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Sheet Metal Tech: How To Build A Wire Edge Panel


Sheet Metal Tech: How To Build A Wire Edge Panel

If you have been around old cars, you have undoubtedly seen a wire edged panel before. They are common on older British cars for sure, but also on lots of others. A wire edged panel is one where instead of just using a flange for strength the panel features a rolled “tube” at the edge fo the wheel opening for example, and there is a solid “wire” or rod inside the tube to give it additional strength. If you have ever trimmed the flange on a rear wheel opening, in an effort to gain tire clearance, you know that the quarter panel gets floppy because the support is gone. Making the wheel opening have a wire edge will bring back that strength.

This is why a wire edge building technique is a good one to have in your arsenal because there will be times when you could really use it, even on a vehicle that never came with a wire edge panel originally.

In this video, the panel is being made from aluminum and the wire is galvanized steel. But the same principles can be used to make a steel panel with steel wire. It will take a bit more work and effort, but it is doable. I’ve personally used what I think of as the hybrid method where I removed most of the flange from a wheel opening and then roll it around a wire that I then weld in place. The full roll of the sheet metal isn’t always possible, but if you can get it most of the way it will make a clean strong edge.

Watch and you’ll get it. This is really an easy process, but it will take some practice. This is a great tutorial so you can really see what is happening when you do this right.


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One thought on “Sheet Metal Tech: How To Build A Wire Edge Panel

  1. Matt Cramer

    Wish I’d found this video before I went about turning a cookie sheet into a radiator shroud. Just finished it, too!

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