The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Fender Welting, Location and it’s Color Component?

I just can’t sleep until I get this figured out in me head. I’ve been trying to put my 1950, 3604 together in my mind like it would have been done at the factory and some pieces don’t seem to fit. First off from the pictures I’ve seen pictures of the paint lines at the factory, which shows that the bare cab interior and exterior were painted on one line.
The doors and front clip, i.e., fenders, hood and grill would have been painted, each part separately on another line. The fenders, inner skirts, grill, core support, and upper and lower pans would have been assembled and then installed on the cab. When the clip was married to the cab the sponge and paper anti-squeak were installed at the cab/skirt joint and the welting would have been inserted in between the fender and the cab.

In today’s world of custom everything you can buy welting that is just about any color that you want or have it matched to your paint tint. I feel very confident that at the Chevrolet Truck assembly plant they did not take the time to color match the welting to each individual truck color, and I can only assume that when the truck was delivered that the fender welting would have been but one color, black!

So, now that we have the front end assembled, lets move to the back. I’ve found through my archeological digging that the bed frame and rear fenders would have been assembled as a unit and painted as an assembly. It is universally agreed that the fenders were simply bolted up solid and that they were never assembled with welting. I’m trying to do an accurate restoration but to assemble the rear fenders with out welting just grates against my nerves and I’ve been contemplating using it when I assemble the bed. I’m sure from a purist point of view that it should not be used at the rear and that if one were shooting for a show truck that the judges would deduct points if the rear fenders were installed using welting.

I’ve been kicking the idea around about assembling the bedsides and fenders with welting and painting them all as an assembly. That way the welting would be less noticeable to the average person. I’d like to here any thoughts on this.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

If it's the metal-to-metal idea that bothers you why not just make a gasket that wouldn't be visible? I can't see you being happy with painted welting and then there's also the issue of the paint adhering to the welting.

If I were in your position I'd just use the welting and let the purists spin around on their eyebrows.

Denny,
What about using a 15 lb roofing paper or glass setting tape? You could back cut inside and outside so it wouldn't be visible. Use a glue to hold in place. Shouldn't be visible and will act as a buffer between the metal and maintain orginality. Good luck and have fun
Dan

Denny,

I have used 15# roofing felt between rear fender and bed and that is what I intend to do with the 1954 1/2 pickup I am restoring (even though it seems it was metal to metal originally).


Woody,

"If I were in your position I'd just use the welting and let the purists spin around on their eyebrows." Denny is the purist that would be spinning around on his eyebrows.

Tim

My painter told me he would'nt be able to spray either the top of the fender or the bedside properly unless they were separated. What about a strip of rubber gasket for hidden welting?

I typed this about 08:00 this morning but must not have posted it.
Now that's a capital idea guys, why dint I thing of that. I bought a whole roll of 30# that I used for the transmission cover and running board to fenders anti-squeak. That would satisfy my metal/metal dithers and no one would be the wiser. Ya'll made my day.

Now, no one addressed the black welting at the front fenders subject matter, common ya gotta have some opinions or observations bout that! Ya think my assumption is correct??

By the way, thanks guys.
Denny G

Sorry Denny, but as the Supreme Sovereign of the Purist Alliance Network I'll have to report your inexcusable behavior to our fellow purists who will in turn submit you to one thousand lashes with a wet noodle.

What opinions and observations are you expecting? It looks like you have your front fenders installed with black fender welting (the same as when they left the factory)?

Based on many observations, my opinion is that your assumption is correct.

Denny, see what you got started now!!!!

OK. I did not take off the front fenders so I do not know...But I did remove the ORIGINAL rear fenders and the "gasket" material on them "looks" just like roofing felt to me. Thats what I will use putting the fenders back on OR strips of the old firehose I have laying here.
MY question is when you mention the fender welt did it have a BEAD on it as most fender welting we buy today or did the original welt not have the "rope" outer edge. If it had it on the original then the welt on my panel was stripped off as all I see appeared to be Flat.

Man, I love this place!

That's just what I wanted to hear Tim. I thought for sure someone would jump in and insist that their AD was original and had a painted front fender welt.

Now Alvin your saying that your rear fenders did have a gasket or anti-squeak material between them and the sides. That's a new one on me I thought that they were assembled metal to metal at the factory. And I always associated fender welting with a 3/16" or 1/4" beaded fabric material.

Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Denny, I should have stated that my rear fenders are off the 52panel. They bolt from the "top" of the fender under the side of the body. BUT yes, it did have "anti-squeak" between the fender and the body. I am 99.99%....well, make that 100% sure this one is original. Since the top of my fender is "flat" the welt looks like a flat piece of the roofing stuff layed down on it.
I can still take a picture of the one fender as I have not "molested" it yet. It will be a day or two though before I can take and get it loaded up to the photobucket if anyone wants to see it. I'll also take one anyway for my photo album and for "historical data".
There is a couple other "odd" things I found on my panel and have ask weeds if his surburban was the same way. In particular is the nails driven through the wood blocks into metal to hold the blocks in place under the body till it was set on the chassis. I will be taking pics of those to.
"Ain't this stuff just interesting"....yeah it is!!!

I am fairly certain that the Advance-Design panel-body rear-fenders had standard fender welting (just like the black welting used on the front fenders).

Ok, now I heard one yesterday, a friend insists that when he was a boy back in the 50's that he distincly remembers picking at the beaded fender welting in the rear fender of an AD chevy that they had at the golf course where he worked. He was very confidant the the truck came from the factory that way. He also was sure that the rear fender welting was an option on the AD and that he had seen it in one of the chevy documents.
Now has anyone else ever heard that???

Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Denny, I agree with your friend. I bought a 1951 3/4 ton for a parts truck and it had the fender welting on the rear fenders. (in nasty shape but it was still there, this was a old farm truck with the orginial beat-up fenders) My 53 that I restored had the rear fenders removed when I got it but, I am sure it also had the fender welting. As TC mentioned, the panels had the welting, it doesn't seem they would put the welting on the panels and not the pickups. Looking at some orginial AD pics, there seems to be a black bead between the rear fenders and the bed. MY 51 and 53 had the orginial welting on the front fenders.

Yeah, the front fenders we're all 110% in agreement and there is no question there. It's the rears and whether there actually was an option or whether someone had just added it at sometime, maybe during a repair or repaint. Who knows what these went through over the past 60 years, I look at scars on my self and can't remember where half of them came from.
tks,
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

I would doubt it would be an option. If they came with welting, they all came with welting.

I 2nd bigchevy, it was either on all or on none, not the kind of thing that would have any rationale for being optional

FARMER: "I'll buy that new pickup if it has welting under the back fenders, I'll pay the extra, the last truck I had drove me crazy with the fenders squeeking alla time" yeah, right

Bill

Yeah, but Big, almost everyone agrees that the AD's didn't come from the factory stock with rear fender welting, unless it was a Burb!!! This was the first time I'd ever heard that it was an option.
Denny G.

Hard to believe the fenders would be put on without some kind of anti-squeak material and equally hard to believe they would go through all the extra work and tooling to use what would have had to be die-cut gaskets instead of simply using the same welting they used on the front fenders.

But what do I know?

Woody,

I will be making a "gasket" for my pickup's rear fenders; however, I think that there was nothing there (welting or gasket) from the factory (even though this is hard to believe).

Tim

Or your truck was built on Friday after lunch.

I see this this is a old form so Im not sure to post this here. So let try it here first to see if I can start this back up. looking at the 47 to 54 Factory Assembly Manual At Sect. 11 Sheet 20 shows Welding on the rear fenders. Would this not be for All trucks?

Seeing as welting is used to dampen squeaks in fenders and as all trucks have or should have fenders I would say yes.

No! 31-5, 3106, 3107, 3116, 3805, 3807, all panel models and it is commonly agreed that these had welting. None on the pickups.
Hope that isn't to much of a "rant" for some minds.
DG

Denny,

I did not mind your rant.

Tim

I stand corrected; my mind was on the secondary function of the welting, anti-squeak. However if one would like to "Deluxe" it up they could use the welting. Might make a nice show.
Rant on Denny...

OK, Thanks for clearing that up for me.

My experience seems to agree.....my panel had welting, an original pickup (I've seen at least 3) had no welting.