Front Fender Upper Rivit Area Repair

[grey beard]

Today I took my front fenders to a neighbor who has a plasma cutter. He is very good, and was able to blow the two exposed rovets out of their brackets in the front fenders without hitting any sheet metal. Don't even think you will get these parts separated just by grinding the heads off. Everything in this area has completely grown together from rust and road dirt. It was a really lousy Dodge design, and the first rust point on most trucks.

This area is a sorry mess on most Pilothouses. I wonder how many of you own one with the original rivits still in place. Problem is that inside the fender skin has a flat gusset spot welded to the inner fender itself. This joint just begs moisture from the front wheel splash to lodge there and evenually begins to grow rust. Since the gusset is about twice as heavy as the fender material, wanna' guess which shows swelling/rust first?

After looking all these pieces over, I feel the only proper way to solve the problem is to cut out the rivets - they also "grow" fast to the bracket and the fender skin - and then cut out the two spot welds on the inside that hold the gusset. Once these parts are out of the way, you can treat the rust inside the fender skin and bolt the parts together with carriage bolts (AFTER you grind the writing off the heads). I'm hoping to find brass carriage bolts that will accept paint but never rust again.

Like Merle Coggins pointed out, you can then do necessary body work to the area, dry-assemble the carriage bolts and make sure when you tighten them, everything (body filler, etc.) remains happy, and THEN finish up the job once you're sure everything is copasetic.

On my own fenders, the upper bracket that attaches to the body bracket had been attached with welded nuts inside the bracket. These also had o be blown out with the plasma cutter. I replaced these with carriage bolts dropped down fron the top and tack welded in place or eassier reassembly.

Once I get a little frurther with the project, I'll post some photos of the process.

Why go to all this work for these two lousy rivet heads and this general area, I hear you ask? Welllllll, anybody who knows beans about Pilothosue trucks knows this is the first spot to inspect when you are checking out a restoration or rust-free oldie. My son who lives in rust-free Monrana, has several of these but every one is pooched out from rust around the rivets. I want mine to look like Merle's when it is finished.

Thanks, Merle, for shaing your photos. Good motivation for me!

[Dennis_MN]

Dave,

That's a great descripton of the problem area and the cause of rust out during the last 55 years or so.

If one was an exact purist, then there is no question, make it look like a rivet when done.

However, while doing all of the work to make the area functional, I would add a support plate, the attachment bracket and then I'd braze them or wire feed weld them in place. I wouldn't need no steenking rivets, just a nice flush finish.

Dennis

[Tony_Urwin]

My fenders look like yours, Dennis. Whenever the truck was painted, the bracket was welded to the fender and the rivet holes were smoothed over.

Finding that my fenders were no longer original is the final straw that convinced me not to take a purist's POV towards the truck. An even more powerful reason was the quotes I got for a new wiring harness. If I want turn signals, (and of course I do) Rhode Island or YnZ want $750 to $800 for a OEM-style harness.

On the other hand, I could install a 12V alternator and a no-brainer Painless harness complete with modern fuse block and have a bunch of money left over for A/C or stereo.

Don't get me wrong, I love restored trucks, but cost and usability have to be considerations, too.

[grey beard]

Tony,

I would encourage you to read the thing I did on wiring harnesses for these trucks. It's listed under Pilot's Knowledge or some such on this web site. It's complete with a drawing that has all the info you need to make your own. AND it will work with either six or twelve volts just the way I have it shown in the drawing - complete with all dimensions. I made my own in one afternoon this past winter when it was too cold in the shop to work,and added the terminal ends in another. Total cost was about $65. The job is way easier than fixing Pilothouse fender rivets - either by hiding them or showing them.

If you try the project and run into trouble I'll be glad to help you out. JMHO:)

[Dodgeb4ya]

I`ve had my two trucks for many years and the 2 rivits on each fender are both original and rust free on both trucks---- only because I packed grease or cosmoline inside the areas that are prone to rust out! Inside of doors, wheel splash areas ect. The trucks both came from dry climates. I do this on some of my cars too. Messy but stops the rust forever!

Bob

[Dennis_MN]

Finding that my fenders were no longer original is the final straw that convinced me not to take a purist's POV towards the truck. Don't get me wrong, I love restored trucks, but cost and usability have to be considerations, too.

Great point, now that it isn't pure anyway, I have a license to add Disk brakes and a few other items of modern drift that I've been thinking of. 12 volts comes to mind.

Dennis

[Merle Coggins]

Dave,

If you're using my body work as a shootin' point, you're aiming pretty low. I am by no means an expert body man. It's been a "learn as you go" process for me.

Merle

[greg g]

Tony, Your P house sounds a lot like the Studebaker I just aquired. It needs a lot of work, a lot of metal is missing. It will definately not be a restoration, and the purists will cringe when they see the GM Auto O/D trans bolted behind the engine. Some PO did do a nice job putting disc brakes all around and the rear end is out of a T bird. We should probably keep in touch with our projects to console and encourage each other. For instance the bottom of my passenger door needs a bit of attention. My plan it to get the chassis up and running then deal with the body, although a couple pieces are at the media blasters currently.