Does anybody know of a source for the kind of twisted(?) wire that gives the spring to canvas mudflaps? Does anybody even know what that kind of wire is called?

Attachment 50701 Attachment 50702

Is it anything like the core from clothesline? (the old style between two pulleys, not the yuppie umbrella style) That was a twisted wire core that I remeber as being quite stiff to bend and springy. The plastic covered versions would also reduce rust marking of the canvas of the mudflap, I think it was also made as galvanized to reduce rusting.

Have you considered......
 

Small dia. steel cable for 1500 to 2000 winches...???? available at Princess Auto..... I believe it may also be available in Stainless Steel for boating application but will be more expensive......

Harry.....what vehicle are the flaps from....?

Bob

mud flap cables
 

you could also try flight control cable as a stiffener for the mud flaps. 19 x19 is to flexable. I forget what the other strand type is but it is less flexable and probally work very well.

20CWT trailer
 

Harry.....what vehicle are the flaps from....?

The ones in the pictures are off of my 20CWT trailer, but they look to be the same as the scraps left on 3 or 4 front fenders of my CMP's. same width, material and folds and stitching at least for the top 2 inches that survived under the metal strip that covered them on the inside of the fender.
I'm assuming it's the common design for mudflaps. Had no remnants on the rear of any CMP I've poked around lately so I can't check.

Canvas Mudflap Design
 

So is this design, with the wire reinforcing, the standard manufacture?

It's very handy for me that this thread started, as I am soon wanting to get a set made for myself. Have seen two restored vehicles here in Australia that have canvas mudflaps, but they both were a simple canvas sewn through diagonally from corner to corner. Those did not have wire inside. They couldn't have because of the sewing pattern.

Is this the style I should be having for a 1942 Ford CMP?
Attachment 50735
Up until this thread, I was intending to only put a flat aluminium bar across top & bottom inside the canvas cover, as per the above photo I took at Canungra 2011.

I intend to make new ones so I'll post pictures as I copy this one.

I would not call this mudflap "standard" but rather a variation. I have seen the mudflaps in canvas with metal strip insert sewn inside, as well as all canvas with metal strips rivetted to the outside. Both were lacking this wire rope framework.

Can't really tell what the other remnants that were on CMP's were like as only the top couple of inches remained behind the metal plate. These are from a trailer built in 45.

Harry If you get to me today at the Pub down on marine drive today foa a car show between 10 and who knows if the rain is no longer with us...I can get you the stainless cable from work...? Either that or the clothes line material sounds good as well. This cable I have we use to hold the cans to the poles during riots...Sure the can burns but in one place! heheheh. maybe see you there! Marine Pub july 21 Burnaby BC!

Spring steel..round..
 

Hi Harry..
This is just a round spring steel basic wire ..comes n a roll and it is formed as you like..
Sanvik make tons of it ..Check this out here..
Once you know what to call it it is easy to find..
http://www.smt.sandvik.com/en/produc...s/spring-wire/

Thanks Alex! :)

Didnt I have a mudflap resto in one of the convoy mags? IM pretty sure there was.

I had two originals, the small ones were still on my C60..heavily painted over which had completely protected them throughout the decades, and damaged large rear ones.

to repro, the larger rear, I was loaned an NOS flap to use as a pattern.

There were NO metal reinforcements/stiffeners in either. adding lateral reinforcement were fibreboard strips in the very bottom section. with a thin (!) amount of horsehair filler in each section to give a slight volume and padding(?)

when I reprod my large rear ones, I used a metal plate instead of the fibreboard to give added weight in addition to lateral stiffness.

My 1943 F15A has the latter type mud-flaps. Didn’t know these are originals.

Attachment 102807

Going back to the early posts, I think the wire was probably high tensile?

As the canvas will tend to retain water I would be inclined to use stainless wire rope. It isn't visible and will last for ever where as even galvanised rope will start to rust and discolour the canvas eventually.

David

I'm going to try with aluminum wire that I have here, about diameter 6 (maybe a bit too thin)
I go look around at my work if I do not find 8 mm.

I had good original remains of mudflaps front (yse there were small front mudflaps that should be there) and rear on my 1944 C60 to reproduce.. I put the exact plans in one of the old Convoy Magazines.

There was no wire.. there was a bit of horsehair padding between the canvas layers, and a metal stiffener stitched in across the bottom. All were thread stitched.

If someone has the old Convoy Mag you'll get a very accurate dimensions and plans to repro the flaps including the stitching pattern.