Trying to mock up my front sheetmetal???

[BIG CHEVY 3600]

I knew there would be some fabricating to be done when I started replacing fenders but with all my pictures I'm still stumped.
You guys with a SBC 350, how did you fit your inner fenders to fit around all that new stuff you have?
Remember a picture is worth a thousand words.
Thanks

[solidaxel]

I have no clearence problems with a SBC and the inner fenders, plenty of room

[Augy's '53]

I'm using Ramshorn headers and have converted to 'outside the frame' power steering (see my intro post) and have no clearance problems.

[Houston54]

The only clearance issues you will have with the inner fenders will be with any suspension changes you have made such as upper control arms. When fitting the front sheetmetal remember that it indexes off of the core support location and the hood. Do not lock down the fender mounting until you have the hood in place with all hinges and springs. This will reduce the headaches related to panel gaps.

[Atomsplitter]

As Houston stated, the lower section of the inner fender will need to be trimmed to clear the upper A-arm. In my case with the 1995 LT1 the passenger side inner fender had to be trimmed to allow the A/C pulley / accessory belt to clear. It seems some motors have it's issues and some have none. Keep in mind that if there are clearance issues, and you don't want to cut the inner fenders, there are some aftermarket products to fix these problems (belt drive systems, A/C delete pulleys, etc).

[mr48chev]

The clearance issues usually are centered around the location of the alternator. Some of the early mounts that set the alternator out off the manifold will cause issues but if you are using one of the setups that has the bracket bolting to the head and waterpump you shouldn't have problems.

On the inner fender to A frame clearance I'd suggest trimming a bit at a time until you get the clearance you need. The first time around when I had the truck subframed I got wild and made the cutouts way too big and ugly.

It takes a lot of patience to get everything to fit right and you will probably have to move pieces around many times to get it right. I would agree that it would help to get the fit on the hood perfect and then fit the fenders to the hood rather than the other way around. Make sure your hinges are in great shape and you have the correct hood hinge bolts as this is critical.

[Houston54]

One of the things to keep in mind with trimming around the upper control arms is to provide enough access for the alignment tech to get in to the bolts.

[BIG CHEVY 3600]

Great information guys. Another related question. I have seen inner fenders chopped up that look pretty sloppy. I don't have an English Wheel or any other sheetmetal tool and wonder what the best method to use in trimming that won't look like it was done by Donald Duffus.

[1-ton of fun]

i used a sawzall and cut out a rectangle so it would clear the upper control arms,; it made a pretty clean cut. i wish i would have traced out where i needed to cut and used a hole saw to radius the corners of the cut, though.