fender fitment issues

[noob]

My wife and I bought a 58 step side that we tore down. We have put the cab and fenders on so I could hammer out the dents on the rocker panel. well once we put the fender back on, we noticed its 1/2 to 1 inch to the rear of the mounting holes on the radiator support. the cab is as far forward as it can go, and the radiator support is as far to the rear as it can go. any ideas?

[Rude Dude]

Try to assemble the front end first as a unit leaving fasteners loose, then mount it on the cab as one unit. You might need two or three people to lift it then re-mount the hole assembly I found this to be easier then one piece at a time. Then you can add body shims where needed, also an assembly manual helps for location of body shims. Good Luck!

[OrrieG]

Cab might need moved forward too, there is probably about an inch overall adjustment between the mounting bolts and bracket holes. Don't forget to add the hood into the mix too.

[gono]

I wanted to add a few questions to this thread i thought might apply. I'm in the process of assembling my 1955 front end as well. when fitting the fenders on, I noticed there was about an 1" gap between bottom of the door and the bottom of the fender and at the top the gap is about 1/4". The frame is from a 58-59. So I'm wondering if I have to shim the front of the cab up or somehow relocate the radiator support down? Are the 58-59 frames significantly different in the way the front sheet metal fits to the cab? I bought a new cab mount kit thinking the old mount kit may have shrunk or whatever. thanks.

[focusedontheprize]

Just to be clear - this is happening on both fenders? They are both off on the holes?

[noob]

The previous owner hacked up the passenger side frame rail and welded in a patch and it's actually a half an inch longer than the driver side.
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[buggy5872]

There are differences between the 55-57 and the 58-59 frames. they can be interchanged but some adjustments will need to be made. I think the frame rails on the 58-59 are 1 1/2" longer in the front. It is in front of the wheels so I can easily be trimmed off. Usually its an assemble and see where you are at then trim to fit.