The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop 1946 Front Fender Brace Cushion

My truck has been disassembled for several years and now I am starting to assemble and align the front clip. I know there are vertical foam strips that go between the inner fender panel and the radiator frame but thought there may have been rubber pads between the fender braces (circled area on photo) and the inner fender panel. One thing that makes me think that there were none there is that I don't see any vendor offering them. If I thought I needed them I guess I could just order some rubber and make my own. Thanks.
Larry

I had paper gasket material on my air deflectors (not sure what they are called?) on both sides when I cleaned and painted them. I picked up a sheet of gasket material from O'Reilly's and cut four strips about 1.5 inches wide to cover the area touching touching the sides (two on each side). I made holes with a hole punch - one hole was larger and one was just a slice on the edge. Follow the pattern on the deflector panel. When I mounted my fenders, it was a little tricky. See picture.

Thanks for the reply John! This really helps. I will use your method and see how it works on my truck.

Larry

Just a couple more pictures. Good luck with your install.

Thanks for the additional photos John. After you showed me the gasket location on your truck I remembered where the one was on mine. As you can see, the staples are still in the metal where they originally attached the gasket.

Also, love your shop rigging. I may have to try that. I quickly learned yesterday that this front end assembly process is definitely not a one man job, unless you can rig something like you are using.

Larry

For me it was a one man job. With the shop stool at the rear of the fender, the front sat on the frame OK. I just needed something to keep the fender from tilting away from the engine compartment. The little strap did the trick.