How to section a fender, Not that I wanted to, but when there's no choice... Options

[rick 918-S]

During my journey to try to get Sandy's car ready for the WCR I discovered another huge dent in the left front fender. I worked hard to try to get the damage out but there was no way I could be happy with the end result. So I have a Ravenna 73 parts car. It's a MN rusted hulk with a brazed patch on the bottom. I cut the best parts off the salvage fender and saved what I needed to repair the damaged fender. I sand blasted it inside and out so it's nice and clean. You will see the lower section looks a little rough but I'm not done working it. It was hammered to death so all in all it's a very good repair. I will only use primer on the welded seam over the wheel.





Notice my body file in the photo. I didn't use a grinder. I just filed the welds to finish.

[rick 918-S]

Yep I used my Tig. Love this thing!

Here is the fender That I cut off. The damage was deep with no room to swing at it. I tried to heat it with a torch and push it out while it was hot. This worked to the point where I ended up with a reasonable amount of damage to fill but when I was shrinking it flat I ended up shortening the fender leaving a door gap 8mm wide. The wrinkles you see I couldn't hammer. no room. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif) Not every repair technic is going to work in every situation.



Here is the MN donor fender. The bottom had a brazed patch that had rusted out again. After cutting off the lower section I ended up with a good piece or so I thought.
Once I started cleaning up the rest of it, I discovered that the side marker light hole had a huge rust ring around it. The rust ring around it with pin holes through it and as John suspected the weather stripping channel was not much better. The section I ended up using was very nice and I am satisfied I put the car back in a condition that will not devalue it. It really is a solid car and were happy to be the lucky owners.