Front fender crack
 

I noticed a small crack in the front edge of the driver side Fender beginning in the front of my left front fender on my 1930 Model A. The crack is mostly in the bead at the front of the fender in the middle of the “eyebrow“. The crack has resulted in the arch of the fender “peaking” like a “carat” symbol. I want to get this repaired as quickly as possible before the crack spreads further since the fender is basically in excellent condition overall. I would also like to get this repaired without actually removing the fender from the vehicle. If anyone else has had a similar problem, I would appreciate comments and/or suggestions on how to repair this crack. I want a permanent repair, such as welding or brazing and hopefully not using a bunch of “Bondo“. Any comment sour suggestions would be welcome.

Re: Front fender crack
 

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showt...+metal+repairs

This might help.

Re: Front fender crack
 

I am sorry, but I would recommend removing the fender for a professional repair. You will have to remove the body bolts and jack up the body a few inches to get the fender off the car. Look around for a shop in your area that specializes in body work on older cars. It will have to be repainted after the repair.

Re: Front fender crack
 

Likely the fender was mounted under stress. Improper mounting with brace and light bar can cause such stress. Post 3 is spot on. When relieving stress you will likely need to heat brace and/or light bar. That would require repainting both. ….no easy fix.

BTW NO BRAZING

Re: Front fender crack
 

Do not have it brazed, have it welded!!!

A repair that was brazed makes it MUCH more difficult to do anything with should it need additional repair in the future.

Chris W.

Re: Front fender crack
 

Yep, brazing has its place but it's NOT fixing the crack in a sheet metal fender.

Re: Front fender crack
 

In order to fix the crack properly you must first fix the wire that the sheet metal is wrapped around.

Re: Front fender crack
 

I realize that the comments are getting gloomier and gloomier and I’m sorry to add more but broken beads can also be the result of a bent frame. Stress is what it’s all about.

Re: Front fender crack
 

easier to get another fender..............


welding it up doesnt work, if you dont fix the root of the problem

Re: Front fender crack
 

Many years ago I had a crack on the front passenger side fender right at the top. The car had just been painted and I was really upset.

However, my old time body man who had done the body repairs and painted the car said not to worry.

With fender still on the car. He fixed the wire running up the fenders edge and then repaired the paint. That was in 1983.

Sold the car in 2022. Crack never came back.

Enjoy.

Re: Front fender crack
 

Those kind of guys are very hard to find these days unfortunately, if you find a good one, treat him real nice.

Re: Front fender crack
 

Well, I finally got my fender repaired. I found a shop near my home in Hilton Head South Carolina that had experience repairing fenders on vintage vehicles. I saw examples of his work and it was beautiful so I decided to give him my card to repair the crack in the fender. it turned out that the crack was only around a quarter of an inch long so it was a relatively easy repair. He opened up the front lip of the fenders slightly and using a. length of the stiff wire, he inserted it into the bead to stiffen the edge of the fender after recon touring the curve. He relieved the end of the crack with a small drill hole and tack weld did it shot. He did a beautiful job refinishing the fender so that the color would match. All in all, it is near impossible to find any evidence that there was ever a crack or a repair in my fender. I am very pleased with the work that was done. Therefore, problems solved.

Re: Front fender crack
 

Thanks for the update-- glad it worked out for you!

Re: Front fender crack
 

Glad to hear this potential nightmare is now perfect!!!

Re: Front fender crack
 

Glad that there are still good repair shops around.

Re: Front fender crack
 

You discovered the secret so it won't come back. The hole stops the crack from going further. Metal has a grain and the crack follows the grain the hole interrupts the path.