Re: Rolling an urq fender

[Michael Zamikhovsky <MikeZ755@sprintmail.com>]

Fluhr wrote:

> >I am debating on whether to get 15x8 ronal R8's or 15x7 Fuchs and if i go
> >with the ronals, i need to roll the rear fenders.  The thing is that: 1.
> >im scared to mess up the outside of the fender, 2. i dont have much money
> >to have someone else to do it, 3. i dont want to mess up the outside of
> >the fender.....
> >So, does anyone have on file that old post about rolling the fender, and
> >also, anyone with experience, how easy is it to mess this up and ruin the
> >fender itself?
>
> Michael,
>
> I cannot comment on the ease of damaging the fenders on an urquattro,
> but I know it can be done.  The arch of both rear fenders on my urquattro
> were rumpled when the previous owner rolled them.
>
> I looked at the fenders and have tried to estimate what caused the
> damage and how it could be avoided.  It seems to me that if you cut
> several slots in the inner lip, running parallel to the direction
> of travel of the car, this will relieve some of the tension
> generated by the inner lip as it is bent upward.  If you think
> about it, the inner edge of the inner lip of the fender has a certain
> partial circumference (i.e. length).  If you bend that lip up, then
> you are trying to move the lip to a position where it needs greater
> "length", but you are not providing the lip with any way to expand.
> If you cut slots in the lip, the slots will become V-shaped areas
> and act as if you have given the inner lip some extra length.  You
> can simulate this with a curved piece of paper...first try to bend
> it in half without slots, then use scissors to cut several slots
> and try again.
>
> Now, the more slots you cut, the less stress you will transfer to
> the outer sheet metal of the fender.  Take the limit to infinity of
> the number of slots you can make and you have the idea of cutting or
> grinding the inner lip away, which should present minimal or no
> stress on the fender.  My personal opinion was that three slots
> would be a minimum when rolling the fender (one at the top center
> and the other two 45 degrees to each side of the first), and 5 slots
> would be even better.  Then you can take a baseball bat or breaker
> bar handle and ***slowly*** bend each section up a bit at a time.
>
> Of course, with this method you have to be careful of how far you
> cut into the lip, and you also should repaint the slots to protect
> them from rust.  Still, this is a small price to pay compared to
> having rumpled fenders.  Because of the double-wall construction of
> the fenders, a paintless dent remove place cannot repair damaged
> fenders, so you are stuck with bondo'ing and repainting them.
>
> I would appreciate any comments from other q-list members about
> the effectiveness of this idea.  I have NOT done it myself, so
> I cannot comment on how well it works.  Do others feel that the
> basic concept is sound?
>
> Later,
> Eric
> '85 CGT, '82 urq
> ---
> Eric J. Fluhr                                Email:  ejfluhr@austin.ibm.com
> 630FP Logic/Circuit Design                   Phone:  (512) 838-7589

This very method was tested, practiced and recomended by Andersen brothers of
the Q club. They recmended it to me 3 years ago and I still have to do it. They
recomend undercoating removal and later covering with strips of fiber glass and
resin to prevent water access into exposed metal grove. I wounder if this way
will save the agony and expence of repaint.

Mike Z