Y’know, Project Purple Pig is just about the rustiest car I’ve ever had the “pleasure” to work on! Considering I’ve replaced the entire floor, both doors, the hood, both front fenders (hurrah, I finally found a good pair at the L.A. Roadsters Father’s Day Show swap meet! Though, if you’re the guy I bought ’em from, I do need the hood you tried to get me to buy!), the inner and outer rockers, the lower rear panel, some of the roof, the lower cowl braces, and now the lower quarter-panels, there’s not a lot left of the ol’ girl!
EMS supplied the repair panels for the rear quarters, as well as a rear panel and the rear section of the trunk floor, the latter two of which we’ll install in an upcoming issue. Unlike some “repair” panels I’ve had the misfortune to install, these were actually a very nice fit. Unfortunately, once I cut the old sheetmetal away, I realized the rot in the wheel housing on the driver side was way worse than I thought, and a good proportion of my time was spent repairing this. While it’s relatively simple to fabricate tricky curved sections like this with a shrinker/stretcher, I didn’t have one available to me during this job, so I improvised by making a hammerform from 3/4-inch MDF. But I’ll bet the majority of you don’t own a shrinker/stretcher either, so here’s how to get the job done with basic tools!
Once I’d repaired the rusted-out sections and put right the badly botched old repairs to the upper quarters, the installation of the EMS panels was straightforward. They fit nicely, were the correct length, the door gap is perfect—even around the lower corner—and I’m looking forward to getting the rest of the bodywork completed. So the quicker I let you check out the captions and pictures, the quicker I can get back out in the garage!
The patch panels were supplied...
The patch panels were supplied by EMS, including the rear section of the inner rocker panel (though the one shown is for the other side of the car!). I already replaced this a few years ago so didn’t need this, but knowing it’s available is reassuring.
The panels aren’t designed...
The panels aren’t designed to be fitted over the old sheetmetal, as some floorpan repair panels are, for example, but clamping it in place allowed me to mark an approximation of where its upper edge would be.
I then used a sawzall to cut...
I then used a sawzall to cut 3/8 inch below the marked line. Removing the old sheetmetal revealed this rusty mess. A patch had been brazed in place over the rusted outer fender sometime in the car’s past.
The ’49 Chevy has these half-round...
The ’49 Chevy has these half-round panels in the wheelhousing that bolt in place. I have no idea why, but it sure made repairing the lip easier! I removed it in order to separate the captive nuts from the bolts along its lower edge so they could be reused.
So … how would you fabricate...
So … how would you fabricate the missing section of wheelhousing? I could have formed it to match the new panel, but then hit on the idea of clamping a stock fender skirt in place, and forming the lip to match this.
Luckily there were sections...
Luckily there were sections of the original metal left at the front and rear (arrow) of the wheel arch, allowing me to align the skirt perfectly.
Normally I’d use a shrinker/stretcher...
Normally I’d use a shrinker/stretcher to form the curved lip section needed, but I was doing this job over the July 4th weekend and don’t have one at home. However, 50 cents for an off-cut of 3/4-inch MDF board from the local home improvement store and I had an ideal hammerform.
With a length of 20-gauge...
With a length of 20-gauge steel trimmed to give a 5/8-inch lip, it was clamped between the two parts of the hammerform, and folded over using a body hammer.
The section of the steel clamped...
The section of the steel clamped in the form was then trimmed to size as it had been cut oversize to aid clamping …
… before the new lip section...
… before the new lip section was welded in place, matching the curve of the skirt, but with a 3/16-inch gap to allow for the outer skin and the rubber gasket for the skirt.
The hammerform was again used...
The hammerform was again used to form the curve on what would become the remaining section of wheelhousing. A groove was cut in a block of wood in order to hold the panel while drilling the holes for the captive nuts.
Here’s the upper section,...
Here’s the upper section, ready to be installed. The small lip along the top edge strengthens the panel, and was formed by clamping the steel between two lengths of angle iron and hammering the lip over.
I tack-welded the panels together,...
I tack-welded the panels together, then stitch-welded between the tacks, as well as welding it to the old wheelhousing front and rear …
… before welding the old captive...
… before welding the old captive nuts to the new panel, bolting it in place, and finish-welding all the joints, then grinding the welds smooth.
The heat generated by our...
The heat generated by our unknown backyard bodyman when he brazed the patches to the fender (the remnants of which can be seen in the previous picture) severely warped the upper quarter-panel, all of which was hidden under 1/2-inch plus of filler! The braze and the remains of the patch were removed before attempting to repair this area.