Good idea: new steel replacement front fender (1956)??

[jds319]

All,

I'm looking at ordering a brand new steel front fender that's on sale for my 1956 Chevy, but wanted to check with the board about yall's success / failures with such pieces. Has anyone ordered a replacement piece and been unhappy with it? They "sound" great when you read about them, but I know better than to take a manufacturer at their word.

Any help you could offer would be much appreciated. The original driver's side fender is, well, ugly, and I think it would be more cost effecient in the long and short runs to just replace it.

[FFredo]

Who's having a sale on fenders? Are they available for other years as well?
I got lucky and found two fairly nice fenders to replace the ones on my 59. If not I would have had to buy new since mine are past repair.

[lakeroadster]

To my knowledge nobody is making replacement fenders that are as good as originals. If you can fix the fender with patch panels that is the route I would go.

I didn't vote on the poll though.... "whatever the cost" is just plain scary

[mr48chev]

I have no experience with aftermarket sheet metal on these but I would want some feedback from others who have bought and used them before handing out the cash.

I think you have to factor in three things: The cost of the new one as apposed to the quality of the item. The cost either in your time or paying for someone else's time to repair the one you have or the cost of buying a nicer used one and getting it into shape. While we can still find some pretty nice Ad truck fenders fairly reasonable the 55/59 fenders seem to be near impossible to find in really great shape used.
It may be time for a "has anyone had any first hand experience with this vendor's or this brand of fenders for this__________ model of truck?" thread. Or Google That brand and see if there is any feedback on that fender.

[jds319]

Brothers is having the sale. I couldnt find much of anything on the Google.

[bondobob]

I bought 4 replacement fenders for my 57 and they are definately thinner than the originals. Just leaning on a rear one and it "oil canned". But on the plus side there is no rust. My originals were beyond repair so I went with these. Hey, if they're lighter my truck will be faster right? I think anyone with a old vehicle would pay extra for thicker metal.

[dwcsr]

You can expect the fender or most repop parts to be the next MM under the original gage. If it was 18 ga that is 1.245 inches so your panel will be 1.2 MM.

If you want to get an idea of how thick .045 MM is Its equal to .0025 inches. On a small panel like a hinge pillar is not much but on a large panel its a lot. A sheet of 1.2 mm weighs 9.5 kgs per sq meter (39"x39") so its comes out to about a 1.5 lbs lighter panel than original if its 18 gage and only 39x39. A fender should be 18 gage and most likely take about a half sheet it would be closer to 3-4 lbs difference. A half gallon of water is 4 lbs t compare with.

[B17CRX]

Classic Trucks just had an article in the June 11 issue covering replacement fenders from LMC. They replaced the entire front clip on a 57 chev 3100 with aftermarket sheet metal and Jim Rizzo gave it a two thumbs up review.

-Joel

[dwcsr]

I read that one to. The only issue I have with magazine reviews is most times they don't pay for the parts they use and the suppliers advertizes heavily in their magazines so there is an immediate slant intended or not. If he paid for the parts and they didn’t line up I’m sure he would not have been so kind to LMC.
Front fenders aren’t usually the issue. The complaint I hear is about rear fenders oil canning. The only fix I know of is to bond an 18 gage panel to the underside of the top of the fender. It gives a more solid sound to the fender, stops the oil canning and also protects from rock dings the thinner metal gets.

[northerngmc]

I bought front fenders for my 59 GMC when it was painted in 2003. I believe I bought the first set in Canada.

Bodyshop was very happy with them. Said they were great quality and fit well. They also said they had minor problems with the head light doors when they went to fit them.

I searched for originals as mine were beyond repair. I even bought a set from Arizona and had them shipped north into Canada to find out they were full of bondo.

[dicer]

I have not got any fenders yet, but the inner and outer cab corners that are counterpart, are very thick, they are 18 gauge, I think original material is 19 gauge which is .004 smaller. It probably depends on where or what manufacture fenders you get. So bondobob can you check the thickness of those fenders and let us know if they are thinner? And what brand are they?

[bondobob]

I'll check tonight.

[Houston54]

If you cannot find originals then the repros are about your only option. However I know there are several people in the Dallas/FW area who specialize in used parts for Chevy trucks of that year.

Keep your eyes open and what you need will eventually be found. If you just have to have it now then buy the new pieces. The fit can always be massaged.

The Pate swap meet is this weekend I think. You might find what you need there.

If you do not the send me a PM and I will provide some contacts in your neck of the woods who may have extra sheet metal laying around for a decent price.

[55metalmonkey]

Don't know about the steel repops but my truck came with new unused fiberglass ones to replace the rotted out ones, Stay away from the fiberglass ones they fit like crap, I'm still concidering just fixing the old ones regardless of how much time it takes me, might be quicker than getting the FG ones to fit right. one of my rear ones is a repop as well and it "oil cans" too

[dwcsr]

Originally Posted by 55metalmonkey

Don't know about the steel repeps but my truck came with new unused fiberglass ones to repace the rotted out ones, Stay away from the fiberglass ones they fit like crap, I'm still concidering just fixing the old ones regardless of how much time it takes me, might be quicker than getting the FG ones to fit right. one of my rear ones is a repop as well and it "oil cans" as well

Get some Lord Fusor brand 108B metal bonding adhesive and bond a panel on the inside of the rear fender. Shape the panel to fit flat with no gaps and you'll be supprised how well it fixes the oil can issue. When you bond let the adhesive come out around the edges so water doesn't have a place to get in.

[55metalmonkey]

I was thinking along those same lines, good thing is their not painted yet so tacking a rib in might be an option as well

[01spirit750]

Stick with the originals if at all possible.

Back in the 1990's I could find 55-59 trucks in "pick n pull" wrecking yards. My wife spotted the 57 front fender I needed. Great deal for $35 with little to no body work required. But those days are long gone.

I bought a set of the repop doors and they do somewhat look like the originals. They work if you do enough welding and fitting to get the gaps right.

I thought buying the new doors was the easy way and would save me time and money over fixing the original doors "wrong".

[bondobob]

I measured my replacements at .038-.040" over two layers of black "primer" so going by my chart they would have to be 20 gage. I got them through Auto Body Specialties in Middlefield,CT. but don't know the actual brand. I'm going to try the epoxy patch idea. Yes it was the rear one that "Oil Canned".

[Number 9]

I have a repop for my 59 chevy. It was a right front and the headlight bezel would not fit as well as the original. I ended up patching my original fender and was very satisfied with the result. The repops headlight radius was not right.

[jds319]

Thanks for the feedback, y'all. For a multitude of reasons (the most convincing being that I don't "need" the fenders right now), I held off on purchasing anything. Once i get my brake parts installed, I'll move on the steering. Maybe once I have a moving project I can worry about how purty it could be.