fenders revisited

[sipper]

Did a Search, haven't seen this discussed lately, and since it seems to constantly change, so I thought I would ask it again.

I am in need of a right fender for my 69 chev c10, and was wondering if anyone has had any experience with repop fenders lately. I would like to go oem, but there is just nothing around here that is any good. Anyone purchase one lately that fit well?

[AirSpeed]

I hit a deer a year ago and couldn't find a 72 GMC fender so the body shop had to use a repop, they said it was a little bit of a pain to fit but it eventually did. They got it from LMC and I was surprised the steel was as thick as the original. All the chrome, fender wells and emblems fit fine but the had to do some tweaking to get the fender to fit and get them gaps all lined up. I can't tell the difference between the original.
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[sipper]

Air Speed.. Thanks for the response.
Do you happen to know what brand it was?

[sipper]

Does anyone else have a recommendation? Is triplus the way to go or are there better?

[67chevy1]

I've got a friend that swears by K-mark I think it is.

[JMD]

I bought a complete TriPlus front clip for my '68 k10. Everything fit like garbage, especially the passenger finder. The smallest gap that my paint guy could get between the hood and the front corner of the fender was 1/2". It seems that the repop fender doesn't curve inward at the top front corner like the original. We installed an OEM hood and had the same issue in the same spot. I'm VERY disappointed in TriPlus.

Fortunately my supplier is working with me and allowed me to return everything for a full refund. He tells me that he's had nothing but problems with their repop fenders as of late. When he started dealing with TriPlus their parts fit fairly well, but the most recent couple of batches weren't worth the boxes they came in. He has discontinued selling them until they can figure out how to make a decent fitting part.

If I could do it over again, I'd spend a little extra time/money finding and fixing up original sheet metal.

[sipper]

Thanks JMD
The problem is finding a good used one around our neck of the woods. I'll have to keep looking. In the meantime, if anyone has had any luck with any of the new repops I would really like to hear from them.

[sipper]

Has anyone used Southern kentucky classic's fenders? If so how did they fit?

[67ChevyRedneck]

What is bad on your OEM fender? They make patches for the front fender cup and back lower section, the typical rust areas. *I consider the right the PS. They do not make DS front fender cups yet, that i know of.

[sipper]

The southern 69 Chev truck I am restoring had both fenders kinked beyond repair, and the parts truck I bought was a cobbled up GMC with a Drivers side fender from a Chev, and a passengers side fender from a GMC. That is why I'm only looking for a passenger side fender.

[Elliot949]

My best advise is to search the Parts board on here for a OEM Fender and here is why...

If you paid 200.00 for the fender and 200.00 to ship it as a example you have a total of 400.00 in a fender that will fit the truck without fitment issues... so you can focus on doing the minor work on it to make it as nice as you would want so you have a couple of body shop hours taking some dings out @ 60.00 per hour you are 520.00- 600.00 in a OEM fender that fits....

In Buying a Aftermarket fender you are paying around 150.00 plus shipping of say 125.00 to Canada so you are looking at 275.00... Now once you get that fender you are going to have to fit it to the truck and that is VERY labor intensive... You will probably be at least 10 hours to get it to fit remotely well and probabley will never get that "GREAT" fit... at 10 hours at the same 60.00 per hour you at looking at 600.00 in labor ... now you are in a aftermarket fender for 800.00- 1000.00...

The math and end results just do not make sense to go aftermarket...

The key to the OEM parts is asking alot of questions and making sure you are getting a rust free and one with minimal dents or dings... on a 69-72 fender you should not have ANY trouble coming up with a really nice fender for the money I was using as my example... a 67 Fender is REAL hard to come by and a 68 is almost as hard as a 67...

I hope this information helps you to make a intelligent decision that will work for you...

[JMD]

Originally Posted by Elliot949

My best advise is to search the Parts board on here for a OEM Fender and here is why...

If you paid 200.00 for the fender and 200.00 to ship it as a example you have a total of 400.00 in a fender that will fit the truck without fitment issues... so you can focus on doing the minor work on it to make it as nice as you would want so you have a couple of body shop hours taking some dings out @ 60.00 per hour you are 520.00- 600.00 in a OEM fender that fits....

In Buying a Aftermarket fender you are paying around 150.00 plus shipping of say 125.00 to Canada so you are looking at 275.00... Now once you get that fender you are going to have to fit it to the truck and that is VERY labor intensive... You will probably be at least 10 hours to get it to fit remotely well and probabley will never get that "GREAT" fit... at 10 hours at the same 60.00 per hour you at looking at 600.00 in labor ... now you are in a aftermarket fender for 800.00- 1000.00...

The math and end results just do not make sense to go aftermarket...

Elliot949 nailed it. My body guy has over 20 hours into getting my fenders to fit and I was still left with a very uneven 1/2" gap.

You'll probably end up replacing the front cup on any OEM passenger fender you find since battery acid doesn't play well with metal. But welding in a patch is a cake walk for an experienced auto body guy compared to making a repop fender fit like an original.

[Elliot949]

Originally Posted by JMD

Elliot949 nailed it. My body guy has over 20 hours into getting my fenders to fit and I was still left with a very uneven 1/2" gap.

You'll probably end up replacing the front cup on any OEM passenger fender you find since battery acid doesn't play well with metal. But welding in a patch is a cake walk for an experienced auto body guy compared to making a repop fender fit like an original.

I was able to come up with a pair of rust free OEM 67 fenders for my truck for about 600.00 for the pair then spent about 250.00 on them to make them perfect...

[darrellyates]

I have had nothing but bad experience with Southern Kentucky Classics. Last thing I ordered was extremely poorly packaged, and everything was damaged. They said file a claim with the shipper, when they packaged, scheduled, picked the shipper.... you get the idea. When I contacted the shipper, they said SOKY had to do the filing. Just extremely poor customer service.

With regard to fenders, I know a guy (shouldn't list names here...) who is a builder in So Cal. Says he's been in the warehouse where stuff comes in from overseas, and sees LMC, Brothers, Tri Plus, K-Mark... fill in the box. Says they all come out of the same container. How many sets of tooling are actually floating around? At best, maybe a couple. There will be quite a bit of welding and fitting to do with repo stuff, or rust repair with original. People will have opinions both ways. I purchased a complete front end since I like the slant nose. Will spend quite a bit making it fit. With regards to gaps, they were poor originally. Don't know that it really makes a lot of difference, although everyone has their own opinion.

[sipper]

GMC Paul's says "guaranteed exact fit" , but Iguess what I am hearing is regardless of what is claimed I should take that with a grain of salt. And look for an original. Correct?

[darrellyates]

I believe what I am saying is that, in my opinion, it really doesn't make a lot of difference. "Guaranteed exact fit"?? How do they guarantee? Will they pay for modifications if it doesn't fit? Fit to what tolerance?
I think I'm saying you're likely to spend money either way. And, part of that depends on how picky you are. Again, my opinion, and you know what opinions are like...
Most people say "original is better". I just don't see that big of a difference.

[James the III]

Originally Posted by JMD

Elliot949 nailed it. My body guy has over 20 hours into getting my fenders to fit and I was still left with a very uneven 1/2" gap.

You'll probably end up replacing the front cup on any OEM passenger fender you find since battery acid doesn't play well with metal. But welding in a patch is a cake walk for an experienced auto body guy compared to making a repop fender fit like an original.

20 hours into it, 1/2 a work week, unless this is a show queen..
Might be time to think about that body guy...

[BigCountryx]

I used a set of 68 Goodmark fenders.... Junk. OEM fenders bolted right up without effort. The repops would have had to been cut, shaped and holes opened up to be close.

[sipper]

Big Country
Where would the Goodmark need to be cut and reshaped. I ordered a fender from Car Quest locally, because there was no shipping, and I can send it back if I don't like it. Figured I could see and if its no good it cost me nothing. Would I for sure need the hood on to know its a lousy fit, or is it real obvious. I don't mind playing with shims and elongating a holes a little, but I don't want to get into reshaping the fender.

[HO455]

My experience is with aftermarket front fenders on my Burban. They were ordered from LMC in July of 2011 (I have the receipt from the PO) and were installed when I got the truck. They were not installed correctly as the doors hit the fenders. After much effort I got them to the point where the doors fit reasonably and I decided I would live with the other issues. The worst is the passenger side leading edge. The photos show the issue better than I could describe. I included the drivers side for comparison. I decided the amount of work to reshaped it was not worth it to me. I'm not looking for a show truck and it would of been at least 20 hours for me to have reshaped it. The other issues are in my Working Man's Burban thread if your interested. It would have been less work to fix some rusty ones in my opinion. And the steel cowl hood was so bad I traded it for a rusty stocker then fixed it, and felt I got the better end of the deal.

[sipper]

Wow. That's bad. I'll check those areas on the new repo and see if it's as bad. If it is, it's going back for sure
Thanks for the pictures, it helps a lot

[HO455]

Your welcome and good luck.

[69-72]

i had a problem with excessive gap at the front of the fender which is a little bit present in the green truck pics.

If you take a measurement with a flexible tape from the side marker up to the edge where he hood meets the fender I found it was short about 5/8" compared to an original fender, which is the same amount of the excess gap between the fender and hood.

I sold those fenders and found originals and patched them.

[sipper]

So here is the result. The fender is a goodmark, and it has some of the issues that are described here, but not to the extent of ones From HO455's pictures. I think I can massage them to make them work. Here are the pictures of it on the truck.
Hope I get it right. Haven't posted pics before.

[sipper]

So here is the result. The fender is a goodmark, and it has some of the issues that are described here, but not to the extent of ones From HO455's pictures. height wise they are very close. Measurements from the marker light to the leading edge of the fender are pretty much the same as the OEM ones.
I think I can massage them to make them work. Here are the pictures of it on the truck. Thanks for everyone's input.