MTFCA Forum

I have the pictured front fenders that are going to be repainted white. Is it possible to get mild steel and add the sexy 1916 style cuff like in these pictures https://modeltfordfix.com/the-1916-model-t-ford/ on the end of the fender? I was thinking 18 gauge mild steel get a trace and graft it on. The only problem is that I don't have any in my possession to trace out?

I can trace mine.

Maybe call Rootlieb.

Rootlieb used to offer the 'eye brow' as a stand alone part years ago, maybe it's still available...

Frank

Looks like what you have is supposed to be 1911 or 1912 front fenders? 1912 is a funny year for front fenders. There were at least four significant variations, and I think the count is closer to six. Most 1912 front fenders did have the "bill" on the front end. However, offhand I am not sure about 1911.
I don't know for sure, but I suspect those are Rootlieb's repros. I wish you were closer to me. I think I have a set of 1915 front fenders that I would be willing to trade, but the costs and hassles of shipping two sets is more than the deal would be worth. And since my intention for the fenders I have is to alter them to pass as 1912s, I am not sure yours would be any better for me.

If you send me your address in a PM, I can trace the bills on a pair of my fenders and mail the tracing to you.
I have three pair of '15/'16 fenders. The bills vary slightly from one set to another, but any one set should work fine.

The 'eyebrows' arrived from Rootlieb. I am glad I did not try to build these. Now how to graft them onto the fender? I can cut and stitch weld the straight parts on the back easily enough but what about the curled rounded edge? Do I open up the curled front edge of the fender, cut off the old straight down piece, install the new piece and try to curl the top curled edge back over? Any advice appreciated.

Try asking Rootlieb about how they should be attached.

That 'rolled' part at the top was rolled into the front edge of the fenders. To install those as they were done originally, you'd need to "unroll" the front edges of your fenders, insert the bills, and re-roll them in place. I doubt that you can do that and make it look good. My suggestion would be to cut the top edges off the bills and weld or braze them into place. That's actually my second suggestion. My first suggestion is to leave your fenders without bills, since they are nice ones. What you are proposing is a lot of work and it will be very difficult to get a nice-looking job out of it. Maybe you can trade yours for some which already have bills, if you must have them.

Back in the day, there were some accessory brows made specifically for addition to “plain” fenders. I believe they went on with some small machine screws or small rivets. I had an old original fender with one of those well over 15 years ago. I think the part from Rootlieb may not work very well (or at all) in an existing fender. That is a new part made to be installed into the wire bead of a fender as it is being manufactured.

Mike is correct. Do these photos help?

Saw this one on a recent thread about a stolen T and Trailer. The ends of the brow appear to be riveted to the existing fender. This supports what Adam mentioned "Back in the day, there were some accessory brows made specifically for addition to “plain” fenders. I believe they went on with some small machine screws or small rivets. I had an old original fender with one of those well over 15 years ago. I think the part from Rootlieb may not work very well (or at all) in an existing fender. That is a new part made to be installed into the wire bead of a fender as it is being manufactured."

Your definition of sexy and mine are somewhat different.

RustyFords wrote: ↑

Mon Dec 14, 2020 12:57 pm

Your definition of sexy and mine are somewhat different.

I agree it all depends on what body its on

TRDxB2 wrote: ↑

Mon Dec 14, 2020 5:05 pm

RustyFords wrote: ↑

Mon Dec 14, 2020 12:57 pm

Your definition of sexy and mine are somewhat different.

I agree it all depends on what body its on

I spoke to Rootlieb. They use the 2 tools pictured which I now have to make. The screwdriver undoes the round bead, the modified vise-grip crimps it. Heat and somehow bend the screwdriver end into a circle. The vise-grip crimper looks ground and brazed I think. The trick will be making the circular depression in the vise grip.

I wonder if a paint can opener is pretty much the same thing as the screwdriver? https://tinyurl.com/y2os945s

Have you got any old beat up fenders you can use to practice unrolling the bead before trying it on your good fenders?
Might give you you an idea how to do it if you do.

Frank B.... I didn't EVEN NOTICE the "brow" on the chick's cap!!!

No beat up fenders to practice on. That modified, but interesting, vise grip is going to be difficult to reproduce in my garage.

John kuehn wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 19, 2021 1:17 pm

Have you got any old beat up fenders you can use to practice unrolling the bead before trying it on your good fenders?
Might give you you an idea how to do it if you do.

A paint can opener broke off easily so the answer is no you can't use a paint can opener. So I obtained an old screwdriver and curled it using heat. That one also broke off on the fender bead. I see that the screwdriver in the picture has 'vanadium' printed on it so it would seem that I need one of those.

TWrenn wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 19, 2021 1:24 pm

Frank B.... I didn't EVEN NOTICE the "brow" on the chick's cap!!!

I noticed the yellow arrow and writing meant to (re)direct attention to the cap...

And the Vanadium steel is fairly critical - otherwise you could be accused of making a spurious part.