Topic: Help with Feb 1968 Wheel Well Coatings - Dearborn

[sparta]

Hello everyone! i am new to this forum and have recently picked up a 1968 mustang fastback. My car was built February 5th, 1968, in Dearborn Michigan. I have some questions about what to do to the front and rear wheel wells. Right now they are painted black with no under coating and was wondering what sound deadener to apply? also, will the sound deadener trap moisture like some under coatings do and cause rust over time? i won't be driving the car in rain or winter, but i would still like to avoid that.

thank you! 

[J_Speegle]

First - welcome to the site.

Hope you find support and help with your concours needs

Hello everyone! i am new to this forum and have recently picked up a 1968 mustang fastback. My car was built February 5th, 1968, in Dearborn Michigan. I have some questions about what to do to the front and rear wheel wells.

For the rear wheel wells they were coated with sound deadener when the product was applied in the trunk to the quarter panels. It was next painted over with body color as the quarter panel was painted so pretty good coverage over the sound deadener and the frame rail and floor exposed in the wheel well. Heavy overspray spread inward in the rear end "tunnel"

From wheel well sound deadener was applied over the other colors found in the front wheel well as well as hardware, lines, grommets and such after everything was completed (front fenders, splash shields, suspension .....) except for the wheel and tire from below (like the rear wheel wells)

also, will the sound deadener trap moisture like some under coatings do and cause rust over time?

If you drive it all the time in weather, snow, ice and salt. and only if it cracks, comes lose or other problems. Fi the use these cars will see in the future not something I believe you need to worry about


If you need pictures of the original applications let me know and we'll find some for you. Don't think we've done this in another thread yet - not for 68 Dearborn, that I can recall

[mtinkham]

"If you need pictures of the original applications let me know and we'll find some for you. Don't think we've done this in another thread yet - not for 68 Dearborn, that I can recall"

Jeff....I vote to see original examples....they won't apply to my projects, but it feeds the addiction!

[J_Speegle]

Rear wheel wells - 68 Dearborn

Applied over the base epoxy primer sealer and light gray surface primer coats the sound deadener was normally applied to the rear wheel wells from a position below the car. No car was taken to insure that no product was sprayed onto adjacent panels (floor and frame some it's normal to find some sound deadener on that areas directly behind (inward) and above the wheel well.

Application is thinner near the outer edge of the wheel well. This reduced the chance of getting any product on the fender lip or outside of the wheel well which would have produced more work (clean up)


Over this body color was applied (heavy to overspray) as paint was applied to the wheel lip edge and quarter panel (passing the flowing spray gun over the opening). Its typical to find a thick shinny coat of paint on the back surface of the wheel well and exposed frame rail. Since the sound deadener remained somewhat flexible and took allot of wear stuff thrown up by the wheels its not unusual for the painted top surface to be removed in some or more of the surface after all these years, exposing the black sound deadener originally below the painted surface.

Front wheel wells are next

In this picture the purple arrow shows the result of the shadow produced by the lower lip of the wheel well blocking body color from covering the sound deadener along that upper edge but painted over below this shadow.  Green arrow shows the thinner application of sound deadener at the outer edge of the wheel well



Arrows show the sound deadener with body color well behind the wheel well on the floor section and the forward area where the top coat of the sound deadener has been removed over time