Wheel wells & the vacuum canister
 

I have repop wheel wells for my 68. I had put the originals in storage so I knew where the vacuum can, wiper fluid bottle, & rubber flaps get installed.

So today, I dug them out of storage & it appears I saved the ones from my parts car which did not have hideaways. So, I need to figure out were the vacuum can originally went. I know approximately, just not exactly.

Interestingly I found two small indents in the old wheel wells that do appear to line up with the original can & bracket. Can anyone confirm if all the wheel wells had those dimples for the canister bracket? It makes sense from a production standpoint, but before I drill holes, I thought I would check with you guys.

Just to close the thread, I measured things & the dimples are in fact for the canister. Interestingly the repop wells have the bottom hole, & its "close" to the factory location, but no top hole. Got figured out now. :)

My 69 LeMans has the dimples so I would imagine they all did.

There are two substantially different tubs variations, some have the stapled on lower rubber skirt at the back and others have an extended design with the steel coming lower down and no rubber add on. Not sure if its early-late, a plant thing or even a 68vs69 thing.

I wonder where I can get the staples that hold them in place. They are an incredibly strong wire staple, only 1/2" across. I will drill the holes, but need to find a replacement for those. Not sure if our host has those or not.

Here 'ya go...
https://secure.amesperf.com/qilan/De...A&web_access=Y

So, my plan was to pre drill & hand install the staples, after I paint the housings. Did you just bend your staple ends over? What did you do?

These wheel wells also have two extra 1/2" holes across from the holes that secure them to the top of the fender. No clue why those would be there. Going to weld them in.

any chance you could post a pic of the location for the canister?

Do you have original wheel wells? The dimples should be there for the bracket, drivers side opposite location of the wiper washer bottle, but closer to the fender. My fender wells are not in the car yet, but I could give you some measurements if you need them.

Could those holes be for the wire harness holder (not sure of the nomenclature) that holds the engine harness secure on top of the inner fender (wheel well)?

I'll take a picture later on. the are symmetrical with the two large 1/2" holes that secure the top of the fender to the fender. It does have the wire harness holes & they are in the correct location. These wells, are very much like the originals & fit very good. The just have too many holes :)

I found a picture thanks to google!

Here you can see all four holes. My originals only have the two near the inside edge.

I could use plastic plugs like the one used in the opposite side battery tray mount thats not used.
But for the life of me I can't see a purpose for these.


http://cdn6.bigcommerce.com/s-8ncoer...0.1280.jpg?c=2

That's exactly what I did when I replaced mine. Did it with the wheelwells on the car. Wasn't too hard. My fender also still has the mounts for the vacuum canister still in place if that helps you. My car has been modified with an electric actuator to control the hideaway doors but the vacuum canister mounts are still there.

I found dimples in another set of wells that I was hanging on to for reference (primarily for the water shield locations) didn't realize they had dimples for the canister. worked out perfect. makes sense they would be there for assembly purposes. I am adding power windows to my car from another 68. all the dimples were they for the wire boots, etc. made it easy to locate :)

Did you fill in the extra hole in the rearward bottom of the of the left fender well? the originals had a hole on the right side, but not the left. it was unused & no clue what its for. After markets have a hole on both sides. The holes are close to the two body mount holes, but closer to the lower tops of the water shields.

Kinda makes me wonder if those top holes are used for sheet metal alignment for the press that makes these? seems so odd that the extra holes in the top exist.

Yep, that's what I did. VERY tedious, surprisingly so. :cry:

They are for different models (like the Grand Prix that have wider hoods and narrower fenders. I imagine that the upper portion of those tubs are used on several models across GM and only the out edging was unique to fit specific models to match fender contours. Often the dies for parts like this are actually a series of partial dies that bolt together so that different variations of similar parts can be made without complete separate tooling.

That makes sense!

So did you leave the staples with the galvanized coating, or did you paint over them after install? Guessing the trick will be bending them over without marring up the paint. have any picts by chance?