At 01:35 PM 1/2/06, Michael Sloan wrote:
>"Is this thing supposed to have any metal surrounding the wheels, under the fenders? Or is the underside of the fenders exposed?"

In front there is a splash panel behind the front wheel attached to the main body and sealed along the fender side, but the rest of the fender is open inside with the back of the lamp fixtures exposed.

In the rear there is splash panel aft of the rear wheel, attached to the main body with bolts exposed inside the boot. The bottom edge of the fender has a bracket and one small bolt to attach the fender to the splash panel for structural support. Otherwise this splash panel is not sealed around the outer edge.

For nearly the first two years of production there was no splash panel ahead of the rear wheel, but it is highly recommended to retrofit the later parts. Beginning with car 29935 in April 1957 splash panels were installed in front of the rear wheels, attached to the main body and sealed around the outer edge. Installation of these panels to earlier cars requires installation of captive nuts at the front of the main body inner wheel well. It is possible to shortcut this process by drilling small holes and using self taping sheet metal screws with large flat washers.