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1949 Ford Wheelwell Fabrication - Major Changes With Mini TubsMaking Custom Wheelwells Using Ron Covell's Tank-Roll Mandrels From the November, 2008 issue of Rod & Custom By Bill Ganahl Photography by Bill Ganahl, Jack Stratton, Paul Kris
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The age of mini tubs is well past its heyday, but there are still quite a few instances when the wheelwells of a rod or custom need to be modified or re-fabricated completely. At Roy Brizio Street Rods, for instance, we have widened the wells on a few '30s Fords in order to cram a body between 10-inch-wide Halibrand wheels, and we frequently widen the wells on late '30-40 Fords at the front where the tires tend to rub. This project, however, is a bit more complicated. Brizio had Art Morrison design and fabricate a custom chassis for this '49 Ford, which called for the rear framerails to be kicked up 2 inches and narrowed 4 inches to accommodate a lower stance with wider wheels and tires. As a consequence, we had to discard the entire rear floor of the original Ford, including the wheelwells. When it came to designing new tubs, we decided we didn't want them to look boxy and "fabricated" as they often do with square corners and edges, so we called up Ron Covell and ordered a set of his 1-inch-radius "tank-roll" mandrels. These mandrels are compatible with Roy's old Pexto bead roller, and they're rather simple to use, so we figured they would be a good addition to our tool collection. While the dimensions of the Morrison frame and the stock Ford quarter-panels dictated how wide our new wheelwells would be, we also needed to determine exactly how tall our rear tires would be before we began fabrication. For this project, Roy expects to use a tire about 29 inches in diameter, so the length and height of the well were designed accordingly. Besides the basic fabricating techniques used to make these wheeltubs, the only unique part of a job like this is the operation of the tank-roll dies. If you choose to use them for a project, we recommend trying a few test panels first to get used to the force and pressure needed to keep a curved panel steady in the roller. It's fairly easy once you get the hang of it, and these mandrels provide a great way to improve both the strength and aesthetics of any project.  Before we started fabricating...  Before we started fabricating the wheeltubs, we finished installing the floors and completed any metalwork necessary on the quarter-panels. Although it's not absolutely necessary, it helps to have the rearend installed. This establishes an exact center point for the wheelwells, and makes it easier to determine how tall the well needs to be, as we will show.  Although the stock Ford wheelwell...  Although the stock Ford wheelwell is far too narrow, the rest of the dimensions work fine for a tall tire. We are basing our clearance on a 30-inch tire, and this tub is exactly 36 inches long, leaving us 3 inches of clearance, both front and back.  We used the stock well to...  We used the stock well to determine the front and rear mounting points of our new tub and marked the original locations on our new floor. If we didn't have the original tub, we could just measure from the center of the wheelhub and make a mark 18 inches, front and back. Our marks were exactly 36 inches apart, and the wheelhub lies dead center at 18 inches.  With our basic dimensions...  With our basic dimensions figured out, we started by making a template for the inner panel of the wheelwell. We first marked and cut our overall length to 36 inches. The inner panel of the well will eventually be welded to the floor of the trunk, right at the outside of the framerail, so we marked our template accordingly. We lined up the template between our front and rear marks on the floor and placed it against the outside of the frame, and left plenty of excess for the top of the well.  This line represents the bottom...  This line represents the bottom of our inner well. Notice we had to notch the template to clear the axle and hub; this notch doesn't have to be precise since the lower half of the template will be discarded.  We then cut the template along...  We then cut the template along the floor line and taped it to a piece of 16-gauge sheetmetal, marking the floor line on the metal and making sure we left plenty of excess material for the height of the tub since we haven't determined how tall it will be yet. Since our inner panel will be large, we opted to cut it with power shears. You could use tin snips, a large bandsaw, or even a cutoff wheel.  We will be taking the tub...  We will be taking the tub in and out frequently, so we mocked our inner panel in place and made a few marks to make sure the panel lines up in the same spot each time. Note that though the panel is exactly 36 inches long, there is plenty of extra material at the top so we can make the tub as tall as necessary. If you're planning on lowering the rear of the car considerably, your tub might end up being much taller than the original.  We "bottomed out" the rearend...  We "bottomed out" the rearend by jacking it up to the frame snubbers to figure out exactly how tall our tub needed to be. We need to make sure that 18 inches of height is sufficient so we can make a perfectly round tub. We then measured 18 inches straight up into the wheelwell from the axle center line and marked our inner panel. This will give us 3 inches of tire clearance if the rear end bottomed out with a 30-inch-diameter tire.  After double-checking our...  After double-checking our mark, which happened to be 9 1/4 inches above the peak of the trunk floor, we were ready to determine the radius of the wheeltub. We secured the inner panel to a flat table and made a mark on the table 18 inches below the mark that determined the top of our new well. This mark will be the fulcrum of our radius.  In addition to being exactly...  In addition to being exactly 18 inches below the top of the tub, the fulcrum point also needs to be centered between the front and rear of the tub, which we have already determined to be 18 inches, since the total distance is 36 inches. We used a piece of string, some tape, and a pen to make our radius. Obviously, the piece of string needs to be exactly 18 inches long between the tape and the pen tip. We taped one end of the string to our fulcrum point and marked the new wheeltub radius on our inner tub panel.  Once our radius was determined...  Once our radius was determined and marked out, we cut our inner panel on a bandsaw. Using our marks to line up the panel, we now have an idea of how the wheelwell will look. Both ends lined up with our marks, and we know the top will provide plenty of clearance for our tire.  With the inner panel completely...  With the inner panel completely cut out, we turned our attention to rolling the edge. Since this panel is large, we welded in a brace to help keep its shape. We want to be sure to maintain 90-degree angles between the floor, side, and top of the well. Although it's not necessary, I usually shrink the edges of a piece before running it through the tank-roll dies. The dies stretch the sheetmetal and warp the metal slightly, so in theory, this helps prevent some of that warpage by pre-shrinking the sheetmetal.  We then rolled the edge of...  We then rolled the edge of inner panel. These mandrels provide a 1-inch radius once you mate up both pieces of sheetmetal. They are designed by Ron Covell to fit Pexto and other bead-rollers with 15/16-inch shafts. As with any bead-roller mandrels, make many passes and tighten the mandrels slightly each time. With the tank-roll dies, make sure to keep plenty of pressure against the inner lip of the dies so the sheetmetal doesn't slip out or "walk."  This is the roll we ended...  This is the roll we ended up with using the 1-inch radius dies. It doesn't look like much, but the radius is quite sufficient once it is matched to another piece with the same roll. As we continued to roll the edge of our panel, we checked it against a flat table often to make sure we weren't warping it significantly.  With the tank-roll complete,...  With the tank-roll complete, we mocked in the inner panel, lined it up with our marks, and made sure it was perpendicular to the trunk floor. We then measured across the top to see how wide we needed to make our tubs. These turned out to be exactly 12 inches wide, leaving about a half-inch of clearance between the outer tub and the quarter-panel.  Since the top of the wheeltub...  Since the top of the wheeltub is so large, we decided to make it in two pieces, making a seam at the center top of the tub. We determined our dimensions by measuring along the radius of the inner panel. Each piece of this tub will be 28 inches long by 12 inches wide. These pieces needed to match the radius of the inner well, so we rolled them out on a slip roll and checked them against the vertical piece often until they matched.  Once the radius was correct,...  Once the radius was correct, we rolled both edges of our tub top halves by tightening the mandrels little by little during each pass, and making sure to keep the inside edge tight against the inner lip of the mandrels. You'll notice the structural benefit of rolling the edges of these tubs at this point: This is now a very stout piece. We then repeated the process and made the second half of the tub top.  Depending on your application,...  Depending on your application, you may or may not need an outer panel for your wheeltubs. The top portions of the wells on some cars simply butt up against the quarter-panel. We are fabricating an outer panel that will be welded to the lip of the wheel opening on this car, so we traced out the radius for our outer panel using the inner as a template, making sure to leave plenty of excess material at the bottom.  Before welding our tub halves...  Before welding our tub halves together, we needed to smooth out any wrinkles or inconsistencies in the rolled edges. We made this round-bar dolly out of thick tubing.  With the dolly clamped in...  With the dolly clamped in a vise, we quickly hammered each edge. The fit of each piece to the other is crucial in achieving a smooth final radius.  With the rolled edges finished,...  With the rolled edges finished, the individual pieces of the tubs were ready to be tacked together. Maneuvering these large panels was slightly difficult, so we clamped the inner panel to our welding table. With the top lined up with the center mark at the top of the inner panel, we tacked the pieces together. This is where a good roll and plenty of finish-hammering pays off with a nice seam. Once the first top half was tacked in place, we continued with the second half, making sure the tops of the tub were perpendicular to the side of the well the whole time.  At this point, we fine-tuned...  At this point, we fine-tuned a few areas with our homemade dolly. This is 16-gauge sheetmetal, so it takes a little bit of force to move it around.  After we tacked the top pieces...  After we tacked the top pieces to the inner well, we tacked in the outer wall, as well. With everything roughed together, we finally had something that looked like a wheelwell. Once again, we mocked in the new tub to make sure everything fit. We had plenty of clearance to the quarter-panel, and our well was centered over the axle. We made sure the well was perfectly square in the car by placing a small level on top before fitting the outer panel to the wheel opening in the quarter-panel.  The excess material of our...  The excess material of our outer well needed to be cut to match the wheel opening. After marking the wheel opening on the panel, we simply tipped the well down and made our cut with the well in the car.  The quarter-panel on a shoebox...  The quarter-panel on a shoebox Ford curves in considerably at the front bottom edge of the wheel opening, so we had to accommodate for the unique shape. We were able to create an angle in the panel that better matched the shape of the quarter-panel by marking and cutting the outer panel. A little bit of hammering and a few tacks later, and our outer panel matched the wheel opening perfectly.  With all of our panels completed...  With all of our panels completed and tacked together, we removed the tub from the car and welded up all of our seams. The rolled edges finally looked complete after a little bit of grinding. We re-installed the tub for the final time, squared it up, and tacked the inner well to the trunk floor.  We then tacked the outer wall...  We then tacked the outer wall to the edge of the wheel opening in the quarter-panel.  Here is the finished wheeltub...  Here is the finished wheeltub after all of the floors and bracing have been finished. The rolled edges of these tubs leave them sturdy, and they look good to boot.
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