Drivers side front wheel well finally gets primer

[JayEstes 172]

I've finally completed the cleaning/prep for the DS front wheel well and got the first good coat of primer on there.

 

I'm using black primer so I was having trouble getting a good photo (to show off). So, i set my "good camera" (Canon XTi) for a 5sec shutter speed, turned off the shop lights, tripped the shutter, and while the shutter was open, I "painted" the wheel well with my LED wand light back and forth. The pic came out great! Much to my surprise.

 

Anyway, proud of this little accomplishment- the wheel well was a big mess when I got in there (fortunately I didn't really have any rust issues to deal with except in the trough at the bottom of that shock tower).

 

OK- so on to the question: How best to protect this area from future rust/corrosion?

 

I've had the idea I could:

 

1) paint with semi-gloss enamel - couple of really good coats, and leave it

2) same as 1) except add spray application truck bed liner (black)

3) apply truck bed liner directly to primer

 

So, what do you guys think? What are your general thoughts on truck bed liner in a wheel well? Any thoughts on issues with using it I haven't thought of? I love the toughness of this material, and the fact that it also seals some lap-joint welds, and provides some sound dampening characteristics.

 

Give me your opinions on my options here.

Thanks in advance.

 

Jay

[RPM 1,190]

3M makes a pretty nice spray can of undercoat.

[shelbyshelby 52]

Are you kin to David Copperfield? The frame seems to be floating in mid air!

[Junior2561 10]

If you do bedliner, you can still get moisture developing under it, so be cautious of that.

 

Looks great though!

[DRASTiK 22]

I used the 3M undercoat in a spray can as well. At the auto parts store they carry 3M and DuPont brands. I tried both. The 3M is a few bucks more per can, but it is MUCH BETTER. Well worth the extra expense. All four wheel wells are coated in the 3M undercoating on mine. I used an average of one full can per well. Around 2-3 coats were achieved per can.

[JayEstes 172]

Thanks guys, Thats several thumbs up for 3M, and a worry on the bed liner. Think I'll go get me some 3M. Can anyone tell me if it's good to go right on the bare primer? anything else I need to do to prep for the 3M?

 

Thanks for your thoughts! If anyone else has some - leave them please. Collectively, you guys are genius!

 

Jay

 

PS - Shelby: I think the "floating frame effect" is due to the fact that that visible jack stand is a "safety jack-stand", just there in case the real one (off to the right and further back in the photo) gets kicked out. So no weight on the visible one! The photo technique though worked REALLY well for getting at details on a dark surface (and showing nothing else). I think it's actually easier to see the detail in that pic than just walking up to it in the shop now!

Edited May 24, 2012 by JayEstes

[JTG 10]

Jay, this is a great picture of this area of the car. Do you know if the holes in the front fender apron are all of the necessary original holes? The reason I ask is my car has a few extra holes that need to be welded up. I'd rather go off an original piece than a picture of a repop part online.

 

Thanks, JT

[JayEstes 172]

Hey JT- Thanks, I was pretty thrilled with how the photo looked. It actually came out better than I was expecting.

 

As for the holes, I will say this- the fender is original. The VIN stamp matches the other fender and the dash VIN. There have been no accidents to this area, and no major repairs. I am I believe the third owner (my uncle being the second, and I acquired from him in 1980) I drove it for 10 yrs, and the poor thing has been garaged for 20).

 

So the fender is original. I recently tore into it and began the restore, and there were no mods for unique items or aftermarket things, SO - I believe the fender is very close if not identical to original. At this point it would be nice to be able to go back and label what each hole is for, but I don't think I can. (Hmm, if I numbered them, I wonder how many people on this forum could label??? That would make a GREAT reference for us restorers!)

 

Anyway, you cant go TOO wrong using this fender. It's had no major damage, repair, or aftermarket add, so it should be a very good reference for that!

 

Jay

[Ash 145]

In regards to using bedliner, I've been reading a lot on the SPI forum and these restoration guys all use the SPI bedliner under the body, under guards and etc.

 

From this page on is several examlpes

 

http://www.spiuserforum.com/showthread.php?48-1967-Fairlane/page3&highlight=bedliner

 

And here's some more of it used in the trunk and interior

 

http://www.spiuserforum.com/showthread.php?101-1968-Mustang-Coupe-Restomod/page6

[JayEstes 172]

OK, here is a challenge guys. I've taken the photo I have and numbered all the bolt holes (almost 50 holes!). The thinking is we can label all of the holes, and have a reference for what each is for, and we can verify the holes are stock or mod by using this simple map.

 

I'm making the assertion that the fender shown is stock (based on the fact it has not been damaged, repaired are had mod work) and the VIN matches the VIN on the dash.

 

Some are easy, some are not. The view is obviously from the external side of left front, with everything removed. Help me get the wording for each correct, so it's clear what we are looking at.

 

here is an obvious start:

 

22) Fwd Upper Control Arm (UCA) mounting hole in shock tower

23) Aft Upper Control Arm (UCA) mounting hole in shock tower

 

Any show-offs out there can name all of them???

 

Thanks, Jay

PS. if this exists somewhere out in the internet, please just point me there now, and save us all time...