Did I Buy a 68 Fender By Accident?

[justagoodolboy]

I bought a fender off Craigslist that the guy said was for a 72 and now, over a year later, I'm putting my truck back together and I have a problem. The fender gave me fits trying to get it bolted back on- the holes just would not quite line up so my buddy helped me pull and push it to where we got most of the bolts in. I put the hood on today and the fit is different versus the original fender that I put back on the other side. In the front, the curve down to the grill surround is not the smooth, even curve like the other side (original fender). And when I put the cowl on the hood is probably 3/8 inch higher than the cowl, while the other side the cowl and hood are the same height like they should be. So what do you think? Am I trying to put a 68 fender on my 72?

[faribran]

bunches of pics, plz

[Longhorn Man]

need a photo of the front edge, where the grill bolts on.
The rest of the fender would be the same as a 69 - 72

[justagoodolboy]

Sorry, I don't have any at the moment and can't get any till tomorrow afternoon. If it's the front that's different I could tell by comparing it with the original, right?

[faribran]

yes, no doubt

[lolife99]

Sounds like the poor fit of an aftermarket fender.
Maybe the previous owner took it off of a '72,... GMC.
(they are the same as a '68 Chevy fender)

[Longhorn Man]

i did't realize you still had your old fender... orr for that matter, you could compare it to the fender on the other side of your truck.
As far as the bolt holes not lining up properly, either a lower cost repro fender, or damage on your frame/core support/ cab that hasn't been fixed properly, but the old fender was able to line up with

[justagoodolboy]

The reason I wanted to replace the original was because the po had hit something that shoved the corner of the bumper back into the fender and messed up the cup on the bottom, so maybe Longhorn Man is right about something having been damaged. I didn't notice anything but I'll look again, and if I still can't get the gaps right I'll post some pix.

Just wondering, is there any obvious way to tell an aftermarket fender from an original? Besides the poor fitment?

[sameyrasmea72]

Here is a 67-68 STYLE fender or GMC fender. I try to find a69-72 chevy.

[sameyrasmea72]

Originally Posted by justagoodolboy

Just wondering, is there any obvious way to tell an aftermarket fender from an original? Besides the poor fitment?

A aftermarket might have some sort of stamp on it.

[sameyrasmea72]

69-72 chevy

[sameyrasmea72]

This is a cheap aftermarket fender with poor fit. Is part of your problem like this?