I am mocking up my front end before I prime it all, and I just wondered about the fender welt. My sheet metal was pretty rough so when I took it apart I couldn't tell if there was a fender welt between the fenders and grille panel. I'm pretty sure that there was a welt between the cab and the fenders.

Does anyone know if the welt goes up front as well?
Has anyone installed the sheet metal without the welts. I would be interested in knowing my options. I assume that something has to go between to keep the paint from chipping.

 

Well Fix, I don't know if the factory put the welt there, but all of the restored and customized trucks of those years that I have seen at shows have fender welt in the grill piece. Some of the more customized trucks weld the piece solid to the fenders and blend it in. Personally I think the fender welt looks good. I intend to put in in my truck. Also where the running board meets the fender. You know there is a special rubber piece that goes between the front fender and cowl where it comes around above the running board.

 

Thanks
I was planning on putting a piece between the grill and fenders. I have some left over from my 41 and I tried it out.
It's so small that it just kind of disapears if you step away. I considered welding the pieces together and smoothing them out, but I think it would look to much like one of those fibergalss front ends.
I kind of like the way the fender welt looks, but it's nice to know that other people have used it as well.

 

The local car show this weekend had a 46 entered, which had fender welting between the back inside of the fender and the cowl, rather than the larger rubber which is standard. He must have done something to get the fender in tighter to the cab.

 

I was planning on filling out my cab with a little hammer work or some extra steel so that I can just use the fender welt, and still get a good tight fit.
To be honest I always assumed that this gap was always filled with the fender welt. I just thought that my fenders were beat out of shape and just didn't fit right.
I had no idea there was a different welt for this gap.
Can anyone get me pics of this welt? I would like to see it before I go through all the trouble of changing the shape of my cab. If it looks good with the factory welt I will just put it back the way it's supposed to be.


I have two sets of fenders. One to finish and paint, and one that is mounted on the truck right now so The truck looks complete. (My neighbors aren't very amused by project vehicles).

The mock up fenders have the gap and no extra holes. The ones that came off of the cab have holes drilled through the cab, along the fender, to allow for more mounting points. I assume that the holes in my fenders arent stock. Would I be correct?
The extra holes allow the fenders to be tightened in toward the cab, and I will be using them. I just wondered if they were stock or not.

Thanks for all the info you already provided. You may have saved me some primer, and a little rework. I assumed that my fenders were finished and ready for paint. Now I realize that I better test fit them, to make sure they fit well while I can still add metal.

 

I just put my fenders on the truck, and I can see the problem. The rear gap where the fender meets the cab is about 1/4 inch wide. The offending item is the standoff on the cab that holds the bolt for the fender. I think if I cut this off and reweld it minus the metal lost in the cut then it should be about right. It almost works with the standard fender welt. 1/8 inch shorter and it would be perfect.

I think I've decided that the fender welt should match all the way around the truck. Are there any other places where I will have trouble using the standard fender welt that I should be aware of?

Thanks for the help. I usually just guess about these things, but it sure is nice having someone around that can answer a few questions.

 

Regarding fender welt in the cowl rear fender area: I truly didnt think it added anything to the 46 in the car show. It was just something that I noticed. The usual rubber treatment looks just a good in my opinion, and probably lasts longer.

 

I didn't know about the special rubber on the fender where it meets the cowl until I saw one at a car show. Since then I've noticed that you can buy it in some of the Ford catalogs. There are no holes to mount the fenders to the cowl, at least on mine. There must be some movement there or to allow for vibration to use this special rubber, but I think the fenders bolt to the cowl on the 40-41s. I'm going to the NSRA Louisville this weekend and check all this out. There should be several there.

 

The rubber welt was originally fastened to the fender flange with staples. You can do that if you find someone with a metal stitcher. I tried some glue with disasterous results. If I did it again it would be with weather stripping adhesive. That can be fairly easily controlled and doesnt require clamps like the glue I used.

 

I'm going to have to look at the factory rubber welt to see what it actually looks like. I still cant picture it. It can't be all that big since it doesn't show up in any of the pics I've looked at.

I'm pretty sure that the extra holes in fenders and cab aren't original. They aren't reinforced in any way (they will be when I'm finished). I am not concerned with vibration or movement because my cab, core support and front clip are all rubber mounted using the factory Ranger mounts. The problem will arrise when I want to attach the running boards. I'm going to have to attach hangers from the cab for the running boards, I have already installed metal for this. The seats and seat belts will also attach to this extra structure.

I haven't figured out the running board connection at the back fenders yet. The running boards cant be connected to the rear fenders or they will flex when the cab moves. This connection is still a puzzle. I'm looking for ideas. I might just have to leave off this final connection and just let the running boards hang free by the rear fenders. A loose connection with some kind of welt or rubber seal between should allow for movement without allowing them to scratch the paint. Or maybe I can make some modern rubber seal work there.