Mike Carpenter wrote: Does anyone know of a source for authentic XK fenderwelting? In the past, I’ve tried the plastic and rubber reproductions, painted to body color, but it never looks like the original. Believe it or not J.C Whitney. I compared original XK-150 to the parts they sell for VW bugs and it is an exact match. Don’t kknow about 120 or 140’s. I think it even comes in colors. Two packs (about $18.00) did my OTS with some left over. Hope this helps – L J Haithcock S830794DN XK-150S OTS Try Norman motors in London 100 Mill Lane London NW6 Fax1717945034 or Guy Broad in Coventry fax 1676542427 or Turley’s Interiors, tlf.1676541309 (England). – Allan Derry BritAuto U.S.A (1-800-452-4787) supplies plastic fenderwelting in 7 colours. – ?? The original hollow almost-half-round brass mouldings were brazed to the bottoms of the fender wheel well arches, front and rear of the arch, toward the underside, where the fender wraps under the car, and secured to the arch section above with a series of pins which were pushed through tiny holes (less than 1/16″) in the flat part and then bent over. If you have replacement mouldings and are trying to fasten them in place, and they do not have the pins for original-type fastening, I would probably use double-face EPDM tape – the same kind used to fasten today’s body side moldings in place. Brazing around the arch would be too risky (bead and filler melt at about the same temperature – like trying to solder two pieces of solder together – possible, but ‘challenging!’) – epoxy would be an alternate (PC-7 or equivalent); the area receives quite an impulse shock load, and the EPDM tape has a bit of ‘give’ to it – preferable. I discovered this the hard way once – fell asleep at the wheel while driving home from a date on a divided highway (actually, the date was somewhere else!) – the road curved off to the right and I went straight – hit the center island and came to with stars moving vertically in front of the windshield (nose up in the air and all!) – when the front end hit the ground again, all the loose junk in the cockpit filled the air! Stopped without incident, got out, examined self, car, scene, convenient telephone pole, etc. – only damage, visible or not, was the two rear wheel well arch brass moldings! Both torn loose throughout the arch and fastened by the bottom brazed joints only! I applied the inevitable racing tape to hold them in place for the trip home. Later tried epoxy, but it shook loose. Finally removed them completely, as car had previously been converted from wire wheels to disk ones (another story!). Current owner has restored wire wheels – I’ll have to ask him about the mouldings! Car is now cherry, so he must have done something! Sorry about the overly-long answer – Oh, Diane (my date that night) finally bought me an alarm watch, so I could catch some ZZZZs if I ever felt sleepy on a drive home in the future – resolved the situation by marrying her and removing the anxiety of wondering if the brass mouldings would ever shake loose again! That was about 30 years ago, and I’m glad to say neither of us has been traded in yet! – Larry Schear Twin Cam, Inc. I was waiting for Larry to reply before offering my limited experience. I replaced one brass arch molding which I’m quite certain I got from Bassett’s. The replacement moldings may be hollow, solid, or filled. The main portion of the arch had holes drilled completely through the molding. The holes matched the existing holes in the wing/fender. Short pop-rivets are used from the inside of the fender. The expanded heads of the rivets remain within the hollow/center portion of the molding. The holes on the outside of the molding are then either leaded or filled with a body filler. The bottom edges, where they turn under the fender, must be flattened and brazed or otherwise securely attached. It wasn’t too difficult. – Dick Cavicke
updated 6/20/98
A non-online friend who is in the process of restoring an always white 120 DHC has asked my to confirm the correct colour of rear fender welting, i.e., body colour or black. Any input would be appreciated. – Brian Pel I would have to go with body color. I have a piece of the original light metallic blue that was in my 51 and that sure wouldn’t have been used unless they meant it to match the color as black would have sure been easier to use. – Larry J, 660636 Brian, Fenderwelting is body colour. Whether it is Rexine covered cord or plastic depends on what date it was made (cut off Apr 53). What are the numbers of the car etc? – Regards, John Elmgreen Larry, the light blue you have, is it plastic or Rexine (leathercloth) wrapped around cord? Any chance of a sample of what’s left? – Regards, John Elmgreen John, The fender welting is like a leather cloth. It had the twisted brown cord in it. I will be bringing it to XK50. I was replacing the original cork gas cap seal and in the process of cleaning the cap I found the metal to be chrome plated. It was then painted black, then body color. The body color is under the cork gasket. Evidently, they put the gasket on after the car was painted so the gasket wouldn’t get painted. They probably painted the chrome because it would be hard for the glue to stick to the chrome. This was more surprising to find then the brass horn covers. – Larry J, 660636