The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop 1937-38 Chevrolet Truck Inside Fender Panel Brackets

I have seen bracket extenders that weld on the top of the existing bracket as a replacement for broken brackets. They re about half the height of the full stock bracket with a foot to bolt them to the frame rail. Anyone have a source for this item or know of a reproduction part that is made as an extender item or whole new bracket item?
Thanks for any help!

Joe,
My brackets were broken and repaired sometime during it's life. It appears they used some type of 'L' bracket welded to the fender liner bracket and then bolted to the frame.

Joe, for those of us unfamiliar, have you got a picture of the bracket you could share? It may be a simple fabrication to make a new one and eliminate any/all rust..

Robert, here are what mine look like:
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Is the original a pressed sheet metal, and if so, what is the gauge? Or is that a tube/pipe in the middle?

It's formed in that shape, thicker than the fender metal but thinner than the frame. No pipe or tube in the middle.

Anyone have one intact enough (original) to use as a pattern? I can see if I can make some on the Lennox...

this is the best one I have. its 3/16 thick. Not sure if its the left or right side. 37-38 fender support

Are left and right side different? Mirror image? Are you sure it's 3/16? That would be too thick to form on my machine, but in comparing to your tape measure in the picture, that looks more like 3/32 from here

Yes mirror images.and yes 3/32. I could send it to you if it would help. The other ones I have are ugly. The one flange with the washers welded on it all break off.

Sorry Guys I didn't return to participate to the in the post quicker.
It looks like there are some good examples. Mine do not look as good as the last one posted (just above this post), but the washers on it are not original. There are no washers, but that bracket is the correct original.
All other information furnished above is true and correct. It seems to me they might easily be reproduced and it looks like there is a market of sorts out there. I would be a buyer!

Bill, good talking to you today. For anyone interested, Bill is sending me one of these brackets so I can see if it can be duplicated with my machinery.. Just to put out feelers, how many guys would be interested in purchasing a pair of these reproduced fender brackets? I don't think I'll be able to get to these real soon but will post up any fabrication results so you can see how they turn out. If the fabrication proves successful, more would help to keep costs down..

Thanks, Robert

Robert,
Although my brackets are broken and repaired I am not going to replace them. They add to the originality of my truck and it's history.

I think there would be a market for those interested in a complete restoration.

Thanks for stepping up and providing a need.

Would you consider making lower cab cowl repair panels? Inner and outer? for 37 and 38 models.

Are they another part not available? Can you PM me some picture links?

start here on my photos

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I fixed mine with a piece of filing cabinet I scrounged. But I know others would like to have them.

Looked at as many pictures of your truck as I could Wayne67vert. Never could get to the picture you were referring to. Photobucket.com pretty tough to deal with.

Here are photos of my cowl pre-repair

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Looks like your repair turned out well, just missing the bead detail at the bottom.

The trouble I would see in making these is the next guy would need more at the top due to more rust bugs, so where do you stop? In replicating this part you practically need the entire cab of the truck to have a good pattern, insure you get the fitment perfect, and have enough made to fix all the rust. This IMO is not a good candidate for a "mail order" replacement part, since unlike the fender brace, it's difficult to send someone a sample of the entire piece.

Administrative note:

Just to keep the thread viable (it's a good one), if you're interested in Robert's kind offer to explore reproduction (if viable) to fill this need, please PM him or, alternatively, someone could start a separate thread on the monetary side somewhere in the SWAP MEET area.

Thanks for your dedication to the craft, Robert.