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TR2/3/3A New Steel Tr-3 fenders

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AweMan

AweMan

Jedi Knight
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Anyone ever used steel fenders from the big three?
If so, how diffacult are they to fit? {I know they will not just bolt on and will require some "Tucks" to make them perfect. The question is how many and how involved.
Lookin at the T.R.F. fenders, they clain thiers are manufactured by a father, son, brother team. Does anyone think thiers would be a better fit?
One of my rear wings is in sad condition {about three LBS of body filler} and its not in my nature to use something like that.
I don`t want to pay $900.00 for something that will be useless in the end.
 
Hard to say what the current bits are like, as I've not seen any lately. Being only rank amateurs in such matters, a friend and I gave up on "new" rear fenders for a TR2 back in the 1980s and suggested the car's owner go with someone much more experienced in this area. Perhaps current replacements are better, but unless they're actually die stamped or formed over a buck carefully made using a good original, odds are they'll still need tweaking.

What does all that filler on your current fender actually cover? severe rust and/or dents and creases? or could it be just laziness on the part of a PO? and how well does it fit the car otherwise?

I'd not be too quick to dismiss that old fender unless it was so damaged and is now far too bad to work back to a better shape. And assuming you can find in your area a body[wo]man who is experienced and not just of the "replace it; it's less work" school, I'd ask his/her advice on what you have now. (Make sure you tell them that the alternative is that you'd be starting with a $900 piece of steel that will still need work to fit!)
 
From everything I've heard and seen, getting fenders to fit TR2/3 is an art. The cars themselves were simply not that repeatable, so it's impossible to manufacture a fender that will fit all of them.

John Ames, who has made a life-long study of early and rare TRs, even claims that the lines of the fenders themselves changed subtly early in TR2 production; although such a change has never been documented.

That said, I would expect TRF's product to be the best available. Charles literally used these on his own TR3, and since he's apparently not the most careful driver in the world, he'll probably need more eventually.
 
Kerry,
I agree with the previous poster to be absolutely sure your existing fender is truly gone. A good metal bumper can do magic in very little time. So I guess the decision point is how much time must be spent on fixing the old, as opposed to fitting the new. The old fender starts a $0, the new starts at $900.

Worst case is if you do order a new fender and it does not fit well, TRF will take it back, no questions asked. You will just be out the round trip shipping charges.
 
The fender I have, from the inside feels like a sack of potatoes mainly in the flatter areas near the rear, there is some flange damage, cracks on the flanges and a lot of tucks that i`m sure are from shrinked/streached areas NO real rust to speak of just some light surface rust.
Ok the question is How do I remove the old body filler? I`v tried media blasing it off, NO GO! This stuff must be super hard!
It sounds like working a new fender verses an old is going to be about the same. One fender beater I talked to quoted me $250.00 to beat it out and then i`ll still have "SOME body filler" on it. {he wants me to clean all of the body filler and paint off of it before delivering it to him.}
On the old fender the five cage nuts {the ones for the boot area} are M.I.A. {the cages are there and in good condition not torn or bent}
How in the world did the nuts come out of the cages?
 
Aloha Kerry,

A few years ago a pick up truck collided with my TR3A. A new front cowl, grille and left front fender from Moss were used to make the repair. It was done by a body shop and covered by insurance. I followed the work in the shop and noted that the fender matched fairly well, but adjustments were made to get the door gap even. The front cowl required allot of work as the headlight buckets are weld to the cowl but not faired in. Additionally adjustments (body filler) were made around the grille mouth to get an even and tight fit. It wasn't major work, mostly time to do the job right and area requiring the most body filler was around the head light.

My son is currently rebuilding another TR3A and he has sheet metal (floor pans, rear fenders, boot lid, boot floor, dog legs, rocker panels, etc.) from both TRF and Victoria British. All of the pieces are of heavier gauge sheet metal than modern cars, although I have not measured the thickness it seems similar to the original gauge. The rear valance is nicely formed.

It is my understanding that all new TR3 sheet metal from the big three supply houses is manufactured by the same company in the UK.
 
AweMan said:
Ok the question is How do I remove the old body filler? I`v tried media blasing it off, NO GO! This stuff must be super hard!
Click to expand...

Heat - from a propane torch or a heat gun - will soften up the body filler and allow it to be scraped off. Use plenty of ventilation (or risk a few brain cells...).
 
I agree with the propane torch for removing the body filler, after which sanding and/or paint remover to get it all. I use a product called Picklex20 to neutralize the rust and protect the bare metal before painting. Stuff works great, just don't use self etching primer when ready to prime.

As far as having to use some filler after the fender is straightened, if not in excess is fine IMHO.
 
TR6oldtimer said:
As far as having to use some filler after the fender is straightened, if not in excess is fine IMHO.
Click to expand...

Nah, pick, file, and metal finish. In about 200 hours you'll have a perfect fender again. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/jester.gif
Jeff
 
The early sidescreen bodies were pretty much hand built. The fellas that build the body parts for TRF use many of the same tools that Mulliners used when they originally built the cars... Pullmax, English wheel may a Yoder power hammer thrown into the mix.

Your best bet is to find a good used fender close to the year of your car. Early TR3 fenders are a little different than than the later ones from what I've read.
 
For what it is worth - I recently bought a TR4a fender second hand that was sold by TRF. The fit was lousy. Not sure how old the pressing is or if it is any better now, but I was pretty shocked at the fit.
 
Ok I`m convinced, NO new fender! spent part of the day heating and scraping body filler off {Not pretty} Welded four cracks, {Not pretty} kinda twisted things a might. Then it bagan raining {not cool} Chompin at the bit to get the body hammers and dolly`s after the fender. Read all the forums I could find about beating tin, streching and shrinking tin, One thing for sure, one article I read said that a weld will shrink the metal, that it does I assure you! Luckily this weld was in a "streched" area anyway and according to the article all I need to do is "on dolly" hammer the weld to "Stretch" it back. Hopefuly not as much as it was "Streched" in ther first place. I WILL make this fender work Bodyfiller or No! If so hopefully NOT MUCH!
Oh In case you are wondering, In places {Low spots} the filler was close to 1/4 In. thick *SIGH*
If I have to use filler, I assure you it will only be a "Skim Coat".
P.S. BTW the dam* Previous Owner Had an idiot TRY to repair this fender Some cracks he welded with brass {What a P.I.T.A. to remove!} some cracks he filled with lead, easier to remove but still a P.I.T.A.. In any case there all welded with M.S. and done properly now.
Let the tin beating begin!
 
tdskip said:
For what it is worth - I recently bought a TR4a fender second hand that was sold by TRF. The fit was lousy. Not sure how old the pressing is or if it is any better now, but I was pretty shocked at the fit.
Click to expand...
As bad as some TR2/3 repro fenders are, some of the TR4 fenders were just that much worse. Back in the late 1980s, a local club member got one and discovered that, among other fitting problems, it was actually an inch or so too long! I recently read somewhere that there are new repro TR4 fenders that are supposed to be much better.... /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/hammer.gif
 
Just thought I'd add my two cents about the three pounds of body filler in the rear fenders. My TR3 was exactly the same way. Despite the fact that the fenders could be unbolted and the dents pounded out, I suppose that the body shops of the 1970's were paid according to how much bondo they smeared on a car. At least I think that was the arrangement on my 3.

Anyhow, I did the same thing--propane torch and razor knife, hammer's and dolly. It turned out pretty good for an amateur. I counted 13 coats of different color paints, which surprisingly weighed quite a bit when removed. I had to go with a skim coat too, just to cover the minor imperfections that will be picked up after painting.
 
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