I mentioned before about re-tacking the tab closer to the brace to move the fender up and away from the tire more. That was done. In addition, 1/16th of an inch of drop out was carved out to move the derailleur back a touch to give the wheel a bit more clearance. Both of those things worked. However, I ran into a couple snags. First, I was going to use a fender bolt to mount the fender. But the smooth side won't grab the tab enough, so I can tight the nut enough on the inside of the fender. So that was no good. The hole was too big to tap it so I could use a small bolt from the inside, like Huffy did originally. I'd have to use a giant bolt and cut it down, and that would probably look silly. So, I used a pan head straight-slot bolt from the top with a nut inside. It looked really good and worked well... until I tried to install the brake.
First, the new position of the fender killed the clearance the install nut had to tight the brake from the back.
To get to the point you see above I had to completely disassemble the brake, then turn the center-mounting bolt to the nut. Then I realized that the spring mount was scraping the fender bolt!
I discussed the dilemma with my friend. We're going to weld "Tab v.3" tomorrow. What we decided was to weld a bolt to the tab so nothing sticks up. That'll give the spring mount the clearance it needs, and will allow me to install the brake, then the fender, so the nut in the back can tighten. We may even move the tab a bit "down" to give that nut clearance, but we have to be careful because the tire isn't working with a lot of clearance under that fender.
Another thing that was done was a little OCD thing I had. This '66 Huffy El Dorado frame had holes right where the seat stays clamped into the drop outs. They weren't used for anything on the El Dorado, so I don't know why they were there. But on the Super Stock the holes weren't there at all. So they got filled and ground. There were two holes on the front of the head tube as well for the tank light. Those were filled, even though they won't be seen under the head badge. But my OCD would know they were there, so they got filled and ground down.
The chain guard still hasn't been welded. I asked him if he could weld it then give it to me so I can mock it on the frame, make sure it fits, and cut and tap its mounting hole. Then he can have it back to chrome, and I can paint the frame. I think it's going to be next week till I can paint.
ugh