E-Type FHC Rear Wheel Arch Preview

Well, here we go again – my old nemesis – the rear wheel arch on the E-Type coupe…

In case your new to the blog, this is the repair that I dread the most. On bonnets, I can take ANYTHING and make it as smooth as glass again – requiring little or no filler. I’ve done this on everything from your “average” bonnets with mangled noses, dent puller holes, rust in the seams, etc. – to aluminum bonnets that are race-crashed – even a brand new V-12 bonnet that a building fell on! But I can do that because I can get to both sides of the panel! I’m getting better with the hammer and dolly work all the time – on some stuff, I’m not even using the shrinking disc to smooth it – but I HAVE to be able to get to both sides of the panel!

Because the coupes (and 2+2’s) have an inner wheel housing in the rear, once the rear wing is repaired, that’s IT – the back side is closed in and except for a few small areas on the end, you can’t work the panel from both sides. The factory got around this by putting the wing/roof assembly on DEAD LAST – they spot welded it on around the edges and that’s it – there was no heat in the cenger of the panel, and hence, no shrinkage or warpage. But now, when we repair the typical rust in the rear wing along the wheel arch, we are doing a welded seam up in the center of a panel that is closed in…

I have seen photos of this patch being done in the typical way – tacked with a MIG and then stitched in with the TIG, but there’s just NO WAY they’re not warping the panel and handling it down the road with copious amounts of filler… I’ve tried doing this a couple of different ways with varying results, and I’m getting closer and closer all the time, but the answer always seems to be to stay REAL close to the lower edge of the wing – which is what I suggest you do – cut down the patch so that it is as close to the edge as possible – this will give the weld the least opportunity to start pulling the metal in when it shrinks.

Well, then this car came along… Someone has already put these patches into place, and OH BOY, did they ever! So on this one, I knew that it was going to be the final battle between me and this repair – I simply HAD to get this nailed down this time! And – after years of doing lots of roadsters, my schedule is packed full of coupes for probably at least the next year!

Take a look at this carnage – and you’ll see why I’ve been putting this car off day after day – week after week – month after month…

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