Fender question

[sandog711]

I need new fenders for my 64 and I was looking at the remanufactured fenders but a friend of mine told me not to go with them because they are flimsy and wont mount up the right way

So my question is what do you guys think about the remanufactured fenders

[mbgmike]

The original fenders are pretty flimsy when new If you can find good originals that would be better but hard to find good ones. Triplus are going to be the thickest ones. I have not had too much trouble with them. the biggest thing i found is the matchup with the front radiator panel. sometimes it takes some rework to get right. Sometimes we have to rework the door gap depending on the quality the customer wants.. If its a show truck they all need to be reworked if closer door gaps are desired. I am sure others will post

[rbar]

I got triplus fenders that were about 1/4" shorter than the originals. They also had triangle openings in the front inserts behind the grill where that piece gets folded during stamping. Then they welded them in crooked. I didn't even use the second one and sold it for half price to someone local. They look good from the side, but don't fit good. All of the holes across the top that bolt into the inner fender were too close to the lip and the lip had to be flattened out when the bolt went in. And the other issue is the metal is very poor in comparison. It might be the same thickness, but it is not the same strength. It dents really easy. I bumped one and dented it the size of a quarter and I don't think I hit it very hard at all. I was surprised. I decided to rework an original fender and when I got the patch panel it was too straight, so I tried to bend the arc into it a little more and it "folded" into a crease. Sheet metal I use from the local supplier won't do that. So I am feeling the whole aftermarket fender is flimsy too. The body shop my truck is at now has another truck with replaced door skins and they were talking about how laying the door on the skin caused it to bend under it's own weight. So basically, just beware of those issues and if you are putting in a patch panel, use the least amount that you have to because it is going to be softer. There's not an easy way to get around some of those issues.

[PAPA KENT]

i installed a lower patch panel on the drivers side from ecklers,the curve was right on and a pretty decent fit, then i replaced the entire pass. side fender again from ecklers,the first one arrived dented with a dent free box so i contacted them and within minutes they had a call tag ordered and sent me the tracking number for the new one being shipped so the customer service was excellent! and of course they are the typical repops but i was impressed for a repop that the front (L weld) had less of a gap than i have seen on lot of them and the front mounting holes were correct.i had to longate the upper rear holes that bolt to the cowl because they were off a quarter inch or less and the door gap difference is only 1/8" which i can live with.

hope that helps.

[dean jendro]

To all,
I think we all should know by now that the repop stuff is all going to be iffy at best. No matter who the importer is they all seem to come out of Taiwan and probably out of the same presses. Their quality control seems to be very poor as the parts will all vary in workmanship.
I bought both front fenders hoping they would be better than fixing old ones.
Neither fender lines up with all the mounting holes on the inner fender(the inners are both original). Not all holes lined up with the grill support either.
The repops seem flimsy compared to an original. I checked the thickness on a stripped original and came up with about .032 (21 gauge?) and the repops check out at .023 (24 gauge). Most of the sellers of the repop stuff advertise that they are the same gauge as original.
The front area that matches up with the contour of the grill support has big gaps and one side is actually missing metal up in the top corner creating a hole there. The contour seems close but I can't get past all the other problems.
I have bought 6 different sets of used fenders this summer and will try to repair a set for my use but I'm worried that the patch panels will be just as bad as the repop fenders, not to mention the inner brace.
I would say to anyone contemplating purchase of repop fenders(or any body panel), if you're not an accomplished metal worker, welder and body man, save your money.
Dean