Fenders

I got some time last Saturday to work on my new fiberglass fenders. Each fender needed 9 holes drilled and a bunch of filing to give each hole a little wiggle room and allow for some metal clips to be inserted on a couple. I started this a couple weeks ago and it is the first time I have worked with fiberglass. I got a facemask and goggles and made sure to wear gloves. The first fender took quite a bit of time as I was still figuring out the best way to do the job. I chipped a couple spots with the drill, so I will have to have those fixed, but I have a neighbor who is good with fiberglass. The first key is something I saw on youtube, which is to run the drill in reverse. I have metal drill bits, so they are probably not the right tool for the job, but running the drill in reverse worked great and made sure I went slow and steady. I used like an 1/8" bit to make some starter holes, and then went to a 1/4" or so to expand them out. Then took a round file to expand the hole in either direction a bit so there is some play if the holes don't line up perfectly.

 Here is one of the chipped spots. I was drilling the starter hole and it went through faster than I expected and the drill smashed down on the top edge of the fender. I learned to measure and drill on the backside to avoid this problem on later holes.

Crack in top edge

Here are a few shots of the fenders and the holes I drilled. Not perfect work, but it will do the job.

Back side of Sousa Speed Fender with a couple mouting holes drilled

Full Fender

Front side of Fender - Very smooth - still needs paint

 At the front of each fender is a spot where the side marker lights meet the fender and a couple mounting holes for the lights. This was the hardest part of the job as it required a bunch of filing to make the hole that the metal mounting clips go in. Here a couple shots of those holes.

In progress filing out the opening for the clip

Top view with a clip in

Front view with a clip in

There is a u shaped mounting slot near the doors and I am still working on those. The fiberglass seems a little thick there, so they are not sliding in easily and are not very flush with the pillar at the windshield. I think I can file the back down a bit more and that should help. I don't want to take off too much though and make it weak.

U shaped mounting point

I put the fenders on each side and most of the holes lined up pretty well. I have a few spots to file and get the alignment better as well as the u shaped mounts need to be filed down some more, but overall, the fit is great. Next weekend I will finish that last bit of filing and mount the fenders temporarily until I can get them painted. I'll take some photos of them on the car so you can see the fit. Once they are on and I get the hood on, I can go get the car inspected and registered and let the real testing of the car begin. There are alot of items left to finish still, but getting it registered is a huge step for me on this long journey.