Front Fenders - 1954 Pontiac
There is a lot of surface rust on the front fenders and a few small dime size holes. When I first got the car I was tired of working on the frame and tackled the worst surface rust on the driver's side fender. I wire brushed off the rust, sand blasted it, used some rust remover on it and spray painted it with primer. The results were quite pleasing. I just need to apply some finishing putty and it will be smooth as silk!
Example of worst case surface rust!
Cleaned and primered fender
I finally tackled the front fenders and went down to the metal on both. There is lots of surface rust on both and after I wirebrushed and sanded the fenders, I applied rust remover, washed the fenders with water to remove the rust remover. I then cleaned the complete fenders with acetone. Finally primered them and some finishing putty.
I had to patch the driver's side quarter panel because of a small rust hole and welded in a small piece. Bondo to smooth it out and it was done. I'm not that good a welder to not use Bondo yet! The previous owner had welded the old antenna hole and left quite a depression in the fender which took forever to finish.
Left and right fenders in primer
I've left the original side moulding holes intact until I figure out what I'm going to do for side moulding. I would like original pieces but may go with whatever comes around first that interests me. That's the beauty of building a full custom, you are not bound by any rules except what looks nice.
The front fenders are temporarily installed for fitting
The front fenders were finally fitted and the passenger side fitted perfectly after some minor mods to the inner fenderwell to clear the control arms and exhaust manifold. The driver side had clearance problems with the control arm, the master cylinder and the brake lines. The fender is positioned about 1-2 inches lower than final fitting and is rubbing on the tire. You can see how much lower by comparing the side chrome holes on the door versus the fender.