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Opinions on adding fenders to sedan delivery

2K views 32 replies 10 participants last post by  cboy 
#1 ·
After living with the finished shape of the sedan delivery body for a couple weeks now I've become convinced the rear curve of the body is too dramatic and overpowering and I need to soften the impact by adding other curves/sight lines to the car. I've been playing around with some photoshopped fenders and am about to embark on fabricating what is pictured below. Fortunately, I won't need to destroy any of the existing body lines or features by adding these fenders...so they WILL be removable should they turn out to totally mess up the impact of the car.

The fronts are simply cycle type fenders, the running board will be partially open (more like the step bar you see on newer pickups than a solid running board) and the rears will be full fenders with a panel transitioning into the rear quarter panel of the car. The first picture is how the car looks now and the photoshopped/colorized picture is my target design.

I'm interested in hearing additional opinion on whether this adds to or detracts from the original lines of the car. I personally feel this would be an improvement...but I'm not yet married to the idea. So I'm open to hearing pros and cons.



 

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#3 ·
I'm sorry but I don't like it! It makes your project start to look like a custom show rod rather than a hot rod. In order for it to work for me you would need all the other mods a show rod would have such as attaching the running boards to the front fenders and a custom grille shell with built in headlights. My opinion. :thumbup: :thumbup:

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#6 ·
35WINDOW said:
...how would you feel about putting in some sort of Quarter Window
The plan all along has been to "install" a rear panel in that area...just like a normal sedan delivery which has a metal panel instead of a sedan back window in that area. In the original design and fabrication of the skeleton (in my cboy-two journal) you will even see that those window/panels were actually framed out with 1x1 tubing. However, I altered my plan slightly and decided to simply cover over the area with a solid panel of sheet metal for the time being and then create that rear panel later using a "reveal". This reveal will be fabricated on top of the existing sheet metal and will tie into a belt line that runs just below the door windows and on around the back of the car below the rear hatch. Just saying I agree with the need to deal with that dead spot...and it's in the works.

home brew said:
... It makes your project start to look like a custom show rod rather than a hot rod. In order for it to work for me you would need all the other mods a show rod would have such as attaching the running boards to the front fenders and a custom grille shell with built in headlights.
I can see your point. At the same time I can see 35Window's point that it DOES tend to give the car a more finished look and flow. My intention was to leave the running boards "open" (more or less just bars) so it would look more like side nerf bars on a circle track nostalgia car. My hope was that this might dampen down that "George Barris angel hair" show car feel that I think you are alluding to. Maybe the two (or three or four) different styles I'm starting to get going here simply won't work together but I'm tempted to go ahead and build the fenders/running boards to get a sense of whether it would come together correctly or not in real life.

Rob Keller said:
On the rear I think to follow the curve of the body to flow line...
Interestingly my original drawings were fairly similar to what you've provided Rob, and I do like that flow. But I moved away from that in part due to the "George Barris" effect that home brew alluded to. But an even larger drawback for me is that the way I visualized that design when I was playing around with it earlier, I think it would be a MUCH more difficult fender to shape properly with my limited skills. So while I think you've defined a nice flowing and attractive design, I am hesitant to tackle quite that much metal work at this juncture. Oh, and the the answer is yes, as they are currently designed the front "cycle" fenders move with the wheel and are not affixed to the running board.

Thanks for all the input so far. These comments and suggestions are a great way for me to think through the pros and cons or this possible change in plans. I'm hoping I might have some real pieces mocked up in the next couple days that will provide something better to go on than the P-shop sketches.
 
#7 ·
Excuse the crappy p-shop job, I did this very quickly to try to give a better idea of what I'm thinking in terms of the running board/nerf bar setup on the sides of the car. These will flow into the rear fender, but the front fenders will be cycle type and separated from the running board as shown.

 

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#9 ·
I like it! And you know what, yes it does have the "custom show rod" look, from the very begining it did! The extreme, exaggerated look, it IS a "custom show rod" and I think refreshing without being to wild.

Brian
 
#11 ·
Arrowhead said:
how about a pickup box?
Great minds must think alike. My good buddy Jerry (454 Rattler) suggested the pickup bed idea a couple weeks ago when he was over to see the car in person. It would sort of turn the "delivery" into a "king cab" but then who knows exactly WHAT to call this thing. Also, many of the old sedans used to have a "trunk", basically a huge suitcase, that they strapped on the tail end of the car. So a simple pickup bed would not be entirely out of place.


On the down side, I have done a bit of monkeying around mocking up something of a bed on the back. The problem is that so far I haven't been able to come up with a combination that both looks like it belongs there and also does a good job of masking the lower portion of the curve - at least from the side view. The idea is still on my short list, however, so it might still become a reality.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Cboy,

I'll bet you have toyed possibly with this idea, but if you are going to put a bed on it, what about using the idea of that handbuilt Silver Willy's pickup that has been making the rounds in the Magazines lately (the one where the front curve of the bed matches the back contour of the Cab)?

Just a thought-

here it is:

http://images.streetrodderweb.com/features/0610sr_03_z+1941_willys+pickup.jpg
 
#16 ·
Here's a bit of update on the fender progress. I've been waiting for my rims and tires to arrive before I mocked up anything more definitive or started any fabrication. I needed to be able to center the wheels inside the fender opening and that, in turn determines the length and positioning of the running board/nerf bar. Also, once I got the wheels and tires installed, I also determined I ought to weld up my "U-fab" headers and put them on so that the nerf bar and headers would not be in each other's way.

Anyhow, I finally got to the point today of getting those things out of the way and mocking up a very rough draft of the rear fender and nerf bar. There are some more shots in the cboy-two journal but these will give you an idea of where this is heading. Tomorrow I hope to do some sheet metal work to extend the fenders inward to wrap them up against the body...either bolted directly to the body or just slightly off the body. Either way, I hope to eliminate much of that gap you see between the current fender placement and the body itself. So more yet to come before I make a final decision.





 
#18 ·
More experimentation. I mocked up a couple slightly different pickup bed locations. Also trying out rear fender as a "cycle" style mount which will move with the wheel. Just couldn't seem to get the fender to tie in nicely with the body if I mounted it solid. Also, this fender will be less bobbed off at the back.

I like this mock up enough that I'm going to start fabrication an actual bed tomorrow. Worst case I end up discarding it. But there's really no way to know for sure if it's going to add to the car's looks (and de-emphasize the rear curve of the body) unless I just go ahead and do it. (I did a little photo shop touching up on these shots so the bed would be more clear.)



 
#19 ·
Have you thought about attching the bed to the axle and the fenders to the bed? Would just have to leave enough clearancw that it didnt hit the body during travel. Then if you wanted a fenderless sedan delivery just unbolt it. Two hotrods in one.IMHO the rear curve of the body looks fine as is.
Shane
 
#20 ·
Chevrolet4x4s said:
Have you thought about attching the bed to the axle and the fenders to the bed?
I intend to attach the gas tank and battery to the pickup bed as well as stow a bit of cargo back there...so the bouncing bed idea probably would not work too well.

The alternative to that idea is to solidly attach the bed to the frame and then extend the fenders inward (or the bed outward) so that the fender can be solidly attached to the bed. This option I HAVE explored at great lengths and simply can't get it to look right...at least not in any configuration that is within my metal bending skills.
 
#22 ·
35WINDOW said:
Are you going to make the rear of the Bed kinda match the curve of the back of the Cab (I thought that was how you had drawn it initially)?
I think a couple of others offered up the "matching tailgate curve" alternative. I've played with a number of sketches and in the end felt the curved tailgate design was a bit too modernistic for the overall look I was after (plus quite a bit more complicated to build). The bed I'm going to start building today will follow the rear curve of the car at the front of the bed but the tailgate area will be fairly traditional. Actually, it's going to be a faux tailgate...not operable...to give the bed more strength. I'll put a semi-hard tonneau cover on the bed and that will be my access rather than a tailgate.
 
#24 ·
cboy said:
I think a couple of others offered up the "matching tailgate curve" alternative. I've played with a number of sketches and in the end felt the curved tailgate design was a bit too modernistic for the overall look I was after (plus quite a bit more complicated to build). The bed I'm going to start building today will follow the rear curve of the car at the front of the bed but the tailgate area will be fairly traditional. Actually, it's going to be a faux tailgate...not operable...to give the bed more strength. I'll put a semi-hard tonneau cover on the bed and that will be my access rather than a tailgate.

Either way it's going to look cool-can't wait to see it :thumbup:
 
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