New Steel Fenders

[darrylkmc]

When Gaslight first started producing fenders, don't recall just what year but in the mid '80's I purchased one of the first left fronts off the press. They produced lefts for 6 months then began producing the right side fenders, so I got one of the first run right fenders also.
They fit quite nicely against the Rootlieb '31 splash shields and pick-up running boards. I still have both although the right one need reworking as it got bent a few years back.
I have not seen another set to my knowledge since then and am disappointed to see that other parts have to be reworked to make them fit the newest fenders being produced.

Darryl in Fairbanks

[BashawT]

I wish there was a company making decent steel fenders that fit nicely with limited work. You think for the price you'd get that.

[Barry B./ Ma.]

I've used new steel fenders on a few Model A's and had no problem mounting the 29's and 3- 4 hours each adjusting the 30/31s. I think they sure beat fiberglass or battling rust, rips and dents of old steel fenders.

[desotoguy]

If you decide om fiberglass, take a look a Polyform, have a set of fronts on a '31 from the mid 70's. Good fit. I remember reading that the molds for any fiberglass product will warp out of shape after a number of pieces are made and must be replaced.

[Smurkey]

I just installed a cheapie set of glass on my '29 TS. They look OK I guess, but if THEY don't fit, there's very little you can do to tweak short of laying more glass mat...and now you're into major work.

Also, there is two types of glass: hand laid mat and chopped/sprayed. The chopped/sprayed is done like a household tub surround where resin and chopped glass are sprayed into a mold. This is the type I have and it has no flange around the compound curve of the fender where it meets the splash apron so it's impossible to get a good meet in that area. I put in the welting and it just sort of "floats" in that area. The hand laid mat is sheets of glass mat placed into the mold and resin-ed alternately...like they make skis, or surfboards. Much stronger. I don't know about the flanges or fit if they're any better, however.

My opinion: if I wouldn't have found these for $250 for the pair on ebay and had paid full fiberglass price, I would have been ticked off.

[Roger V]

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I bought a pair of Gaslight fronts in the early eighties. They were far from perfect but did fit the Gaslight runningboard aprons better than original aprons. I understand the dies wore to make them worse. The one thing I now remember is "droop" at the front. While using a pair was less noticable, if you used a Gaslight on one side and an original on the other, it was very obvious.

Relative to fiberglass I was told that just because someone got a good one from a particular manufacturer, it didn't mean you would. Supposedly, if the fender remained in the mold until it had cured/set-up, it would be ok. If a manufacturer had a large order they tended to pull them out of the mold early in order to speed up production. As they cured/set-up outside of the mold they would stress relieve and would warp and each not necessarily the same. Fronts could be worse than rears due to size. Maybe that's why a pair of sedan rears looked ok until I got them home and tried mounting them on the body..............

Why a lot of complicated or deep draw steel repro parts are not the same is using fewer dies in progression or lessor quality of die build. It all comes down to cost and price is relative to volume. "They" know that the typical Model A owner will not pay for the original quality so at least you get something though not ideal. There are other makes of collector cars that owners/restorers would kill to buy what we can. And the beat goes on...............

[Napa Skip]

As regards post #12 (“Anyone bought fiberglass fenders recently…and the vendor you would recommend?”) I purchased a complete set of glass fenders for my driver 1930 Coupe in June 1978 [ok, “recently” is a relative term] for $305.93 and have had few problems since. The receipt does not indicate either the manufacturer or the source and the name of the manufacturer might not have helped in any event; I purchased a very nice complete Mohair upholstery kit – including Naugahyde rumble seat covers and kick panels – from Carter Cut & Cover Shop in Beardstown IL - in January 1979 for $533.80, but do not believe they are still in business.

Back on thread… The only problems (other than the occasional purist eye-roll) I have had with the glass fenders in the intervening 34 years - including 2-1/2 years as a daily driver while at Bremerton Naval Shipyard in Washington - are (a) static charge while painting with acrylic enamel after priming, wet-and-dry sanding and rubbing down with a tack rag (this was my first attempt at spray painting); and (b) a persistent 1” crack at the crown of the outer edge resulting from someone backing into me in a parking lot, that my rudimentary fiberglass repair skills have not been able to completely repair.

I do have a set of decent steel fenders picked up last year at our club raffle ($55 for a pair of rears – including running boards) and at the Petaluma CA swap meet ($115 for a pair of fronts) that I’m slowly preparing and will eventually install. But the bottom line is that for a driver I’ve been satisfied with the glass fenders.

Skip Keyser
Napa Valley A's
Napa CA

[JBill]

I purchased repro steel '29 front fenders several years ago from a place called "Funk's Garage" in Ohio. I had been told by the people at Brookville that they were the only ones manufacturing them. I had a long wait. About six months. I'm no professional body man, but I thought they fit very well, with no tweaking at all.

[Vic in E-TN]

I sort of remember Funk's. They were making good fenders but he was involved in some sort of auto accident several years ago and the business went downhill. I do not think they are still there. Not sure.
Vic

[aussie]

I have fitted front and rear brookville fenders to my coupe but i also fitted there valances which made it a lot easier to fit the front fenders it is worth the effort they will last a lot longer then fiberglass

[fred93]

I don't understand how the Russian's could reverse engineer an entire B-29 airplane but no one can reproduce a Model A fender!!!

[Mikeinnj]

Originally Posted by fred93

I don't understand how the Russian's could reverse engineer an entire B-29 airplane but no one can reproduce a Model A fender!!!

Ha Ha ! Fred I agree with you on that. Great point. Guess someone will jump in here and remind us that this company is the only source of steel fenders for the hobby, no one wants to lay out money for retooling, blah blah blah.

Imagine buying a different expensive priced product from a manufacturer and the seller tells you that the dies are worn out so some of the parts may or may not fit....?

[bogiediver]

It's not that they can't - they just don't take the time to make sure and then make it right.

JMHO - they don't realize the worth of a well made, proper fitting piece to those restoring our 'A's - I'm sure most would pay the price...

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Jeez guys, ....really? I feel you guys are not understanding the situation. People (manufacturers) do NOT owe us as hobbyists anything!! If we do not like the products they sell, the solution is pretty basic! All you need to do is manufacture something better that meets YOUR standards! If someone mentions the venture capitol necessary to proceed with your "venture", then concider it might just be a financial situation with the person that is making the item you are dissatisfied with. I think when you do a cost analysis on tooling-up to make a pair of front fenders, you will find the costs far exceed the ROI. If you think that you can make it work out for you on making any repro product, I wish you much success in your endeavors but please don't bash current manufacturers as some of us can take what they produce and better it to suit our needs. Life would definitely much more difficult for some of us without those Gaslight's fenders.

.

[bogiediver]

Not talking about staring a new venture...

The point is - they paid all that money to tool up and make them - why not do it right?

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by bogiediver

Not talking about staring a new venture...

The point is - they paid all that money to tool up and make them - why not do it right?

Again, I don't think you understand. First off, you do not understand just how many different fenders there were originally. Therefore, who defines the word "right"??

I was recently up at the archives and my research showed there were 7 different fender blueprints of fenders that were manufactured during the 1928-29 production period. I think there were 5 for the 1930-31 period NOT counting the service replacement fender. Therefore, exactly which fender are you proposing they should reproduce?? Even if they manufactured 1 fender "right", there would be 6 fenders that were still 'wrong'.

Next, when dies are manufactured, there is a life expectancy on that die prior to it needing to be rebuilt or replaced. Also, the dies that were manufactured for each fender were manufactured as closely to the information they had available for the SERVICE REPLACEMENT fender. Again, that fender was NEVER designed to be an exact copy of a fender used during production.

If I recall correctly, those dies were initially built in the mid-late 70s, and rebuilt during the late 80s or eary 90s?? Gaslight's owner Bob McConnell has been a total gentleman in this situation. They realize the dies are worn and need to be rebuilt however it is a financial decision for him not spending the money to do so. It is a tremendous amount of money and the ROI is not there for him. He has been very forthcoming in stating the condition of these fenders, ...and many of us realize that he is being honest in his description and we accept them as such.

The issue as I see it is are we better off if Bob ceases production altogether, --or are we better off letting him continue production with at least something? Some of us still welcome the later!!

[Marco Tahtaras]

Originally Posted by bogiediver

Not talking about staring a new venture...

The point is - they paid all that money to tool up and make them - why not do it right?

Maybe because going that "last mile" would require different tooling and methods adding greatly to the cost. We are still talking ROI. It's tough for folks to understand that the difference between "close" and actually duplicating such an item can reach well into the millions of dollars and in some cases maybe tens of millions.

It's important to realize how many reproduction parts come about. Often they start with a hobbyist that is in the business of manufacturing something totally unrelated to cars. They then begin thinking of things related to the hobby they can manufacture with the equipment they have. They certainly won't have equipment the size and scope that Ford had but they figure out how to get "close" with the very expensive (but relatively meager to what Ford had) equipment. This can still be costly but they have to work out solutions to limitations of that equipment the best they can.

Lastly, imagine somebody was able and willing to invest five million dollars to manufacture front fenders for our cars. If he could sell 10,000 fenders a year at $500 each it would probably break even in about 3-4 years. Of course you can never sell that many. If he can sell a lofty 1,000 a year will he live long enough to show a profit? How many of the currently made fenders do you think are actually sold? Of course the number of sales do increase as one increases the variety of available products. Unfortunately each new type of fender requires an additional investment in tooling for both right and left sides so there goes more investment ($$$) that must be recovered.

[todd3131]

I bought a passenger side fender from them in 96 and I had the same problem around the splash apron and had to rework it. The fenders are ok but I am still looking for a good original. The fender that I replaced with the gaslight was an nos fender that had been hit and couldn't repair so I was disappointed in the reproduction but I knew about the problem when I ordered it I was running out of time and needed to get the car done. I did have a right rear fender that is a repro and it was very nice and fit well.
Todd

[Mikeinnj]

BRENT SAID "I feel you guys are not understanding the situation. People (manufacturers) do NOT owe us as hobbyists anything!! ".....Brent , first rule of business, Deliver a quality product and always satisfy the customer ! If you cannot offer what you advertise you should not be in the manufacturing (or restoration) business.

[RockHillWill]

There may be another way to look at this.

If you consider the fact that if it was an EXACT copy, they would have to pay Ford a royalty on each item. If it is NOT EXACT, a royalty is not required. It may be that it is not perfect for a reason!

Or maybe it is close enough to require that a royalty be paid and that would explain a higher price.


At any rate, a number of us would be proud if someone here could do the design, quality control the fabrication of the dies and oversee the actual production at a cheap price.

And..........You would be rich!!!!

Just a thought!