Fenders for Ben Hur and Water Buffalo Question

[42cargo]

Hi all,

This is a long shot, but I figure it never hurts to ask.

I'm looking at a G506 panel truck. Unfortunately, somewhere in the vehicle's history, a previous owner trimmed the rear fenders to remove about 4" from the outside so that he could run without dual wheels.

In comparing photos of the truck fenders with those on Ben Hur and water buffalo trailers, I'm fairly confident the trailer fenders are the same overall size as the fenders for the van, though the trailer fenders might not be as deep as the ones from the van. Since the inner sections are still present on the van, I'm thinking it might be possible to graft those sections together with the outer sections from a pair of trailer fenders to restore the van fenders for use with dual wheels.

With that in mind, does anyone have spare fenders from either a Ben Hur or water buffalo trailer that they would be interested in selling? If so, feel free to let me know.

Sincerely,

John

[Rustman]

John,

I wish you luck. I bought a Ben Hur with no fenders and spent a fair bit of time looking into fender options. I finally was able to obtain some from a Ben Hur being parted out. But otherwise Ben Hur parts are pretty much unobtanium. I was looking into large truck/trailer fenders for tag/lift axles. The only ones I found online with prices were stainless, aluminum or plastic. I was about to start making phone calls to truck parts suppliers when I was able to obtain originals.

Matt

[42cargo]

Thanks for the speedy response, Matt. Good to know. This isn't a rush project, rather it's more of an info gathering exercise at this point.

There's a really complete 1945 Ben Hur on eBay now, which gave me the idea for the possible fender solution. The box is in need of a lot of metal work but it's super complete. I was very surprised to see it had Anthes marble-type reflectors on it. I thought by that late in the war they had gone over to the plastic style.

Sincerely,

John

[Dave A.]

I believe I have a set of Ben Hur trailer fenders. Have sent you a PM if you are interested.

Dave A.

[W. Winget]

I've been searching for a way to replace the 1918 Standard B Liberty truck fenders which are AWOL, I found several manufacturers on line for fat Motorcycle rear fenders in sorted widths for custom bike builders (fairly cheap), some of these may offer up what your seeking.

My problem is not only in dimension, (one early 1st series model Liberty still exists in England with bent fenders on her) but three maybe all four of the sides have to be rolled, and turning the front lip radius takes someone with some knowledge of custom sheetmetal bending. I either learn a skill and buy a metal forming brake ($$$), or I will have to end up modifying something with a mig welder and grinder.
V/R W Winget

[42cargo]

Thanks for both of your posts.

Dave, I'll respond to your PM directly.

Mr. Winget, your thinking is in line with mine. If the Ben Hur fenders aren't a direct match, I might have to learn how to use some metal fabricating tools. (Which, to be honest, would be really fun and certainly take my skills to the next level.) I ran across a fascinating web series by a fellow named Lazze. Both informative and inspirational: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aD0KsVmHc-w

Sincerely,

John

[W. Winget]

I've watched some of his videos, makes it look so simple that you wish there were guys like that you could call upon for just such a thing and make life easier.
Also Peterbuilt trucks had nice rounded fenders, and if there's an old truck yard around they may yield some donor metal. Not sure about a M37 or 715 rear fender for your application, they may offer up a similar curvature to be grafted on the older remnants.
Good Luck.
W Winget

[42cargo]

Thank you.

The current owner of the van has sourced some trailer fenders that are very close, but the radius of the bend that makes the outside lip is too large. For the untrained eye, you'd never notice. But I'd like to see what options might exist for replicating as close to the original as possible.

John

[D.R.H.]

Where were you guys two months ago when I discovered that this pair of N.O.S. EXTRA fenders had a different bolt pattern and would not fit my trailer!!?? I offered them for sale, at a very reasonable price but no one was interested. Here are a couple of pics. of them.

Sandblasted and perfect......


Primed and looking even better........


Painted 33070 and unable to install....... Yes, they are the ones IN the trailer.


Now they are going with me to Oregon to be traded for 10 Skid Strips for my composite bed. OH WELL................

[42cargo]

I would have felt really bad about cutting those for the project I proposed. I'm glad they went to a good home.

In looking at more photos of the trailer fenders, I'm thinking the outside radius is too big for use on the van. Dave, if you have the chance, could you post a shot of one of your trailer fenders and then another shot of one of your truck front fenders? From Tony's photos of his van, I think the radius on the original van rear fenders is very similar to the radius of the front fenders, particularly down by the running board.

No rush on my account. This is still an information gathering exercise.

BTW, I saw the photos of the restoration you did on your trailer. It looks beautiful.

John

[philbrinson]

I've got a pair of Ben Hur fenders that have been cut where they bolt on to the body of the trailer. Maybe an inch or so of width? Might be just what you need if you don't want to cut a good set. Perhaps we can get together and see! PM me!

Phil