We lived through the ‘70s. It was a weird time for many things (i.e.: bell bottom pants) and customizers were doing wild things, many for just plain odd reasons. But many good ideas (i.e.: hot pants) from then remain good today. The difference is how that idea is implemented. One of the hot ideas of the time was to put wide rear tires on the back of your car. This remains popular today, but today the way to get that wide (and tall) tire look is to narrow the rearend and add wheels tubs. Back then, the way to do it was to add flares to the rear fenders and let that rubber hang out in the breeze. Usually made out of fiberglass, the flares were on everything from vans to muscle cars. This classic Mustang was one of these vehicles modified in such a way.
But the latest owner of this Mustang wanted to get back to the original look, so he called upon Bill Richman at RRC Fabrication And Speed in Upland, California, to take the ‘Stang out of the ‘70s and into the modern day. This was easy enough for Richman, who has more than 25 years experience with everything from hot rods and muscle cars to race cars. He would simply remove the entire rear panel and replace it with a new one that he got from Linero Mustangs. Linero also supplied the inner well steel after it was determined that the inner section was damaged beyond repair during the modification to the original. Richman came across Linero while perusing the aisles at the Long Beach Swap Meet.
This job sounds pretty straightforward: Cut off the offending piece and weld on the new panel. But there is much more to it than that, and Richman showed us a few tricks that he’s learned over the years. So follow along as this Mustang leaves the past behind.
Sources
RRC Fabrication And Speed
Dept. DRV
1937 11th Unit G
Upland, CA 91786
909.981.0336
Linero Mustangs
562.708.0729
www.lineromustangs.com
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- Times change, and fiberglass fender extensions covering 12-inch-wide Centerline wheels were cool once, but then again Corvette Summer was a long time ago.
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- We gotta give it up to whomever did the job all those years ago. The extension was actually done well, doesn’t look bad considering, and since there are no cracks or chunks falling off, has held up well.
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- The fender skin is from and is from Linero Mustang.
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- It turned out that the inner well needed to be replaced, too.
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- A line of tape is run 1-inch from the edges. The cuts will me made using the tape as a guide.
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- Interior pieces need to be removed to protect them from the cutting and welding processes.
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- The rear bumper and taillight buckets are removed.
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- A cut-off wheel is used to make all of the straight line cuts. This is a job that requires patience, as the cut off wheel isn’t quick, but the idea is to make the cut with the least amount of damage to the surrounding sheet metal.
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- A pneumatic reciprocating saw is used when the body line curves. These things work great, but man, are they loud.
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- A look-see shows that the modified well is attached to just about everything behind the panel.
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- A hammer and chisel are used to separate the inner and outer wells from the lower end.
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- With the inner well separated the outer skin is removed.
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- Now we’re getting somewhere.
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- You never know what you’re going to find when a major body panel is removed.
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- With the outer skin removed, it became apparent that the inner tub would also need to be replaced.
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- The spot welds of the upper brace are drilled out using a special bit. With a little finesse, these bits will only cut through the weld and not completely through the metal.
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- The cut-off wheel is used to cut away the outer well. Care is taken to get as close to the seam as possible.
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- Though the outer well is gone, the thin piece of steel that mated to the inner well needs to be removed, too.
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- It may take a little work but the end cap of the sill is removed.
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- A wire brush is used to remove the undercoating.
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- A grinder is used to cut into the steel and weld. The weld is along the lower edge, and hitting this area with the grinder will do the most good.
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- Using a hammer and chisel along with a set of vise grips, the two pieces are separated.
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- A coating of primer is applied to the face of the inner well.
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- Prepping the new outer well is done by marking the lip every 2 inches.
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- A punch tool is used to punch holes into the lip. These holes will be used to spot weld the two pieces together.
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- The outer well is clamped into place.
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- Let the rose-budding begin. Spot welds are placed into every hole, joining the two pieces together.
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- The upper brace is drilled out to allow the welds to firmly attach the brace to the outer well.
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- The Linero pieces are finely crafted and fit well.
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- The panel is rough-cut to get it close to the proper size, but a little extra material is left on it. The extra will be trimmed off precisely as needed. Holes are also punched into various edges, such as beneath the wheel opening, so spot welds can be placed.
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- After a rough trimming, the panel is wrestled into place. One thing to remember, this thing is unwieldy and sharp, so care is taken.
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- The panel is carefully fit, and Clecko pins are used to hold it in place.
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- Then the tedious part begins. Trimming and welding the panel to the existing body begins. Bill will trim a 2-4-inch section, place a few spot welds and then move on. There’s about 7 feet of panel to be done.
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- Trim, trim. Weld, weld…2 inches at a time for all 7 feet of panel. Add to this the fact that to keep warping at bay, only a few welds can be done at a time before moving on to another area on the panel. When you pay someone per hour for this type of job, remember that it’s not a fast job.
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- From clamps to Kelco pins, many tools are used to keep the panel in place. One trick that Richmond uses is to use this ¾-inch chisel to force the metal exactly where he wants it before he places a tack weld.
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- In this shot, the fender is about a quarter of the way complete. Notice the welds are spaced out to keep the panel cool. When the welding is done, they will all be filled in.
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- Once the welding is complete, the welds are ground smooth.
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- And there you have it. With the old fender extensions gone and the new Linero panel in place, the Mustang has entered the 21st century.
Tags: mustang
