Hanging a fender

[Rodney_Hamon]

Before the front passenger fender could go on I had unfinished business from last Fall. First I installed a stiffer spring for the gas pedal, figured out a missing linkage bracket that holds in place the throttle cable to the carb, finish the fender brace that’s been missing since 1986, and then find the bolts that go into the fender. I dry fit the fender today then without the welting and will cut and fit that tomorrow. Then I will hang the fender proper. Then I need to install the spare tire stanchion pipe. All in all a good day in the garage with the wind howling outside. Have to admit that I was rusty from not working on the dodge since Fall but the creative juices flow again. Ha

[Rodney_Hamon]

Does anyone know if the hole on the top of the fender brace would hold a cushion of some sort. It’s always been just an open hole both driver and passenger side but it seems like a pad or something could keep the fender from rubbing. I could not locate an item in the parts book for this ‘36. 

[Rodney_Hamon]

Couldn’t help myself and had to put the new spare in the well to see if it fit.  Success. Still a lot of body work involving paint and chips to fill in. Vent gasket and other and then the hood etc

[Rodney_Hamon]

Yesterday my wife helped me lower the hood onto the cowl and grill shell and slip it into the brackets. Out of alignment. Damn. I did remove the one rod on the manifolds side for easier access to everything.  I guess this has to be adjusted. But the front of the hood is too high on the lace in the front. That hasn’t been touched. This ram ornament isn’t quite fitting as the profile of the rear chrome doesn’t fit the chrome hinge strip on the hood. Are car and truck rams slightly different ?  I see propping the hood and letting it sit on the lace is shredding it. I am working on a hood support now.  I will try to fudge with the alignment some more but I hope I didn’t slightly bend the hood with it laying around these last few years.  I put the hood back on so I could clean it better. I thought I would scratch and bend it if it was on a table or ground. Yes, my back and patience is sore 

[Rodney_Hamon]

Dang . Sorry for the rotated pix previously.  Have the temporary hood support. Can’t remember where I picked this up but when I was teaching at UNM I’m thinking this came from chemistry surplus.  Handy. More adjustments and the hood is a little better.  Comparing two ram hood ornaments I have the wrong one. Another broken one looks thicker at the base. Beggars aren’t choosing in this case as they were both found decades ago. 

[Rodney_Hamon]

And this is the snapped off one.  They both have slightly different bolting positions as well from underneath. 

[Rodney_Hamon]

One step forward and then almost backwards.  Cut a 3 mil piece of Mylar stencil to cover the letters that I worked so hard to mask out and spray a few months back. tailgate is outside with the stencil taped on. I used a Napa paint spray can to start feathering in from the outside. A wind gust ripped the stencil off and overspray. cussing. Mylar is gone.  Every day there’s wind. Never seen it like this. Resumed spraying with an aluminum plate to block the spray. Let it cure in the wind and sun and ran into town to buy some rubbing compound from o Reilly.  Came back and rubbed some overspray off but it was the denatured alcohol solvent on q tips that did final cleaning. Had to work fast as not to remove the rustoleum letter paint.  But to my surprise I think I finally got an ok match of color...third try.  $75 for 2 rattle cans. Had to keep going a stage more yellow on the paint chips at Napa. Going to Milwaukee area next week so I’m running out of time and won’t be back until June.  

[Rodney_Hamon]

This fender that was hung in May finally got rattle can touch-ups with the Napa auto paint. 3rd try trying to match the original acrylic enamel from 1974.  First I lightly scrubbed it with a little cleanser and sponge. Then I used denatured alcohol solvent to rid some mystery stains etc. Then I used a little lacquer thinner for the stubborn stains. Then I laboriously painted in the scratches and gouging from years of neglect. I take a little paint from the can and put into a baby food jar with a tad hardener and reducer. I wet sanded with 360 and 400 wet/dry sandpaper through a generous wet mask of water. Back to the alcohol wipe and then decided to tag it because I couldn’t wait. I didn’t cover the whole fender, just the fixed areas and in the wheel well.  After it cures for a few days I’m going to lightly rub it with rubbing compound and then polish it. I can’t even think of applying a clear coat at this time although Napa said I should use it over this base coat. I’m thinking the wax will compensate for some shine.  I sprayed in a garage with the screened windows and door open. I could not open the garage door as biting flies and hoards of no-see-ums are raging outside. It’s dry and hot and hits 100 inside so far. This will be slow go over the whole truck but I see I need to crack the garage door and hang screen material to keep the savage insects outside so I can have more ventilation for painting. 

[Rodney_Hamon]

Today I put that spare tire side mount grommet on and bolted the pipe in place. I got smart and cut a circle from a cheap baseball rubber plate from Dicks sporting.  When I previously had mounted my freshly powder coated rim on it, it had chipped a small piece. WTH.  That’s not gonna happen again. A cushion will make it proper.  I also cut the cowl vent seal to size and laid it in the tray with the center cut to the back. I flipped it around this and that way to see how the vent cover would fit best. Even though in reading some said the flat side should go up this seal fit better with it down. I left the cover on so the weight would form it some before I glue for a few days to make gluing easier.  Custom cutting the steering post pad is next.  No rubber so far fits exactly but it’s expected from others experiences.