Poor Man's Frame Machine

[Second Air Force]

We've all been in the awkward position of needing to straighten something but not really having the right tool at hand. Ingrid, our Standard Oval, needed the right front fender straightened and I've been planning this operation for a few weeks. The car still has all four original fenders and I knew I could save this one if only I could figure out how to apply the right force in the correct direction. (Also, this is a Standard fender without the horn cutout and they aren't exactly plentiful in the U.S...…)

So, I designed a frame machine. All I did was load Ingrid on my car trailer and position her at the rear of the trailer. Then it was a matter of getting the angle right for the tie-down and making a hook that fits into the curved lip of the fender. Next step, jack it up and remove the tire.

Then it became a simple matter of jacking the entire car carefully, with the fender being put into tension by the strap and hook. It took several small operations of bumping and then moving of the hook to get the right angles. After a couple of hours of work it's almost ready to be removed from the body for final metal working and then a little lead to finish it off.

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1956 Standard Sedan

[WD-40]

Looks like a nice improvement!
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"The new Volkswagen 1303. We've made so many improvements, they're beginning to show."