fender lip wire, how was/is it done?

[MMW]

Instead of completely hijacking the other thread I thought I'd start this one. Anyone know how the factory put the wire in the fender lip & rolled it together? Also how is it done in todays world? For a repair I can see it being done by hand but there must be a way to do it faster for a place like Trevors hammer works or Fay Butler?

Roy, if I remember correctly there was a picture taken at Fay Butlers during the 2012 ECH demo featuring the making of a front fender panel. I can't find it now but it mentioned a special machine that puts the wire in & rolls the lip over it in one shot. I think this fender went to Phil with the foam car if I'm not mistaken?

[JTR70]

Hey guys,

Here is a really great demo on how its created today for 33-34 Ford. Though the style is different the basic procedure must be the same. The radious is cut to shape first then a series of passes through specialized dies to begin "heeling" the flange over. Very talented Swedish guy here.

Thanks for starting this thread Mic; great topic!
Justin

[MMW]

Thanks Justin, that was a cool video. I had watched a few others in the past but did not see this one. Man the right tools can make all the difference once you know how to use them.

[roy mawbey]

Mic,

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT I have wondered and wondered about that for years. The Swedish guy deseves a medal! It all makes sense now the rolling dies the fact with the stop any radius can be followed, the way he contains the wire and the finished result wonderful!! This made my day Mic.

As said above and a point so true 'tools maketh man' with the right ones and the brain to work it out the satisfaction is immense.

Now Bruce, if you read this is the point of a good forum. I doubt if more than 5% of the people who restore 356 cars at home have any idea on that process. And unless you are a member you can't tell anyone on some other forums.

If you were a little nearer Mic I would buy you ( and the Swedish guy) a beer for doing that.

Cheers again

Roy

[roy mawbey]

Justin,

I was so excited to look at that I didn't notice it was you that found it, Mic obviously knew of it as he mentioned a special machine so I would be buying you a beer as well!!

Cheers

Roy

[JTR70]

Absolutely right Mic, the right tools make all the difference in the world. Tom Perazzo says he's only as good as the tools in his garage. This is so true on so many levels.

No Worries Roy, it was my pleasure to help provide an answer to this question as best as I could. I didnt know either so we all learned.
Justin

[Phil Planck]

Just catching up on this thread. Yes, Fay Butler has a machine to do this pretty fast. Here are some pics of Fay installing the wire on the fender he made as a demo, which I was able to put on Foam Car(details posted on thesamba). I did have to rework the wheel opening a little at the rear, as it did not match my T6 opening. I think the nos fender he used as a pattern was a T5 as it had no fuel filler opening.

[JTR70]

Phil, Thank you for posting this. A very interesting and vintage looking machine! Can you give us some details on how it works. I see that the profile of the arch is cut first and appears to run along that guide at the back of the throat there and the wire probably seat in that little saddle/acrhway? What is the proceedure with this? Does it roll a lip over the wire in one pass? Thanks! Justin

[roy mawbey]

Very interesting Phil, no doubt about it 'wiring ' edges requires some nice tooling. If you did manage to get an idea when watching like Justin I would like to know how thew process worked. Were there rollers underneath?

Roy

[Phil Planck]

Fay has a web site but I could find no info about his machine. I really did not get a good look at it, as there was a group and I already had butted in to look at some of his other processes. I will contact him to see if he can provide more info. In the mean time I found 2 youtube videos of methods that are probably more practical unless you are really cranking out a lot of fender lips:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOcZwr-1Y1E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zv_ZpDDKkPw

Phil

[roy mawbey]

Yes Phil, the Lazze method looks neat, Justin also posted that recently. If you do get an answer on the method you saw it woul;d be nice to know how that worked. For sure, I believe it would have been a fast process at the factory.