Herald rear valances

[Tom]

Some of you might know I have been working on the chassis and rear tub of my Herald.

My rear valances were all in a very bad way, I removed them a few years ago and bought replacements ( can't remember where from?). Well I dug them out today, It was the first time I've offered them up to the car and each other and what junk they have turned out to be! They are not even close to correct and will need a lot of bending/ adjustment and fettling to fit......very disappointing!!!!

They are that bad I would consider just writing them off as a bad purchase and buy again if I could guarantee quality items.

So my question is, are all off these valances these days junk or can quality items be sourced and if so where from?

Thanks, Tom.

[Tom]

Well with a clear head this morning I decided to give them another go, mainly as I need them in place to decide where the edge of my rear wheelarch repair will end as it needs to match up with the front edge of the side valance, so it's holding up that repair until I am happy with the valance.

I did some fettleing and got them into place. I have a sneaking suspicion the problem may lie in the side valances, one because I have to squeeze the bumper on the rear ( yellow clamp on pic )to push it into the same form as the bumper on the side. When I then offer the chrome over rider up there is a gap between it and the bumper ( see pic ).

When the rear valance is relaxed it matches the overrider better.

Would anyone be able to look at how well their overriders match their bumper curve? 

I would rather just source some better quality side valances rather than the rear too as it is very expensive!

[Colin Lindsay]

It was very hard to photograph mine with the white rubber bumpers on, but it appears to be a good contour match between the overrider and the valence on top, but underneath there is a gap, mostly taken up by the rubber seal. I've only one fitted to this car so couldn't check for a match at the other side.

[Tom]

Cheers for that Colin, to be fair the gap is better on the top of mine too.

I've attached another pic showing the discrepancy between the 2 panals, I't is obvious the rear valance is a better quality item than the sides. 

Would anyone be able to reccomend a supplier of good quality panals? I'm convinced the sides are poor quality, as I said earlier they dictate where I bring my rear wheel arch repair too ( see pic) and I'd rather not match it into a low quality panal.

[Tom]

Update- I contacted James Paddock about the 1/4 panals. They were very honest and said to their knowledge there is only one supplier of these panals and they do get them returned every so often, they said the panal I have is probably the same as their panals and it would just be a case of  fettleing and tidying up to get it to fit well and look good.

Shame Heritage Body panals don't do Herald parts.

Looks like I'm going to have to bite the bullet and live with them.

[Colin Lindsay]

If I remember correctly, and this was 2002 or therabouts, that white Herald was fitted with a new rear valence and side valences and the rear valence in particular required a lot of bending to fit properly; I think it was fitted all along the top edge, then the overriders were tightened right in while the valence was pushed inwards to permit tightening, and then the valence was bent in at the bottom by hand pressure to meet the side valences. You can see the pop rivet which I used to secure it in place. Once in place it stayed there and the overriders could be removed again for body painting.

[Tom]

Yes Colin I think I'm being a bit optimistic to think I can buy some panals that will bolt on perfectly!!

[Tom]

Colin I know this is a pain and don't worry if you don't want to but one more measurement would set my mind at rest!

Would you be able to roughly measure the closest point ( Center point of the valance and wheel well ) of the wheel well to the valance?

The more I tweak it and bolt things up the better it looks so I'm a bit happier now!!

thanks, Tom.

[Colin Lindsay]

1 hour ago, Tom said:

Would you be able to roughly measure the closest point ( Center point of the valance and wheel well ) of the wheel well to the valance?

Can do, but it will be tomorrow? I'm thinking you mean the closest point of the rim of the wheel well to the rear edge, to the centre of the valence bulge?

[Tom]

Yes that's exactly the measurement, No rush Colin, I have about 10 little patches to be getting along with!!

Well I managed to finish the wheelarch once I'd made the decision to use the valance I have, I've slightly distorted the panel which is very annoying as I cooled each weld with my airgun. 

[Colin Lindsay]

Morning Tom! Just back in from the garage; I mocked up a rear tub using old valences I have salted away trial fitted to the convertible tub I'm working on at present.

Firstly - the measurement from the vertical face of the wheel well to the centre of the valence bulge is about 5 3/4 inches, maybe 5 1/2 if the valence is pulled inwards to meet the side valences.

Here you can see the green side valence is mounted over the red rear valence; it was the easiest way to do it one handed and still use a camera, but it shows you the curves.

At the wheelarch end the valence fits like this:

If I fit the green side valence under the rear valence it fits like this - approx as it's only held in place by finger pressure:

I tried again with a different side valence and the contours are quite good:

It bends down to an acceptable contour that will be hidden by the rear overrider:

And this one too meets the front edge at the wheelarch:

So as you can see the panels are all very close to each other and require minimum fettling or flexing before finally fixing in place.

The problem with that tub is that the rear wing is incorrectly fitted, you can see in the first photo how the lower edge bends upwards but I'm hoping it's just the side closing panel that has been incorrectly fitted, and a replacement one of those will sort it out.

My advice is to fit the side valences to a good contour with the wheelarch, and then work on the rear joints; remember that most of this area is hidden by the overrider but will also bend into place with a little bit of fettling.

Hope this helps!

[Tom]

That's a massive help Colin and really puts my mind at rest. One of my problems was I didn't have the corner of the wheel arch as a reference, when I welded in my repair I left enough metal on that edge so once I was happy about the valance fit I could match it in.

It worked out nicely or nice enough to keep me happy!!

I still have a bit of wiggle room and the front edge of the valance isn't quite fettled so I can get it a touch better.

Your original panals do look a bit better than the repro's but there is not a great deal in it especially as they are fairly well hidden items.

Once again Colin thanks for your help on this project I really appreciate it!!

Tom.