MAKING WHEELARCHES

Simple repairs

Rust loves wheelarches because salty dirt collects in the flange. If only this part is afflicted, you could simply bend an ‘L’ shape with an appropriate radius, then use the stretcher to work around the edge until the required curvature is achieved.

Making a basic arch

The simplest arch has a plain outer side with a turned-in flange. Use a hammer and dolly or a swager to create an inner flange. Use a thin top die and a wide bottom one. Follow the line, lifting gently as you go. Make several passes, lifting more at each.

Correcting distortion

You may need to use a hammer and a bolster chisel or appropriately-shaped dolly to get the flange up to a true 90°. The panel will have bent a lot where the inner flange has less material. Hammer the flange on-dolly to stretch it or gently use a stretcher.

Forming arches with more shape

The Vanguard’s arches have a reverse curve and a flat face. As with most things, this can be achieved in a number of different ways. With skill and perseverance you could make the whole panel in one go, bashing the shape in from the reverse using a hammer, a sandbag and hand tools alone. Much quicker, though, would be to use a deep stretcher and a wheel with a rubber band to create the reverse curve, use a swager to turn the flat face, shrink it flat, then turn the flange and stretch it.

Trial-and-error arch

It’s possible to achieve a similar shape by starting out with a basic arch, as in steps 2 and 3. Now mark the height of the flat face and use the same swager dies to start to turn the inner flange. Things may start to look a bit ragged at this point.

Creating reverse curve

You should now have a flat face and a flatish section where the reverse curve should be. Turn it over and run it through a wheel a few times with a bottom anvil that matches the curvature required and a piece of inner tube fitted to the top wheel.

Bottom wing repair

The arch is likely to blend into a single curve at the rear of the wing and a flat at the front. Make a paper template. Turn and shrink the flange to produce the correct curvature. As in step 5, start from flat and increase the bend incrementally.

Achieving correct radius

It may be difficult to create the reverse curve with a wheel. We’ve used a stake and a hammer, choosing the stake with the closest radius to the curve to turn the flat into a gradual curve. As ever, keep checking the shape as you go.