55.2-59 Rear fenders

[MD2020]

Any NEW rear fenders any good?, do they fit?, without the spare tire cave????

[MD2020]

Any company making rear fenders that fit??
I know the front fenders have to be modified.

[Rickysnickers]

I have no experience with any body panels. AMD has had some decent reviews that I've read. https://www.autometaldirect.com/body...23_72_332.html

[mr48chev]

One of the guys on FB that I follow a bit uses a ton of body parts from National Parts Depot. He doesn't seem to have any big issues with them. He is throwing together frame swap trucks that run around 30 K painted and upholsterd though.

Still with any repro sheet metal expect a bit of "adjusting" to make it perfect. Rear fenders shouldn't be the issue that front fenders or hoods can be though.

[joedoh]

i havent messed with 55.2-59 rear fenders but on the 47-55.1 stuff the bed and rear fenders and even the running boards are top notch as aftermarket. its only the front fenders and hoods taht are problematic.

guys are always surprised too. they say "are aftermarket front fenders any good?" and 50 people say "nope, find some originals" and they say to themselves "HOW BAD COULD THEY BE?". and then its "I SHOULD HAVE LISTENED"

[scott123]

A bit outside this group but within the topic.

I just bought a 1950 3600. I will stop at 'it needs a lot'.

I will at some point replace the two in the rear. It is good to hear some positive comments.

I bought a 1972 driver's side floor pan once at a car show from a private vendor. I have never seen any aftermarket body panel lay down and fit every factory nook/bend/dip/fold like this pan did. It fit like it was cut out from the very floor I was repairing.

The only drawback was the body mount bolt missed by a full two inches. It was dimpled just as nice as any other but was outside the mark by a mile.

This is my first 50'ish model so I am reading reviews on most every part I think I might need. LOL

Scott

Originally Posted by joedoh

i havent messed with 55.2-59 rear fenders but on the 47-55.1 stuff the bed and rear fenders and even the running boards are top notch as aftermarket. its only the front fenders and hoods taht are problematic.

guys are always surprised too. they say "are aftermarket front fenders any good?" and 50 people say "nope, find some originals" and they say to themselves "HOW BAD COULD THEY BE?". and then its "I SHOULD HAVE LISTENED"

[dsraven]

the rear fenders are the same from 55.2 to 66 I think. that opens up a few more options if looking for new. if you weigh the repairs to an ald set against the possible fitment issues on a new set you may come out even. you may get a good set on either side of the fence there. the thing with the new ones is they havent got rust on them so you atart out clean, make some adjustments or wuts and welds etc but the panels are basically straight when you start.
i have a set of old fenders that looked pretty good when I bought them, they were quite rusty on the inside, they looked pretty straight. the guy said they came from a truck in Arizona and were original down to the paint. yeah, I got them home and found they were covered in bondo and the rust on the inside was covering a lot of dents that seemed to blend in when I was checking them out originally. I spent a lot of time fixing them and thought afterwards I would have been waaay further ahead with a set of new ones, at least I wouldn't have to sand blast them, clean up that mess, shoot epoxy, clean up that mess, fix rust through, clean up.....you get the picture.
up to you which way you go, but at least the rear fenders don't have to fit against a door or hood with gap issues and body lines that gotta line up etc.

[MD2020]

Thanks for the info. I guess out of stock is going to be the problem now days

[_Ogre]

i've always suspected that only one manufacturer repops all these parts
like mr48 says, not much fitting involved

[NWA58]

Got all of my sheet metal from H&H and was able to pick up locally to save on freight. Finding good OEM rear fenders is near impossible and probably still need countless hours of rust repair where the step bolts up and loads of filler. The fact that these rears bolt to a flat surface gives much higher likelihood of a decent fit. No issues with mine, and no spare tire cutout on the left side to deal with. Tray has one in stock now. https://hhclassic.com/c-755922-truck...ders-rear.html

[NWA58]

Just noticed you are in Mississippi. H&H will deliver for free to Biloxi when they are there in a couple of weeks.

https://hhclassic.com/ce-9982-cruisin-the-coast.html

[Sammy4358]

What year truck are your fenders for? I have a good set I had sandblasted and did some repair on one. They are off a 1959 GMC.

[MD2020]

1956
It's 5 hours to Biloxi, and 6 hours to H&H
Looks like they are out of stock on the right hand fender

[MD2020]

Thanks guy's

[dsraven]

sorry, I meant
that opens up a few more options if looking for used fenders.

[scott123]

There are pros and cons to everything.

When I was younger there was all the time in the world to do any and all of the things i wanted to do. Now that I am a bit older the day(s) seem to fly by.

On my 69 I spent many hours cutting/grinding and welding old fenders. By the time they were ready to paint (if I could charge for the hours and the time) I could have had another set of fenders delivered.

For this 50 3600 I think I am going for the 'nice enough' truck.

Some new, some old and time will be the biggest factor is in the decision making process.

Scott

[dsraven]

yeah, good plan. I need to institute the same way of thinking on my build. always another issue or somebody elses emergency repair that takes priority and piles up parts in front of my project. currently fencing supplies.
if I were to do another truck I maybstart with a new cab. maybe one of the ones assembled in USA (can't remember the shop that does it), I've heard good things about their product.

[56 3100]

i purchased rear drivers fender without spare cutout .bolts to box side fine but didnt check step bolt hole alignment yet.

[MD2020]

Summit has them.
What brand should I get ?
Auto Metal Direct --questions say thin metal
Goodmark --Questions say heavy gauge steel skin, I'm guessing it needs that double layer for the bolt holes and other places.

[mr48chev]

Goodmark has had one of the better reputations for a long time.

I bought some of their Rockers and a couple of other pieces from Wes at Classic Heartbeat but it is close enough to go pick it up or get my brother to run down and pick up and order.

[MD2020]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

Goodmark has had one of the better reputations for a long time.

I bought some of their Rockers and a couple of other pieces from Wes at Classic Heartbeat but it is close enough to go pick it up or get my brother to run down and pick up and order.

Skins only, So what has to be welded to it?

[PDW HOTRODS]

I would check with Mar-K. They specialize in beds and bed parts. Everything I have got from them was great.

[Black_Sheep]

I used AMD, they took a little finessing, but a lot less than the 60+ year old originals I had to work with…

[MD2020]

My fender came in today from H&H with no dents.
My back ground was Tool and die work for many years so I understand how these parts are made.
I measured the thickness everywhere I could, .030 to .045 thick.
The thin part is at the top inside where it bolts to the bed sides .030, this area was stretched the most where I could measure and .045 in the center of the wheel opening, stretched the least more than likely.
I also measured one of my old fenders with .050 at the thickest place I could measure. More bracing on the old fender so I couldn't measure as much.
I'm happy for now but need to mount them and compare them to the old ones.