[Studenate]

I am in the process of rodding a 1951 Studebaker pickup. I want to weld the rear fenders to the bed and then fix it so that the seams do not appear. How do I go about this? How do I weld the fenders to the bed (seems like there is too little room for maneuvering)? What is the process for filling that seam? Bondo?

[trees]

This sounds like some brain storming time. Do you have a plan for the existing bolt holes? Are you wanting the fenders welded on to give you a seamless look? What do you have in the way of braces to help stabalize the fenders? I probably would install bolts in the existing holes and snug them down, then install the braces to get the fenders where I wanted them. Now, depending on the depth/width of the seam, I probably would get a 1/8 to 1/4 inch length of rod (wire) and bend to fill in as much of the seam as possible and mig weld it in by spotting the rod to the bed and the fender. I would slowly work in the spots until I have a continous bead. Then I would lay in the bondo and sculp to the desired look. I would hope all along that I have enough stability in the seam that the bondo will not crack out. Some one with more experienc than I may know of a better filler that is less crack prone.

Trees

[willys36@aol.com]

As long as the welds are solid and the filler is used as just as a fillet, it will last just for ever. ANY flex in the joint and all bets are off.

[oldred]

I will leave the paint and filler to the paint pros,welding is my line of work.To get a strong weld with the least amount of metal warp the method described by trees would be hard to beat.Just make sure all the seams are very clean free from rust and old paint.A weldable coating such as 3M would also be a good idea.