Front fenders

[plunk]

How well do the repop front fenders fit for the 1960-66 chevys?Are the ones sold by goodmark a good fit or do the take alot of modification?Thanks scott

[protrash64]

You will have to mess with them a bit, but not horrible. I did not like the looks of the piece that goes behind the grill so I ended up cutting it off and welding on my old one in its place. Nothing like putting 4 hours of work into a new part.

Sad thing is that its still Chinese stuff.

[markeb01]

I bought mine 10 years ago when they first came out and the quality was very poor. The front seam on both fenders were almost big enough to shove a pencil through in spots. The only option I had was elimination of the seam. Unfortunately I didn’t take any before pictures. Here's a shot showing the seam filled. They turned out okay in the end, but wouldn't have been too cool on a restored truck:



The driver side fender had big dents/waves just below the fender extension from spot welding the upper rear mounting brackets. I didn’t realize this area showed until after they were painted and installed. Here’s a photo of the upper rear of the driver side.



The rest of the fenders fit okay, and the profile fit against the door was fine. Hopefully quality has improved, but I would want to see them in person before I spent money on another one.

[lakeroadster]

So since you guys have experienced the poor quality of the repop fenders would you guys suggest sticking with the original fenders and using patch panels whenever possible?

I eventually will be needing to replace the lower rear section, curious what ya'll think.

[dallas71]

Just replace the lower rear section there are patch panels available

[markeb01]

If I had welding skills, I wouldn’t dream of using a new fender if the only thing wrong with the original is a need for rust repair.

If you’re going to go to the trouble to repair the rust, I would highly recommend taking a couple of extra steps so you aren’t going through it again a few years in the future.

These fenders were originally designed to serve a dual purpose as both a fender, and a compost pile. By design, debris was invited and encouraged to pack up in the fender brace/compost channel and rust out. There is a convenient gaping hole at the top for leaves and debris to enter, shown in the first photo. (Although I've circled the biggest opening, the entire area is open to the channel below):



In addition, the forward vertical edge of the compost channel is open, so the tire may easily pack it full of more crud. There is also a nice horizontal channel at the top of the tire, with an opening on the forward end about the size of a quarter, for yet more corrosion causing materials to easily enter.

It doesn’t show up very well in this picture, but there is a tiny token opening at the bottom of the channel to give the appearance of a suitable drain outlet. In reality, once the compost reaches the saturation level it was actually intended to erupt through the painted surface of the fender, signaling it’s time to go buy another new GM truck.



To disrupt this natural design process, I installed a filler panel over the opening at the top as shown in the next photo, and sealed it completely with urethane windshield adhesive (since that was what I had on hand).



They’ve been on the truck for over 10 years and no one has ever noticed them. This blocks the upper entrance. Next I made another filler panel, pop riveted to the horizontal channel above the tire, and a plug for the forward end of the channel (both shown in the 2nd photo). Then “everything” was sealed with either urethane windshield adhesive, or urethane seam sealer, then sprayed with 3M Body Schutz. The result is a fender that will allow moisture out at the bottom, and no entrance anywhere for material to get in to begin with.

If these gaps are not closed when the rust repairs are made, more rust repairs are inevitable.

[protrash64]

There were pics on here awhile back, I cant remember who took them, of a fender repair and when the skin was peeled back the support channel was packed with debris. Looked like a bubble gum machine full of rocks and dirt.

[lakeroadster]

Thanks for the input. Looks like the smart money is on a patch panel and the Markeb01 retrofit.

[protrash64]

Originally Posted by lakeroadster

Thanks for the input. Looks like the smart money is on a patch panel and the Markeb01 retrofit.

If you dont mind taking the time and putting the work in then that is what I would do. I have a fender I started and plan on doing the patch panels to revive it for further use....due to the quality of the first re-pop I bought.

[plunk]

Thanks so much for the information fellas.It sounds like I should just repair my factory ones.

[tapeworm]

If its just the bottom, I'd try patching it.

Mine were rusty in a few different areas, and I bought a pair from Goodmark about a year ago.

While not perfect, these seem to better than some of the others out there.