33 street rod bicycle fenders

[jvolpe3491]

I am finishing up fitting and test installing the bicycle fenders for my 33. Has anyone found a finish beading or edge treatment to dress up the cut/trimmed fender edge? Also I saw on a post, photos of a dash panel for mounting the gauges, Can anyone tell me the vendor(s)?

[jayguy]

You could try to do something like these fenders:

http://www.mpdfiberbodywerx.com/Project_p1.html#Fendors

The link wasn't working for me today, but has in the past. These are also known as the McQueen fenders, or LK Motorsports fenders. Originally designed/built by LK Motorsports before they shutdown and passed them on to McQueen. Some guys have used them in recent builds, so you might be able to find more updated info from them, but I remember a few years ago they were priced about $1K for the set, including mounting hardware.

[Brave Salmon]

I am doing the same thing right now. I think I will try to use a 1/4 or maybe 5/16 fiberglass rod and bond it to the fender edges. I don't like tge raw cut edge even if it is rounded. My only concern is with getting the rod to ben to a tight radius. I am certainly open to other options that don't include buying new fenders.

[NAZ]

I think you'll have problems trying to bend fiberglass rod but you can bend PVC welding rod using a heat gun. There is also a polyethylene welding rod -- I've never used it but imagine it would also bend with a heat gun. Now I'm no fiberglass expert but I have read that you can bond PVC to fiberglass using Marine-Tex or 3M-5200 but never tried this myself. May be worth looking into.

[Brave Salmon]

I think you'll have problems trying to bend fiberglass rod but you can bend PVC welding rod using a heat gun. There is also a polyethylene welding rod -- I've never used it but imagine it would also bend with a heat gun. Now I'm no fiberglass expert but I have read that you can bond PVC to fiberglass using Marine-Tex or 3M-5200 but never tried this myself. May be worth looking into.

Hey NAZ
Got the parts you sent. Thanks again?. I sent a msg off to McMaster-Carr and asked them for the bend radius of their 1/4 and 5/16th rod. Can you believe they carry 48 different types of plastic rods? One of them suckers should work....

[NAZ]

Glad to hear you got the parts. And sounds like you got some options for those fenders. Let me know how you make out with the fenders, I have the same ones and will one day be ready to install them. I hope to learn from you and jvolpe3491.

[jvolpe3491]

Glad to hear you got the parts. And sounds like you got some options for those fenders. Let me know how you make out with the fenders, I have the same ones and will one day be ready to install them. I hope to learn from you and jvolpe3491.

I found several fender edge materials on the net but they were clip-on/ slide on types- not what I wanted, so I saturated cotton "rope" about 1/4 to 3/8 in diameter ( from my wife's sowing inventory) with fiberglass resin and applied to the under side of the cut fender edge. When cured, I filled in with more fiberglass and sanded (several times) to create the bead I was looking for.

[Brave Salmon]

Good idea. I'm finding that fiberglass rod will not bend enough so I was thinking I could even use steel or aluminum rod and bond it basically the same as you mention. Btw, the minimum bend diameter for fiberglass rods is 80x the diameter so a 1/4" rod will bend no tighter than a 20" circle. Way to big for most of the front/rear portion of a cut fender.

[NAZ]

Tom, I wanted to bond aluminum sheet metal to the inside of my body so did a search to see how to do this. After reading so many conflicting stories about what works and reading that it doesn't work well at all I'm no longer confident I can bond alum to fiberglass. So if you crack the code on how to do this please share. I'd still like to bond aluminum sheet for a body mount that will also act as a rear firewall section but started looking at fiberglass sheets as an alternative as the sheets will be a structural member. Let us know how you make out.

[myjones]

Good idea. I'm finding that fiberglass rod will not bend enough so I was thinking I could even use steel or aluminum rod and bond it basically the same as you mention.

I would suggest re-bar in either a #6 or #8 size. I would try the #6<3/8" first because it will shape easier and may be plenty strong once it's bonded in with glass.
I suggested the re-bar because the rippled surface should glass in pretty well and the mild steel is decent to bend by hand. Lay the fender on a piece of cardboard
and trace the shape then see where you want to be (offset) from that line/edge of fender. You should be able to pre-bend the bar to that pattern then glass it in place.
Keep us posted on your results
DB Hemi33

[progmgr1]

I would suggest re-bar in either a #6 or #8 size. I would try the #6<3/8" first because it will shape easier and may be plenty strong once it's bonded in with glass.
I suggested the re-bar because the rippled surface should glass in pretty well and the mild steel is decent to bend by hand. Lay the fender on a piece of cardboard
and trace the shape then see where you want to be (offset) from that line/edge of fender. You should be able to pre-bend the bar to that pattern then glass it in place.
Keep us posted on your results
DB Hemi33

Hey Dale,
I like the idea, but I would be concerned about using steel for the reinforcement - especially where the area is exposed to sunlight, etc. The problem I would be concerned about is the difference in the thermal coefficient of expansion between steel and fiberglass. A steel bar 20" long wrapped around a wheel arch could expand 0.008-0.010" (along its length) less than the fiberglass it is bonded to when it sees the summer sun. That's not a lot, but could be enough to crack the fiberglass and / or paint. I would suggest aluminum rod instead. Its coefficient is about the same as fiberglass, so everything would expand / contract together. Sorry if I'm being anal, but it's just the engineer in me coming out.
Keith

[Brave Salmon]

Hey Dale,
I like the idea, but I would be concerned about using steel for the reinforcement - especially where the area is exposed to sunlight, etc. The problem I would be concerned about is the difference in the thermal coefficient of expansion between steel and fiberglass. A steel bar 20" long wrapped around a wheel arch could expand 0.008-0.010" (along its length) less than the fiberglass it is bonded to when it sees the summer sun. That's not a lot, but could be enough to crack the fiberglass and / or paint. I would suggest aluminum rod instead. Its coefficient is about the same as fiberglass, so everything would expand / contract together. Sorry if I'm being anal, but it's just the engineer in me coming out.
Keith

Keith, I was going to try aluminum rod until NAZ mentioned difficulties bonding aluminum to fiberglass. Is bonding the aluminum rod possible with a two part epoxy like West system 106 followed up with s-glass to the desired profile? I thought I would try it first on scrap but don't want to waste my time if it isn't reasonable. Thanks for the help..

[progmgr1]

Several on the forums have recommended 3M urethane adhesive SMC/FRP Repair-35. Product part number 08219. It's not cheap, but by far the strongest secondary bond you can get. Others also use 3M 5200 Marine Adhesive, no heat and dries stronger than the elements being joined. I think either of these would give you a satisfactory bond between aluminum and fiberglass. HTH Keith