To fix or not to fix ??

Do I attempt to see how my sheet metal and welding skills are or look for 2 better fenders ? This is the better of the 2. Lots of pin holes from rust, and I'm really going to be upset if I get it fixed and painted and start to see rust bubbles soon after. Spending $1000.00 on aftermarket is not an option.

 

No experience, but I would try to weld up the rusty sections. Fill the pinholes with weld and see if the steel holds up. You have air? I would get one of the little hand-held blasters and a tub of aluminum oxide, and go at the lacy areas. This should tell you if there is much steel holding the pinholes together. Plus if you blast to bright steel then prime with epoxy primer, it won't rust.

If you are going to save them, the right thing to do is make steel patches to fill in where there is fender steel missing. You won't need a lot of material.

You could ask on autobody101.com for opinions.

 

I agree with timgr. try it. Do your homework and then just do it.

 

Brazing is another option for filling holes and adding patches if you have oxy-acetylene. Then a little bondo and paint.

 

I agree with above. Fenders are not structural with exception of hood clamp area. Would be a good place to learn on.

 

Ok you convinced me so I got right on it. I wasnt going to mess with the spot welds but glad I did with all the rust under it. That little side panel looks like it has a dozen or more spot welds I will post the progress in my build thread

 

Are all these spot welds for this little panel ? or am I screwing up here ?? holy cow all this for this little panel ?




I don't feel comfortable leaving it, there's just to much rust under it, sure to bubble the paint in time

 

"? holy cow all this for this little panel ?" Yup, if that kind of rebuild is really important to you.

You already decideded you don't want to spend big bucks, so a museum restoration is not really on the table - new parts or used. I understand you are probably doing a full frame-off and want to be proud of it. But is the rest of the vehicle perfect enough to "never" rust? Are you happy spending months and years to get it 'right?' Or would you rather be wheeling?

Me, I'd flow some braze on it and brush paint it with some Rustoleum. If it rusts, paint it again. No worries about branches or rocks scratching the paint. Big fun for small bucks.

Your other option is a lot of welding, grinding, pounding, sanding,and sweat. And sooner or later it will rust anyway.

 

The "holy cow" part was not about the work part of it, it is about the amount of spot welds for this little panel. I spent "big bucks" and time on the chassis to get it like new I don't want the paint to start bubbling a yr after painting. I was just wondering if anyone else took this panel off and if they had this many spot welds on it. I try to use OEM parts before spending money on aftermarket parts that don't fit right. I learned my lesson on my pickup restoration on aftermarket body parts. If I cant save these fenders I will wait until I have the money to do it right.

 

Have you checked out Eastwood Tools for cool spot weld tools and all kinds of body work?

 

Yes sir I have. They have quite a bit of my money from my truck restoration I have their spot weld cutter that I am using. Just trying to make sure all these marks are spot welds before drilling. Seems excessive for this panel. Once I get everything apart I will blast the pc's then start the repair. Good practice for the tub and I enjoy this stuff, I guess it's this cabinet maker in me, I'm a bit anal when it comes to doing it right

 

I guess it's this cabinet maker in me, I'm a bit anal when it comes to doing it right[/QUOTE]

Not one thing wrong with that.

 

seems like a lot of work , I replaced mine with a brand called rugged ridge fenders , two problems . fit to grill . shock cut outs for later model . nothing a hammer and cut off wheel didn't fix . my fenders had rusted at the doubler panel too , didn't want to mess with it

 

My fenders are like yours. Rusted at the seams. After 2 grinding pads for the driver fender I discovered big breaks in the front and side of the fender. I just grabbed the welder and zipped the fender back together. My spot welds were rusted away on the top of the fender so that had to be fixed too. Sure It'll fall apart agin but I'm not the one to care that much.

 

I went out and checked the front clip my brother is storing here. Absolutely no signs of spot welds on the outside. A PO must have done some Bondo work on them.
My neighbor has an '83 CJ7, every spot weld on the body is quite easy to spot.
A MIG (gas shielded) welder with the smallest wire you can fit in it is good, backing blocks of Aluminum or Copper really help a lot but they get hot really quick so even with gloves on, you cant hold on to them very long, use some clamps. They make a brazing wire for a MIG but I never found it to work too well.
TIG welding, I've never done it but It probably would be the process that would introduce the least amount of heat to warp the fender if you do it right. It would of course give you the excuse to buy a new tool and learn a new skill.
As much as I enjoy gas welding, unless you know how to shrink or stretch metal with a torch and quenching procedures, everything is going to be warped after you get done.
I don't want to think about how many bottles of gas or spools of wire I have gone through, after 3 years, everything still looks pretty good so the effort is worth it.


I wonder if my brother would notice if the nice Sparton horn on the fender isn't there anymore?

 

Happiness is finding that last spot weld 39 in all for this little pc but lots of rust behind it, and this is the best of the 2

 

That panel you just cut out can be bought at Walcks for about 17 bucks, though you could probably easily reproduce it on your own.

The rust you have there isn't bad by some accounts.

I found the fenders to have the thinnest sheet metal on the jeep. What is it, something like 22gauge? Easy to burn though unless you take all precautions such as (with a MIG) gas shielded, .024 wire, backed by copper or aluminum, etc. You may have to back up the holes with another piece of sheet metal and them fill in with welds, brazing or bondo.

 

An interesting observation, the M38A1 fender is interchangeable, but doesn't have that outer panel that was held on by the 39 spot welds. Was this outer panel used the reinforce the fender, or was it just a trim panel (covering the diagonal seam) for the civilian model?
-Donny