Help on finding parts

[BrianG]

Hi all, I've been a member for a while, but mostly just a reader. I'm in the early stages of a 72 stepside 2wd and 69 fleetside 4x4 project(s). I'm in mid Michigan and in need of fenders pretty bad. I'm not great at body work and have been thinking of buying re-pops because I'm not having good luck finding used. I THOGHT that there was a place down near Detroit that had some stock of this stuff. I just can't seem to find it online though. Can anyone provide any help with that? Also, I know, I know, I know... many of you will tell me not to buy re-pops... first of all, why??? are they really that bad? I'm at a point where I don't know what to do. I don't want to spend a fortune to ship either new or used, and am not finding good quality used anywhere.

Thanks, Brian

[Hardesty454]

First off, Nothing wrong with MOST repros now of days. Some of the stuff you buy at LMC is still tooled wrong and body lines dont match up. For used stuff you may want to check out the classifieds section here, matter of fact Im selling and entire 71 front clip on there for $650. shipping would prob kill you though. As for used, if they arent rusted through out there or beat to hell, buy em... pay a little cash out and have a good body shop clean them up unless you know your way around the tools.


Also, this post should have been in the general forum... not the projects and builds

Good luck finding some parts brother...

[BrianG]

Thanks for the reply. I guess I never really thought about the body shop approach. I suppose one wouldn't charge me too much to fill in a trim hole or two, or blend out a dent. Thanks for the suggestion. And, sorry for not posting where I should have. Seemed like the right place, but I understand how it could be a general question as well.

[CC69Rat]

Brian -- first, welcome to the forum !! There are a lot of nice folks here and parts (fenders) do come up from time to time.

The best thing I could suggest is to become a subscribing member. That way you can buy and sell on the parts board. It's $25 well spent simply because of the resources you'll find on here that you just don't with newspaper, eBay, etc. You have guys (like me) helping you find stuff .. posting links to the for sale section, CL ads, etc.

I found a 69+ passenger side fender on CL a while back and posted it on here. It was a GM replacement (not NOS I don't think? .. but it had the remains of a GM sticker on it) It sold for $400 in 18 min. Fenders are pretty hard to come by, especially good in the front cups but it is not impossible. If you're not in a big hurry I'd hold out to find good GM stuff.

Just for reference (not assuming you don't know)

67 Chevy and 67 GMC - Single year fender. No marker light hole
68 Chevy and 68-72 GMC - These are all the same fender and will interchange. Same on the front edge as 67 year model but it has a marker light hole
69-72 Chevy - All the same and will interchange with the years, but different than previous years. Will not interchange with the same year GMC fender.

I'll keep you in mind if I run across one. Do you need both sides?

[BrianG]

Thanks, and yes I need both sides. Actually need two sets ... I got myself in the middle of two rebuilds at the same time. My wife tracked down my 69 short bed fleetside 4x4 that I had for about 11 years before we got married. The guy I sold it to had it for the last ten years. (Ten year anniversary present). Well, the guy decided it made a good battering ram, and what Michigan's weather didn't destroy, he took care of the rest. So, the truck came with a 2wd stepside... Body is okay but not great. My wife fell in love with that truck and now I'm really in deep. I'm picking up another good body, but it has 68 fenders on it. Yeah, I'm aware the differences, and bummed out. Still trying to decide whether or not to use those good fenders on my wifes truck and then try to find a good 68 grill, or find a set of 69-72 fenders for her as well. Got to concentrate on mine right now though. It's closer to being ready.

Anyone reading... Was/is there a place that sells repro's in Michigan? even if I pick up a set for the wifes's truck and see how they line up. That might give me a good indication of their quality and fit.

Neither truck is going to be a blue ribbon winner in the end. they'll be nice, but drivers.

Thanks again,
Brian

[Xeen]

Tabco makes excellent repros and patches, everyone comments how nice they fit, they use the original OEM gauge steel, die stamp and precision cut all their parts and duplicate the original flanges, they are serious about quality, here is a link. http://www.tabcobodyparts.com/html/t...f_contents.htm

[Hardesty454]

too bad your so far, Id swap you for the 68 fenders (Im collection 68 front clip parts right now) for my 69-72 fenders. how much is shipping cost again?!

[BrianG]

Most places are quoting me around $150 for a pair of fenders. But that's not been quite as far as from CA to MI either. I'll keep looking more locally for now. I'm sure some will show up, the desire to keep these trucks on the road is strong for a lot of us, so that's good news when it comes to used parts.