Canadian AA truck fender brace

[marcel kristoff]

I have a question regarding front fender braces. The ones that came with my mocked up truck are cast, but the vendors catalogs show them as pressed steel. I am trying to put on new steel fenders, but if I line things up with the brace, then the fender twists upwards, especially at the running board end. The braces that came with my truck appear to be new, with the number 24 cast into one brace. I have two headlight bars, and neither one wants to line up very well with the holes. My truck came with only one mangled fender, so I never noticed a problem with the braces before. Thoughts?

[Bob C]

What year is your truck?

Bob

[marcel kristoff]

Sorry, the truck is 1928.

[Neil Wilson]

Post pictures - this eliminates lots of speculation.

USA A/AA's used forged steel front fender brackets into early 1929 (no cast brackets were made). Refer to the A chassis - Undercarriage area in the Judging Standards. Canadian AA's may have been different.

I have found that most original front fender brackets must be adjusted (usually with heat) to fit properly give the many years of abuse. If the head lamp bar is not twisted/bent, then the brackets should be fit to the bar. I have very loosely bolted the brackets to the frame, then bolted the bar to the brackets (tight fit). One can then see what needs to change for the brackets to fit the frame without binding. If the fit is close, then the brackets can be tightly bolted to the frame and then heated as needed. Once the brackets are adjusted to fit the headlamp bar, the fenders can be installed and the outer end of the brackets adjusted to fit the fender. This assumes that the fenders are correct.

Vendors simply sell what they have and the parts may or may not be like original.

[tiredtruckrestorer]

Marcel, I have a '29 Canadian AAC with a Brantford cab and grain body. My front fenders are not regular US Model A fenders, but rather, I believe, were made by Brantford or even another Canadian company. They were stamped out in two pieces and spot welded together. The top section of the fender from front to rear was one piece and the inner section towards the hood was another piece. These fenders used a stamped steel brace about two inches in width and were mounted to the frame with four bolts in a square pattern. How many mounting holes are in your frame for the fender bracket? The outer end of the brace was riveted to the fender with one rivet. I don't know if the '28 Canadian trucks used US made fenders or ones like mine. My camera is broken (dropped to many times) but I have some pictures on my computer somewhere and could email some to you if you'd like.

Keith