Patching a Buick’s Fenders (pt. 1: Shaping)

When repairing fenders of a car that is one of two in existence, you can’t order your patch panels online; you have to hammer them the old fashioned way. The car that requires this work is a 1935 Buick 66s. It was stored near the ocean for all of its life; subsequently, the car developed a large amount of rust. First I started by measuring how large the patches had to be, then I cut them out from raw sheet metal. The next step is to hammer them on an anvil, to the correct form of the fender.  However, the metal can only be worked so much. If it is over-worked, its gauge will fade away and you will be left with a panel that is to thin. For final touch up I clamped my replacements on the fender and used hammers and dollies to fit them perfectly.

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