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Modifying a Fender to add a Sidemount Spare Tire

(08 September 2005)

By Ray Stanley
Wheelwright Restorations
92 Pine Street
Wheelwright, MA 01904
1-413-477-6467

This is really not a hard job. Take your time and check your work and you will have no problems. Be sure to clean inside of fender to clean metal. Make sure your weld joints are clean. The hardest part is making the first cut into a perfectly good fender!

STEP 1: Using heavy paper, create an oval shaped template using the dimensions indicated on this image.

STEP 2: Place template on fender. Use two- sided tape or magnets to hold it in place. If you cut the template 1" deep around the edges, it will help to take out some of the pucker, but be sure it is taken up evenly all around. (See figure 1 for dimensions.)

STEP 3: Spray paint around template. After painting, go around and blend out any irregularities so you have a nice oval shape. What you see in the fender is what you will see when finished. (Figure 2 on the left - larger image here.)

STEP 4: Cut out. I recommend a body saw (See figure 3.)

STEP 5: Flip cut-out around and tack in place. Weld in place using short beads. (See figure 4.)

STEP 6: Grind welds, then use a flashlight on the inside to look for spots you may have missed. Paint and install. (See figure 5.)

Take a good look at these before and after pix:

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See what money can do for a scrappy old relic ~ John Kingsbury, 1954 Chevy 3100