Wheelwell issue...

[daved20319]

I posted this question in the Wheel Well section, but got no responses, so I figured I'd try again here.

I ordered a pair of new inner and out wheel wells for my AS awhile back. Started cobbling things together by cutting off the old ones with the intent of leaving a flange to attach the new ones to. Well, plans change, so instead of more band-aids and baling wire, I'm now doing a shell off resto. My problem is the mounting flanges on the "new" wheel wells. The originals had flanges around 3.5" wide, which easily lapped over the frame rail. The new ones are only about 1.5" wide, which doesn't even reach the frame rail . Is this typical, and if so, how have you folks dealt with it? I've already tried the plastic welding route, might be my cheap plastic welder, but it's definitely NOT going to give me an acceptable job. I'll be calling the various suppliers to see if they have wheel wells with wider flanges, but if not, it looks like my only option will be to weld extensions onto my frame. Any other ideas, experiences, or suggestions will be much appreciated, thanks.

Dave

[Minno]

Our wheel wells had a strip of metal riveted to them, basically widening the flange to over 3 inches wide. After I repaired the wheel wells, I riveted galvanized sheet to the plastic flange to replace the rusted out metal flange that was there. There's a couple of pictures that kinda show that in our Little Girl Refurb thread in post 117. It's held up well so far after 4 years of travels. Primer, paint, and vulkum protect the sheet metal and seal the seam between the metal and plastic.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f185...b-50967-9.html

Hope that helps.

Chris

[Belegedhel]

My wheel wells only had about a 1.5" flange on them, and they didn't overlap the frame rails. Actually, the places where they lapped the outriggers caused enough extra work, as I countersunk the whole flange assembly in the underside of my plywood so that they wouldn't cause a bump under the floor. I guess I don't see a big concern with the wheel wells not reaching the frame rails--they are such a flimsy design in the first place, that I don't see making them an integral part of the construction.

good luck!

[Silver Hawk]

What Belegedhel say is correct.
If you want to make them super rigid it would be easy to weld a bracket along the frame - you can buy light 'L' at Home Depot - either drill and tap for screws or weld.

[daved20319]

Thanks, people, looks like I'll be going with sheet metal extensions. Later.

Dave

[HiJoeSilver]

Since you're going for the shell off restoration, when you put the floor back on put some aluminum sheet under the wood that will fill the space from the frame rail out to the edge of the wood. can extend inward under the frame a little and then get a bead of sealant along that seam, extending out to the edge of the wood. Then when you screw it up put some sealant along the underside edge of the floor for the wheel well to seal against and screw it back up.