fabricating new "inner splash panels"

[RICH MUISE]

I did these a few years ago, I'll try to remember as many details as possible. The panels I'm talking about are the ones below the headlights behind the parking lights. The process involves cutting and flattening out one of the originals so you have a template you can use to transfer to new 18 gauge, so hopefully you have at least one with enough left to give you the outer edges and hole locations.One of mine was too far gone to patch or use as a template so I ended up sacrificing the better, salvageable one, for the template.
Left and right are the same, just reversed so you only need to cut and flatten one old panel, just remembering to bend one new one up in the opposite direction. When I talk about top, back,etc. it's as it is positioned in the car. The corner we will be cutting is the one that is formed between the top and side.What we need to do is make 4 cuts down that corner radius, towards the back,  cutting as far as you can past the back radius without having loose pieces.With an air cut off wheel, I cut the two outer cuts all the way back around the back radius, then with the two inner cuts approximately equally spaced (just eyeball, nothing critical), I cut as far as I could without having loose pieces. After cutting, flatten out the panel and transfer the outer shape to the new sheetmetal (two pieces) including the cuts at the corner. I used dykem layout die (throwback to my old machine shop days) and a scratch awl. I also transferred the holes, figuring I could always elongate them if not exactly in the correct position at assembly time. I then bent up the top and sides, using a pipe of the right diameter clamped over the sheetmetal to my workbench, leaving the 3 corner sections still flattened out, remembering at this point to form one of them in the opposite direction. From here you have to do a little hammer and dolly work. I used a football shaped dolly clamped in my vise(harbor freight, less than 10. ), but if you needed to you can shape a 4x4 piece of lumber and do the same. Just start forming at the back corner, comparing it to your old uncut panel, tack welding the cuts every 1/2" or so as you go. As you get a short area worked close to shape, the tack welding will hold it there, so just keep working your way up, forming and welding as you go. when done, go back and weld it completely shut, grind the welds, use a little filler, a little body work, primer and paint, and they'll look like new.

[RICH MUISE]

C:\Users\rich\Pictures\2009-08-29\20090829_238.JPG

[RICH MUISE]

oops! I finally got a picture downloaded. It's in the underconstruction section. Now that I hopefully will remember how I did it, I'll search my archives for some in process photos of the splash shield. The pic is the finished product.

[oldgasser]

Hello Rich:
I have just joined the club & not to familiar with downloading a picture of the inner splash guards that you speak of I myself have a 57 Ranchero with this problem could you give some insite on how to view the slash guards.
Thank you.
Ron.

[RICH MUISE]

At the top of each page,where the tabs are (home,help etc)click on gallery. when that opens up, click on "under construction". my photo is currently the first one. not a real good photo, but the only one I could find at the time that showed a splashield  I made.