Brace Your Self

[rockerbillykat]

Can any one tell me how long the brace for the rear guard is?

By that i mean the steel rod that run across from the rear of the guard too

the chassis rail and stops the rear of the guard from flapping or vibrating!

I dont have these braces and would only be guessing the lenght and would like to get the right curve on the rear!

thanks,Rockerbillykat!

[randroid]

rockerbillykat,

This may be a case in which we're both speaking English in two different languages. If by brace you mean the span between the two upright rear bumper guards I don't have one on my Plymouth and I doubt it would fit your Dodge anyway, but I see an inherent problem with sending measurements that would be closer than you could eye-ball. You mention getting the curve right, and therein lies the rub because there are several measurements that can be taken on the same piece of curved pipe and they're all correct but unless you remember your high school geometry they might be difficult to accurately reproduce. It seems to me that any curve that didn't match the contour of the bumper would look a little goofy so simply match the brace to the bumper (you might go inside the curve of the bumper to match the reduced radius of the inset of the uprights' attachment hole) but an exact match could be drawn with chalk and a measuring tape on the pan between the bumper and the body. Zowie, a perfect pattern! Or you could get really exotic and put a stiff piece of construction paper on the pan and mark the measurements on it and you'd have a portable pattern.

If you are speaking about a brace other than the one I described I shall now quote Emily Littella by saying, "Never mind".

-Randy

(who is dating himself by quoting Emily Littella)

[rockerbillykat]

Ok i will try again,my explaination was a bit off track!

Instead of Guard i will call it the" Mud Guard".

Or more specifically the left and right rear Mud Guards.

If you look in through the rear wheel arch towards the rear of

the Mud Guard,there should be a "Brace" or lets say a "rod" that

is attatched to the inner lip of the Mud Guard with a nut and bolt.

This rod runs across to the chassis rail and is attached with either a nut and bolt or rivet and keeps the Mud Guard from flexing or vibrating.

So what i need to know, is the rod straight,does it have flat ends where the bolts go through and how long is it from point to point!

I hope this is a better expaination.

RBK

[Andydodge]

Rocker........these are Yanks remember....lol.........they don't have mudguards.........they have FENDERS.........Randroid what Rocker means is the brace that goes from the rear fender to the chassis, near the rear spring rear shackle mount.......its a sheetmetal pressing as far as I know,well it is in 1940 Dodges....... about 1.5" width by about 12-15" long........ I can give you the 1941 Plymouth brace length but it maybe different to what I assume is a P15.........Rocker, better yet confirm what car you are talking about and whether it is in fact the rear fender..........lol............andyd

[rockerbillykat]

Yeah u r right Andy,i shoulda said fender!LOL

The car in question is my 48 D-25 Sedan!

I just need to know the size so when i make them they will give me the correct curve around the "FENDER"

Pickle me Gran Mother!

[Niel Hoback]

The mudguard brace is 13" long by 1 1/4". Start with a flat sheet and fold the edges 1/4" to stiffen it.

[randroid]

Rocker,

My family is of British heritage but we've been in the Colonies for over 350 years so there's bound to be a little lapse of reason on our part. My '48 Plymouth has that brace too, and a few years ago I slid slowly backwards on some ice and into a snow drift, bending the brace and pushing the 'mud guard' in a few inches. The repair of it was to jerk the fender out with one hand while giving the brace a good slap with my other hand and it popped back into place. Again, this is a situation in which eyeballing it is close enough because if I couldn't still see a small kink in the brace I'd think it was perfect. Since the brace is rather flimsy at best I'd think a short piece of that 'L' shaped metal that protects the outside corner of plaster wall board might almost be over-kill. Get the fender in about the right place and cut the strap to the length and you've improved the original engineering of your car in fifteen minutes for less than a dollar.

Perhaps somebody will send the original length on theirs and it would be of passing interest to learn if it was more than 1\4" different than what you might guess it should be,

-Randy

[Niel Hoback]

I forgot the critical measuremet. 10 7/8" between the mounting holes. But I do not know how far that is in Imperial gallons.

[dav]

Fantastic this forum is great! I am putting my 1948 D24 puzzle back together and had no idea of the fender braces and presto here is the answer.Thank you thank you and thank you.

Back to the Garage.

P.S. First sign of snow Nov 11 .Remembrance Day 2013

[Oldguy48]

I'd have to go out to the garage to measure it for length, but I needed one for the passenger side rear fender on my P15.  I just used a length of 1/2" thinwall electrical conduit, with the ends flattened and drilled.  Painted it black, and it works just fine.

 

Wayne