question for you guy with aftermarket fenders!

[chad64chevy]

was wondering what all you guys have had to do to get the aftermarket fenders to fit right, and wondering how you guys like them!! just curious!!

[Rich 5150 69]

I think that there is only two manufacturers of them and 20 vendors selling them, so its a crap shoot, some have had terrible experiance with them fitting some not so bad..

[chad64chevy]

thats what i have heard, and that the fronts need a lil work to line up right!!

[krazy_texan]

my understanding is that you have to hope that the guy running the metal press that day was in a good mood and caring about his job and the quality of what he did. if you got a guy that was pissy and irratible you got a crappy fender.

[Rich 5150 69]

Never on Friday or Monday...

[sigshooter]

I have tri plus and they are ok.... they are in a goodmark box with tri plus on the box. I ordered a pair and the drivers wasn't stamped well ( almost missed the rear lip )so I sent it back and got another. I work in a scrap yard and our aftermarket distributor is a Goodmark Dealer so there was no shipping =-)

[rbar]

I was told by a vendor that there are three manufacturers, tri-plus, dyna corn, and one other I can't remember at the moment. Mine were really bad and they were telling me this when I was complaining. The lip doesn't reach in far enough so the bolts smash the lip down, after you elongate them. The front inserts were welded in the wrong position, was folded at the wrong place and leave open v's in the front corner. The entire fender was also 1/4" too short. I ended up not using them on the truck I bought them for. I reworked one of them, it was crappy metal as well. I sold one to a guy and told him the details and he was good with it, especially at half price.
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[andyspinstriping]

I got goodmark ones on my truck and I love them. They fit pretty good, needed a little finessing but nothing too major.

[rbar]

I got inner fenders from goodmark are made by tri-plus as well.

[GMR-PERFORMANCE]

Getting all of that to line up can be tough. You are dealing with cab mounts, core support mounts, along with way too many other pieces of sheet metal. I spent almost a complete day getting my sheet metal linbed up. I had to move the cab first, then shim the core support, etc. But once done it is well worth it.

I think the single thing I hate to see is poor gaps on sheet metal. I even sliced open the back of my cab vs rear door jam to move that around.. a bit over kill and most will never see it, but I know its right.

Here in az we are lucky very little rust so OEM fenders are easy to come by that may only need a lower patch panel at the most.

[k1rodeoboater]

My repo fenders fit ok. Getting an or set from out west and repairing was just to cost prohibitive for the project. If I was doing a higher budget build then I would have gone that route
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[Alan's Classic]

Another area of concern is where the cowl extension sets on the fender. Had to trim the inner structure of the fender. Where the front Of the ext meets the fender. It was a minor trim but needed to get the ext gap correct on the fender.
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[K98AL]

I'm just finishing up both 1/2 fender portions from LMC. Two 1/2 fenders, two different manufacturers. One went really well, the other, well, let's just say it looks better than the rusted out part flapping in the breeze. If I was trying to restore this to original, I would be really unhappy, but I'm just gonna drive it, so it's not that big a deal to me.

Finding a good OEM fender would be the way to go.(if possible)

[63sbssbbw]

A dream come true (If you can find them)...
My heart skipped a beat when I found a local(yes,local) ad for a pair of"NOS,still in the GM boxes"..
My heart darn near stopped when I saw what he wanted for them ....
$1200.00 for the pair
Yup,,you guessed it...they're NOT in my garage.
Too rich for my wallet...I'll keep looking.
T

[chad64chevy]

Originally Posted by Alan's Classic

Another area of concern is where the cowl extension sets on the fender. Had to trim the inner structure of the fender. Where the front Of the ext meets the fender. It was a minor trim but needed to get the ext gap correct on the fender.
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alan, can you show me a picture of what your talking about, please!!

[chad64chevy]

the main reason i was asking is i found i guy selling a set for the price of just one! said they are leftovers from a project that got sold before they put them on!! i've patched mine so its not like i really need them, but the price is still really good! just dont know if i want to mess with them a whole lot, to get them to fit!

So have any of you had to mess with the height of them?? like the back pieces that are by the door jam not lining up, and being to short from the rocker panels?

[tincan1966]

I've only purchased one set from Classic Industries, but was overall pleased with the fit and no more than expected 'adjusting" required. The set I got for the 'Burb is from Classic Parts in KC,not sure the MFG will let you know.

[jbgroby]

I too was on the fence for the older OEM fenders and the new aftermarket. I was not in a rush, so I ordered them one at a time from RJ in Colorado. IF you're not trying to meet a dealine. Try to get the older originals, there better built, heavier gauge metal and (IF GMC) probally have the oem factory emblem holes in them already, no guessing and drilling.

Just my two cents

[sigshooter]

I started messing with these trucks when I was 16 ( when I got my Grandpa's truck some 25 + years ago ), back then rocker panels were still available for about 35 dollars each ( I still have receipts were I bought sets from GM ). Fenders were around 225 bucks, but I kept putting off buying these and now it is too late. Sure wish I would have bought a couple sets now. I still have 2 1/2 sets of NOS rockers I have never used ( Got an extra drivers ).

[protrash64]

Hey Chad, I used one on my 64 shorty and it fit with very few issues. It was stamped incorrectly as others have mentioned and was missing a small triangle of metal in the grill surround portion. I was unhappy with it and removed the original and welded it to the repop fender. A lot of work on a new piece that was 270 bucks at the time; they have now come down in price quite a bit. I just got one for my 'burb and it appears to be stamped correctly and looks good. They definitely are not as heavy as the originals. It always comes down to the time and materials debate, for me.