I'm ready to attempt installation of my inner fenders today, 1953 half ton. The attachment at the rear is self explanatory on the driver's side, where they bolt to the captive threads in the bracket. But, there's no such bracket on the passenger side. So, I'm just assuming that I need to drill holes in the cab floor / kick panel and bolt the rear of the inner fender to the floor. Is this correct? If not, any info or advice would be appreciated. Will I likely need to make some spacers for this attachment?
Mike Burns 1940 Chev 1/2 ton 1953 Chev 1/2 ton 1953 Ford Victoria 1950 Studebaker Starlight Coupe
Moderator for Tons o' Fun , Co-Moderator Driveline Forum
Mike, there should be captive nuts in passenger side inner fender. Three bolts (5/16-18 x 3/4' ) fasten from the inside through the floor pan to the inner fender. If its not clear or you need more info.....PM me and we can discuss.
Ron - - Dusty53 "you can't dance with the Devil and then wonder why you're still in Hell" " They will forget what you've said, and they will forget what you have done but they will never forget the way you made them feel"
Thanks, It's plenty clear, and I appreciate it. It would have been simple to figure out if my inner actually had the captive nuts. All of the nuts are gone on mine. All I have are holes in the flange. Once I have it in place I'll tack weld some nuts in place and it will be fine. Thanks for your help.
Mike Burns 1940 Chev 1/2 ton 1953 Chev 1/2 ton 1953 Ford Victoria 1950 Studebaker Starlight Coupe
Housekeeping (Moderator) Making a Stovebolt Bed & Paint and Body Shop Forums
Originally Posted by MNSmith
If you don't feel like breaking out the welder, Nutserts will also work.
When the weld nuts come off, they usually leave a big square hole. Nutserts probably wouldn't fit in there. I had some loose and missing nuts on my inner fender and welded in replacements before painting them. I got flat style weld nuts instead of the crimp-in originals.
Kevin Newest Project - 51 Chevy 3100 work truck. Photos [flickr.com] #2 - '29 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. First car '29 Ford Special Coupe Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
I just came in from my shop. I went out to take another look at the inner fender in question. On closer examination, it's obvious that my mounting flange (where the captive nuts should be) is not original. It's replacement metal, probably because the original rusted away. All of the sheet metal was pretty bad when I started on this truck, but the inner fenders were the worst of all. The previous owner, or someone, has welded patches in numerous places, but mostly at the points of attachment. They drilled new mounting holes in the patched areas, but sadly, most of the new holes are not exactly correct. So I've had to spend more time straightening these out than I had hoped. Maybe I should have bought new ones, but I've been so disappointed with fitment of replacement sheet metal pieces that I just decided to make these work. The holes in new ones probably wouldn't have been right either. In any case, this is my last issue with the inner fenders, so now that I know what I've got to do, I'll get to work on it and get r done. Thanks to all of you who replied.
Mike Burns 1940 Chev 1/2 ton 1953 Chev 1/2 ton 1953 Ford Victoria 1950 Studebaker Starlight Coupe
You just need a helper with a wrench to stop the bolt from turning while you tighten the nut. If you don't have a helper, put a box end wrench on the bolt head, other end against the cab wall. Use a welding magnet to hold the wrench in place if required.
Housekeeping (Moderator) Making a Stovebolt Bed & Paint and Body Shop Forums
Originally Posted by Mike Burns
On closer examination, it's obvious that my mounting flange (where the captive nuts should be) is not original. It's replacement metal, probably because the original rusted away. All of the sheet metal was pretty bad when I started on this truck, but the inner fenders were the worst of all.
So those square holes were basically random shaped and BIG!! Pretty typical. Since you have new metal there, you're free to fasten that inner fender to the floor any way you'd like.
Kevin Newest Project - 51 Chevy 3100 work truck. Photos [flickr.com] #2 - '29 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. First car '29 Ford Special Coupe Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
You don't need to weld on nuts or use nutserts for your passenger side inner fender. They were originally designed with captive nuts for speedy assembly line installation. Simple nuts and bolts will work. An extra set of hands would be nice.
Yes, understood. It's just a matter of getting it positioned correctly. Not only are there no holes in the flange of the inner fender. There are also no holes in the floor. Since it appears to me that the positioning of the inner fenders pretty much determines the position of the main outer fenders, I'm mostly just concerned about mounting them in the right position. If all of the holes and captive nuts were in place, it would be difficult to install it wrong. Unfortunately, that's not the case. I guess a little trial and error will get it done. Any pics that you guys think might be helpful would be appreciated. Love this site. Mike
Mike Burns 1940 Chev 1/2 ton 1953 Chev 1/2 ton 1953 Ford Victoria 1950 Studebaker Starlight Coupe
I am assembling the front on my 3600 too. Without holes in your floor, and no nuts in your fenders, I think setting the gap on the bottom of your inner fenders to your frame would get you close. The gap on my inner fenders to the frame is about 3/8” inch. That assuming your inner fenders are not bent up.
Since that is the case, line up your hood, line up your fender, then line up your inner fender and make your preferred attachment. It might take assembly and disassembly a few or more times, but you'll be better off in the end.
There is a lot of room for play in the inner fender which has no real bearing in positioning the front clip. I do not even put any bolts in those hole until the front clip is 100% lined up. I recommend that you make sure the front clip is 100% lined up, then push the frange of the inner fender against the toeboard and drill through the flange and the toeboard at the same time and put one nut and bolt on and tighten it up, and then drill the other two holes and bolt them up.
