Looking for advice on front fenders

[E.D.75GMC]

So I'm going to be replacing the front fenders on my 1975 C25 GMC, and I have a couple questions. First off, are there any brands that I should avoid? Or what's the 'best' after market (in your opinion)? Secondly, should I replace the inner fenders at the same time? (Mine are in pretty good shape, but the passenger side one does have a small hole in it below the battery) And finally, how many bolts are there and are there any hidden ones/ones that can only be accessed by removing the hood?

In the picture you can see the rot at the bottom edge below the chrome moulding, and if you have a keen eye you can see the rot starting in the white area directly above the wheel.

[xrcr]

I bought keystone fenders and doors and would not do it again. The LMC inners were nice. Look at Top bannana

[old Rusty C10]

on multiple trucks ive used the LMC inner fenders and they aren't always the best fit.. it seems they have gotten better over the last couple of years. Id go with goodmark fenders or I personally look for good used ones that are OEM. They are getting harder to find

[77ChevySharkBite]

Well you're going to have to remove the hood if you want to get the fender off. there's quite a few bolts you'll need to take off the headlight bezel and up in the corner there's 2 bolts that are a PITA to get too, there's about 6-8 that hold that chrome fender trim that will undo it from the inner fender, you'll have one that's around the cab area might have to take a picture of that one for you, and then where your battery tray is you'll see a nice long row of bolts to take out, also the obvious where the hood sits there's a bolt you take off too and then done the fender will come off.

[cadillac_al]

Is this going to be a show truck? For that little bit of rust I would practice the ancient art of bodywork.

I saved a pic of your truck a while back when I was thinking of painting my truck that color. I was guessing it was called dark gold. Nice truck.

[TexasJeff]

If you are going aftermarket sheet metal I would go with Goodmark like Bob suggested, I have an LMC hood that I am not very happy with, driving down the road is bounces and flexes, the metal is not near as thick as OEM.

[gramps77]

good help. I found a NOS that I had shipped for 450.
Keep an eye out on Ebay, there are they fairly often.
I do however, have a problem now with fitment with a NOS fender though too. It sits high and had to be grinded where it meets the lower windshield area and I cant get it to adjust inboard at the headlight. There is a larger gap at the front near the hood than at the cowl.

[E.D.75GMC]

Thanks a lot guys! My plan for it is to restore back to factory condition, starting with the cab. The only bondo on the truck is in the lower fenders behind the wheels (rockers and floors are in great original condition) went and took some better pictures:

[cadillac_al]

OK, now I can see the rust. It would be easier to replace them than to fix them. My mistake. That color looks almost green with the flash.

[79Betty]

I got lmc inner fenders and they fit alright... I line-x'd em so hoping they'll last a while. But at, $30? Bucks a pop i wouldn't complain too much. They are thin. If you wana keep your headlight stuff in when i did my core support swap to a 74, i just took the grill out and put on a foot of extensions and got em with my impact. MUCH EASIER!

[Tx Firefighter]

You don't have to pull your hood to swap a fender. Just block the hood up and unscrew the hinge from the fender. I recently did my truck this way since I work alone and didn't have hood lift off help.

Since the truck I'm working on isn't nice, I just used a nearby shovel to hold the hood up while I had that hinge off the truck.

[bigblock73]

I would look for gm fenders, they will fit better than anything else. It may take longer to find perbaps, but so much more worth it

[tucsonjwt]

I still see a few rust free good fenders at the local pick and pull. They often have some minor dings or chips, but I would rather have those small defects professionally repaired and use the original fenders than get a thin metal aftermarket part. In your neck of the woods, I think you need all the steel you can get to deal with the road salt.

[tucsonjwt]

I also improvised by using a short piece of 2 x 4 placed between the hood and the cowl to hold up hood when the bolts were removed, but I left the hood in a mostly closed position.

[cory d]

i just pulled my hood off. with one person its a pain but its easy with two

[E.D.75GMC]

I'll head down to Pick n' Pull this weekend and see what they have. Last time I was there I checked out a 77 with reproduction fenders on it that looked to fit quite well. (It is pretty hard to find nice OEM fenders up here!) I would have taken them at the time but I was already weighed down with a mint condition bench seat!
Dad doing some cleaning ;P

[cory d]

man that is a sweet find!

[SamsAutoParts73-87]

Originally Posted by E.D.75GMC

I'll head down to Pick n' Pull this weekend and see what they have. Last time I was there I checked out a 77 with reproduction fenders on it that looked to fit quite well. (It is pretty hard to find nice OEM fenders up here!) I would have taken them at the time but I was already weighed down with a mint condition bench seat!
Dad doing some cleaning ;P

Wow, that is a nice find.
-Sam

[willett]

Nothing beats a set of OEM fenders

[KQQL IT]

I got a set from keystone. The fit was better than I expected.
Only had to massage a couple of holes.

[cory d]

my buddy tried some "made in taiwan" fenders he got for 60 buck off craigslist. notice i only said "tried" lol