Headlight Bar fit

[fred93]

I have checked the past posts about this subject but I still have some unanswered questions.

I am restoring a 29 Tudor and right now I am trying to test fit the running boards-front fenders-front fender brackets and the headlight bar.

When I first starting working on this car I noticed that the headlight bar looked like it was pushed into the left front fender about ¼”. I didn’t see any damage on either front fender other than that which I mentioned above. I assume that both front fenders are repros because they are in such good shape. The whole vehicle was in amazing condition--no rust out on the body and very little surface rust. Anyway, I straightened the dent on the left front fender where the headlight bar attaches to the fender--I had the fenders blasted (in fact I had all the body parts blasted). I presently have the repro running boards--the splash aprons and the fenders attached to the chassis.

I made the mistake of putting an arch in the original headlight bar because someone told me that “all Model A Fords were arched” (wrong!)--so I had to purchase another used original headlight bar. I am now playing with the brackets to try and get them to fit better.

So here are my questions:

1-What kind of a fit should I have where the headlight bar attaches to the fender? See the pictures attached.

2-If the fit should be better that it is (which I feel that it should be better) I assume that I will need to heat and bend the headlight bar at the point where it attaches to the fender.

3-If I end up with a space under the fender where the bracket attaches to the headlight bar can I put some washers there are or do I just crank down on the headlight bar bolts and hope for the best?

4-Should I install a washer between the headlight bar and the front fender to give a little space for the rubber gasket?