Fender difference in 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton

[64GMCHorsepower]

OK, I have been having problems with a new front Drivers side fender lining up correctly with the rest of the front end.....

I have the innner fenders on and bolted in, the front grill support and the grill bolted in, the rad support bolted in , and the passenger side fender bolted in......everything lines up but the drivers fender....it bolts in at the cab , but is 2 inches too high at the front.....

I was telling a guy about this and he said :"You might have a fender for a 3/4 ton truck"

Does anyone know the difference in them.....

The guy is going to bring me back my old fender to try tomorrow.....but this would suck...

I traded for this brand new fender about 2 years ago, so I am stuck with it if it doesn't work......


so anyway, help guys.......



thanks

Chad

[64GMCHorsepower]

here are a couple of pics......

passenger side....



Drivers side....

[jchav62]

As far a I know the fenders are the same. Are you working with aftermarket parts? Sometimes the aftermarket stuff don't fit right. 2" seems like a lot though...I had a friend buy some after market inner fenders and nothing lined up..So he sent them back and found some rust free originals and everything line up cherry...

[64GMCHorsepower]

yes, it is an aftermarket fender.....it was brand new in the box.....
I really hate to start trimming material or something like that to it.....

looking to see if I still have the box it came in.....pretty sure it's in the attic

[LILRED66]

Chad:

Relax, the front fenders on the '60-'66, Chevy/GMC, Series 10-30, C (two wheel drive) and K (4x4) are the same.

The first thing you need to do is loosen all the bolts holding the front clip to the cab, as well as the radiator support to the frame. Also, loosen the bolts holding the inner fenders, grille support, radiator support and front fenders together. Once all the bolts are loosened, begin by assembling the front clip, followed by attachment of the front clip to the cab and lastly, the radiator support to the frame rails.

Attaching and tightening parts, one at a time, will multiply the tolerances, causing misfits when it comes to the last parts being attached. Align the front fenders on the grille support, followed by attaching this assembly to the radiator support, followed by attaching the inner fenders to this assembly, followed by attaching the entire front clip to the cab. This will ensure proper alignment and fitment with your exterior sheet metal parts.

I have run into this problem before, but was able to correct it by doing the steps above. The front fenders are all the same, however aftermarket tin, will require some gentle persuasion or slight modifications, to allow proper fitment. I have had to slightly modify OEM/NOS sheet metal, as well.

I hope this information is helpful and let your friend know that it's not cool to tell you, "you might have a fender for a 3/4 ton".

Tony

[LILRED66]

Chad:

If you could get those dogs to help out, maybe you wouldn't have problems with the front fenders!

Tony

[1lowdiesel]

looks like they're tired of tring to get it to fit.

[thekid54]

Try LILRED66's advice. Also, did you put in new body mounts under the cab? My original mounts were flat as a pancake. With the new mounts the cab is raised a little bit which will throw off your fender/radiator/grille alignment.

[LILRED66]

Chad:

I forgot to mention, that the radiator support mounting hardware must be installed properly, due to the height above the frame rails. Install and tighten these last, to ensure the front clip attachment to the cab is correctly aligned.

Tony

[64GMCHorsepower]

OK

I have replaced the cab mounts.....

I have replaced the rad mounts....

I have tried getting the dogs to work, but they just look at me and grin...
then go back to sleep....


I will try what has been recommended.....starting from the front, and working my way back to the cab....


Thanks for all the help.......

and I will keep everyone posted.......

[LAFNATU]

Looks to me that the radiator support isnt even bolted to the driver side iner fender in the pic. it needs to go up and the fender should line up then... just my 2 cents

[Chevy Fleetside]

Originally Posted by 64GMCHorsepower

here are a couple of pics......


Drivers side....

If you look at the inner fender in this picture, you can see a mounting hole in the front. You sould not be able to see this. You might have the inner fender bolted up to the radiator support wrong.. Unbolt it and try to get the inner fender down a bit. Take the fender off first.. I can also see that you dont have the inner fenders bolted up where the radiator is. I can see through the grill and there are no bolts in there. Bolt that up first then the rest of the inner fender.. YOu need to take it apart and start over again...

[stepside66]

when replacing fenders I always try to square them up from the cab forward so the doors open but yeah I would loosen the bolts not nec take them out so you can shift that fender around if needed.

[64GMCHorsepower]

Originally Posted by LAFNATU

Looks to me that the radiator support isnt even bolted to the driver side iner fender in the pic. it needs to go up and the fender should line up then... just my 2 cents

Yep, that was an old pic, before I installed my new grill support....that was when I was seeing how everything lined up...

Right now, everything is bolted on except the new fender....

I will try the process of undoing everything and starting from the front....

[55454]

I was wondering if those were guard dogs? I had to comment, we love dogs, my dog is to old and small to navigate the shop.

Tommy

[64GMCHorsepower]

not sure what they are guarding, if they are guarding anything....


they won't let me in the garage to work on my truck unless I give them a treat, and let them lie on the cool floor

[64GMCHorsepower]

OK with the help of my son we removed the front clip and started over, trying to follow the advice above....


after we put everythig back ogether it fits better, but still have some fitting issues.....

here are a couple of pics.....most of the bolts are just finger tight, okinda loose so we can move things around.....

the drivers side fender still wants to hit the botom rocker...but not too bad

we will be taking a little more time in the next day or so to try and twak it...


thanks for the help.....




drivers side door




front side angle view.....

[64GMCHorsepower]

the hood is just sitting on there, I haven't seen what the truck looked like with a hood in almost a year and a half......so I wanted to check it out


and I know the paint isn't the best, but hey, I'm getting there

i was trying for plaid.....




Chad

[64GMCHorsepower]

OK, i got a fender from another old truck from a friend, and it fit almost perfectly. Didn't stick up at all!!!

We still are playing around with the whole front end trying to tweak it and put in shims where needed to get it as close as possible....

man this is a pain the rear...It came apart real easy

oh well, i don't have a pic of the old fender, but as soon as it is all together will post new ones it...

Chad

[Chevy Fleetside]

Tweaking is the name of the game...

[Fred T]

Looks to me like the dogs moved. And the fenders fit. There's gotta be a connection.

[kris's66lwb]

the easyest way for me at least is after dissassembly bolt the inner fenders to the radiator and grille support then do the outter fenders then it sould line up and it will probly take 2or 3 guys to lift it and atach it

[64GMCHorsepower]

yep, me and my son pretty much picked it up and put it on.....

We worked a little bit on it this weekend...but he is off to the lake until next Wed., so I have no help but the dogs......

I am trying to get the hood sanded and primed......

more later as it is done....I may just have to do a build thread......


later