Fender Sealing

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rod7515

rod7515

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Im doing the final fitting of the front fenders on my 66 Dart. When I finally put them together for the last time what material do you use between the body engine compartment flange and the fender flange to keep water / moisture from coming up into the engine compartment. I went to NAPA today and they had what I always called dumdum sealer. This is in a 25' roll, its about 1/8" thick and 1 7/8" wide. I was thinking this would be a much better seal then what I was originally going to use which was the topper sealer stick on foam. I'll add a pic or 2 tonight of the dumdum sealer and the fender flange.
Thanks Rod
 
Sounds like a good product. I have used body calk from Ford that I had on the shelf it stays pliable and is non-hardening.
 
Thanks for asking this question, I'm at the same point with my dart. Looking forward to the answers
 
What Plymouth used in 67 was a white foam tape/weather strip. Pretty much the same material they used at brake backing plates, master cylinder, bumper brackets, etc..., but 1/8 X 1 adhesive backed. I know they went to a extruded bead of caulk in later models. Whats best? Danged if I know. It could be that nothing at all is best. That's what we find, or should I say don't find, in more modern builds.
 
Not sure I would put anything in there that is going to hold or trap moisture.
 
What’s on my car is rock hard, not sure what it is (or was??). I don’t think it’s dum dum, but don’t see why it wouldn’t work provided both mating surfaces had good paint coverage.

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Heres the material I picked up today at NAPA.
Its about an 1/8" thick and 1 7/8" wide. Its a sticky rubber dumdum type material.
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Its very sticky but wont soak up water. Now the question is how far up should I put this on the flange. Should I cut the strip down to an inch wide. The flange is about 2" total. SHould some ot this push out the bottom and I smooth it out?
Thanks Rod
 
This is what I found when I took a replacement fender off my 1967 dart. The replacement fender did not have sealer in the same locations so I believe this sealer remnant is from the OE fender. It was about 1/32" - 1/16" thick at most. looks like it was dispensed from a calking gun of some sort. Forgot to mention it was mostly firm to hard but could be dented with a finger nail in places
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rod7515 said:
Heres the material I picked up today at NAPA.
Its about an 1/8" thick and 1 7/8" wide. Its a sticky rubber dumdum type material.
View attachment 1715133212 View attachment 1715133213 View attachment 1715133214
Its very sticky but wont soak up water. Now the question is how far up should I put this on the flange. Should I cut the strip down to an inch wide. The flange is about 2" total. SHould some ot this push out the bottom and I smooth it out?
Thanks Rod
Click to expand...
That material is for wrapping air conditioning lines. It's a cork based material.
 
Just resto moded a 66, and I am pretty sure there is no sealant on the front fenders. Just the rubber gaskets on the front and rear splash plates.
 
Mopar Tim, did you use anything when you put yours back together and do you believe there should have been some type of seal? I understand that they may not have used one but would it have been a good idea to use one?
Thanks Rod
 
Mine had a foam like caulking on them,

IMG_1602.JPG


Likely going to use this "Seal and Peel" peel able caulking made DAP, waterproof but easy to remove which hopefully means it won't glue my fenders on like the factory stuff did, they were not easy to break free when I was tearing it down.

clear-dap-caulk-18351-64_1000.jpg
 
And it's vanilla scented too! I like the idea might try it when I put my fender back on
 
Tonight I didnt go out to work on the car. Wasnt feeling good and decided to rest. I dont want this flu thats going around. Going to get a good night sleep and try again tomorrow night.
Thanks for all the comments.
Rod
 
rod7515 said:
Tonight I didnt go out to work on the car. Wasnt feeling good and decided to rest. I dont want this flu thats going around. Going to get a good night sleep and try again tomorrow night.
Thanks for all the comments.
Rod
Click to expand...
The flu is tearing around Pa. Hop you get to feeling better. I had it over new years. Spent quality time with the grandkids at Christmas, lol.
I was working in Red Lion a few years ago and saw a nice gold dart. If I remember correct it was at a car wash. Not yours was it?
 
GTgrinly, no it wasnt mine. There have been a few around here over the years. When I worked for my dad at the gas station an older couple from Felton have a super nice 66 the was a light blue color. 273 with a 4 speed. My uncle had the same thing in a dark green and I had a red one that was an automatic. Those are the only ones I have ever known of in this area but Im sure theres more that I wasnt aware of.
As for the sealer it appears that most of these didnt have a sealer in them from the factory. I'll have to see how the fender fits up and aligns then make a decision as I put it together.
Rod
 
Early Darts were different then 67 on. I considered sealing the fenders, white RTV was what I was going to use. just a bead before installing the fenders. Did not like the gap you can see thru there. I had the fenders on and off so many times, it made no sense.
rod7515 said:
Mopar Tim, did you use anything when you put yours back together and do you believe there should have been some type of seal? I understand that they may not have used one but would it have been a good idea to use one?
Thanks Rod
Click to expand...
 
Once I had a fender on for the final installation I sprayed the underside of that seam with undercoat.
We don't want road water getting between them and the inner fender, and it doesn't hurt to have that protection from little rocks off the tires and moisture on the inside of the fenders anyway.

The strip or roll stuff doesn't let the seams come all the way together between the bolts.
 
TrailBeast said:
Once I had a fender on for the final installation I sprayed the underside of that seam with undercoat.
We don't want road water getting between them and the inner fender, and it doesn't hurt to have that protection from little rocks off the tires and moisture on the inside of the fenders anyway.

The strip or roll stuff doesn't let the seams come all the way together between the bolts.
Click to expand...
But I painted under there body color, I live in So Cal, no undercoating on car at all, just paint..

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