and who arent experts in metal working (which includes me),
buy a new bed. It will save you hundreds of hours.

Mike

 

There are pros and cons to both. Rubber will squeak a little, but it will compress itself around the slots for the bolt holes and assist in supporting the fender. Cloth will be original and looks period correct, but will deteriorate over time or else you wouldn't be replacing it. Plastic is a bit of both, holds up over time but the paint doesn't stick worth a damn unless you can find a matching or contrasting color that suits your paint scheme.

One of the better way to install welting is to put a few bolts in, get the welting in the right place that you want, drill a 1/8" pilot hole thru fender, welt and cowl. Remove fender, line up welting with pilot holes, put in a couple of small 1/8" pop rivets to maintain alignment, either circle the bolt holes with a sharp awl or spray paint the holes and then remove welting, punch out the circled or painted hole. Some people like to pop rivet the welting to one side and grind down slightly to keep welting in place, while others will just bolt the sandwich together. I always use one size larger hollow hole punch to punch the holes with, gives you that little extra playing room for adjustment.

I agree with you about the box. I chose to get a new one for my 40, rather than fool with the one that came with my boxes of parts. The stampings are getting better through the years. AL

 

Thanks for the info 41. I am going to experiment a little with some spray on contact adhesive. Will try it first on a small piece of rubber welting and metal. If it will come off the metal/unfinished fender with solvent, it will assist in positioning for marking and punching of holes in the welt.

 

46yblock,

Here is an article on fender welting. It's a good read and should help with your project.

www.classictruckshop.com/welting.asp

Elder Rodder

 

Elder Rodder, Thanks much for the article. It will definitely make things a little easier. Wish I had read it last summer before dealing with the front welting between fenders and grill.
Also, that is quite a picture of you in your gallery, standing out in the snow sand blasting your cab!
Mike

 

46yblock,

Yeah, about two years ago or so. I'm posting a new shot of the PU in my gallery. It has come a long way. The color is '56 Caddy Eldorado "Bahama Blue" poly metallic. Trying to get out by spring. October begins my 11th year of rennovation.

Elder Rodder

 

While we are discussing weltings, I have a couple of questions myself. I found a source for the original cloth gasket material on my 47, and will cut my own, but what I don't know is whether the pieces were painted before they were assembled, and then the weltings and gaskets added? and remained black in color? Or was the pieces painted, then assembled, and then touched up during final assembly? or was the body assembled then painted as a whole? <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>

When I apply body gaskets in locations that are difficult to attach, I use spray on adhesive, lightly attach the welting or gasket to the surface I on the attaching piece, then apply. I sometimes also punch square holes, and then put a couple of bolts through the piece and gasket to hole it in place.

 

Well, Howdy,-Houdy,When considering the process of welting body parts the builder must decide whether to paint the parts separately or to assemble the parts with welting and paint the complete vehicle. If the parts are painted individually then the builder must decide on the color of the welting and if it is going to match the body color, contrast to the body or be plain black as the originals were. There are many colors available out there. Bob Drake has some good options. Some builders use a chrome-like welting on custom vehicles. Sometimes one tab of welting is not enough for the fit of the part and two or more will be snipped-off and applied to build-up the joint. Ideally, one strip of welting would be used in a tight fitting joint. Getting this in old parts and bodies can be a chore. Whatever works for you is the right way to go.

Elder Rodder

 

So correct me if i'm misunderstanding, but to look original, you paint the peices, and then assemble with new welt. The body was vermilion, the trim was cream, and the welting was the off black/gray color. if this is correct I greatly appreciate the information. Thank you very much.
Howard

 

The body was painted, then parts attached, so welting was applied after painting, welting was not painted. So they way you say, vermillion with darker welting would be right.

 

Hey guys
when I painted my 47 ,I wish I had the directions on how to do this ,but I couldnt figure it out so I gave up ,and didnt put any welting on at all.My question is what will happen if I dont have anything there at all,I made sure that I painted the area where the welting should have been so it wouldnt rust.

thanks Bill

 

bill, over time you will most likely get rubbing metal on metal and eventually some rusting. May also have some body squeaks more than usual. That isnt to say that you wont get some rusting eventually even with the welting. It traps moisture. If it were me I would just live with it as is unless it is too irritating.