Early Fender Repair Advice

Thanks for that thread it’s awesome!

 

How would you guys go about repairing this top section with the overlap/fold?

here’s two pics from both sides:

 

I'd either form some sheetmetal to shape or cut a chunk out of a good (not rusty that is) fender.
Since it's rusted through on both sides my preference would be a cut section of fender.

 

Hate to say this, but you can't find a better fender to start with? This is not a Duesenberg. You can shorten the intermediate-late fenders to fit, and there are quite a few of those around. Jeff (sterlclan) has done this and could advise. Seems like an easier approach.

 

If they are pre-marker fenders, and he wanted to keep them that way he'd have to shorten the long fenders as well as patching the area there the markers were, that's a lot of work. Even so, I found decent short non-marker fenders were available enough that one had to really be poor or have emotional attachment to badly rotted renders before it was easier to fix them than find decent ones for sale.

 

I’m just trying to fix what I have before spending what $800 (?) on replacement fenders? Where can you even get short, non-marker fenders in decent shape? JW didn’t have any. Everywhere else I looked I could only find intermediate ones. And I guess in the end I’m OK with patch-repaired fenders to the best of my skills while learning along the way.

 

Yeah, new non-markers are outrageous. Used non-markers are hard to find and expensive. It took me a year and I think I bought five fenders at least in the process of getting two I could work with. All five (or was it seven?) might have been close to $600 total, though I was often buying a hood or grill or something at the same time so hard to break out. I did get some of my $ out selling those I didn't need but it was still a pain. That said, I'd be really tempted to grab a set of cheap marker fenders off a postal jeep and just "fix" the marker areas.
There is a postal in Sacramento on CL right now and one in Stockton for $400 for the whole thing, go grab those marker fenders and then you have just two little spots to patch. Might get some other good parts while you're at it...
Or, as you say, it's not the worst way to get some good skills.