TR2/3/3A Stone Guard and Fender Fitting Issues

[DornTRoriginal]

Fender and stone guards were not properly fitted to my car by my infamous body and paint expert and I am in a dilemma about what to do.

I noticed the stone guard was not properly mounted on the left side of the car and I asked the body guy what happened? He said he discovered that the fenders on the car did not match, of course he discovered this after the car was painted and was installing the stone guards I supplied to him. He told me the fenders were different since the replacement fender I supplied was from a 1961 TR3A and mine is a 1959 TR3 however he had fixed the problem. Actually the fender I gave him is the one that fits properly :>) it is the other side where the problem lies I believe, any how....

I noticed a few problems with his fix, he is correct the lower right side fender is about 1/2 an inch wider than the lower left side. His "fix" was to "butcher" the stone guard to make it fit by first cutting out the mounting holes (it would never stay properly attached the way it was modified), second to remove and bent the aluminum to make the stone guard smaller and fit it to the fender. He decided not to install the lower bolts holding the fender and stone guard to the body on both sides, probably because the cage nuts on both sides were removed and the area is too tight to replace the cage nuts and it will take a bit of trouble to properly drill a new hole in the new metal that's there, I am not exactly sure how that came about. It is also evident that there is rust inside the quarter panel and the bottom portion of the inner panel has deteriorated and rusted away. I also found the smaller stone guards were installed with rivets.

What would you suggest I do to repair this situation?

I think I can solve the rust problem by using a rust eliminator and some good paint, I can mount the fender if I carefully drill a hole and use a bolt and a lock tight nut inside the quarter panel and I can modify a new stone guard to fit the smaller fender. Or I can remove the fender get a replacement fender somewhere and have my expert body guy paint it to match the car. I can tolerate the rivets I suppose. Any thoughts?

Thank you!

 

[TR3driver]

For the cage nuts, I'd try Mark Macy's trick of pop-riveting a modern cage nut from MMC into place. https://www.macysgarage.com/myweb6/cage_nuts.htm
https://www.mcmaster.com/?m=true#90955a113/=zd6ovv

If you need to drill new holes (because the old metal was replaced), temporarily mount the fender and get it lined up, then reach under with a good sharp scribe and scratch around the hole.
https://www.mcmaster.com/?m=true#6808a12/=zd6lef
Then remove the fender and drill in the center of the scratched outline, starting with a smaller drill (like 1/8").

The new stone guards are very soft and easy to shape, so I would just fit them to the fenders you have. If your body man has already cut away too much from the guard, just buy another.

Was the post-60K fender the one that is wider? That makes sense, but I never noticed that before. All of my cars have been pre-60K except for a wreck I bought once. If the post-60K fenders are wider, I might try to use them to better cover my wide tires (which do rub a bit on my TR3).

 

[CJD]

What you're describing is pretty standard stuff on a hand built car...nothing lines up. The problem is its already painted.

Have you got any pics showing the area of the stone guard you are working on?

 

[sp53]

There is lot going on there; you have the fender, chrome bead, and 2 stone guards all going at the same time! I would leave fender on and loosen up the 4 or 5 lower bolts then put a wooden wedge behind the fender to hold it out maybe 3/8 then form a new stone guard (the new ones do not fit well) often that blue tape can act as a second set of hands. The stone guards file and bend easy. You can tape a nut to wrench and lower that done quarter panel frame and get a nut and bolt going there. Moreover, where the fender, chrome bead, and stone guard meet there is going to be a blending of the 3. Take your time and step away often because that is a tough area and often the mind magnifies a perceived problem were there really is none, just reality.


“”a lock tight nut inside the quarter panel and I can modify a new stone guard to fit the smaller fender.””

 

[Marvin Gruber]

Found out that problem many TRs ago. I now always fit the guards to fenders during body work. It can be fitted now but as mentioned earlier go slow

Marv

 

[charleyf]

I am like Marv. Many years ago I put on a new set of stone guards. Fortunately I had the old / original set to look at. I could hardly believe the difference between the old and new sets. I remember that I spent the better part of a day on EACH side of the car. The more recent stone guards all seem to be patterned after those earlier replacements.
The best lesson is to fit them BEFORE the paint goes on the car.
Charley

 

[sp53]

To protect the paint, take some of that blue tape and tape the area off. If the paint feels too sticky, touch the tape to some fabric a couple of times to cut down the tack. Just keep bending and filing, they will come out fine. Sometimes the stuff from TRF is higher quality. Their battery box is very superior to all the others.