rothlane'68

Has anyone used reproduction plastic inner fenders from Fusick or OPGI? I was curious about quality, at 340-400 for a set I'm not sure if they're worth it...

Reason being, I took my fenders off to simplify rebuilding my front suspension. In doing so I found that about half of the bolt holes in my inner fenders are torn through. So I'm in the market for some repros or a set with solid bolt holes if someone has some, I'm in central MA.

Car is a 1968 442

RetroRanger

are the 68s the same as the 70-72s if no are they the same as 69s?

I know the 68 has a lot of 1 year only stuff thats why i ask I might have 69 and also 70-72 fender wells in mass

rothlane'68

As far as I know, and I'm sure someone can confirm, 68/9 are the same with 5 bolt holes at the rim of the wheel well to the fender, and 70-72 are different with only 4.

So if you have a set of 69's in good shape I'd be interested, roughly where are you in MA?

RetroRanger

north central mass 40 mins north of worcester

rothlane'68

Nice, sounds like your about 40 minutes north of me

I was just hoping not to drive to pittsfield or something...

If that set of 69's turn up I'd deffinitely be interested, let me know if you find them and I'll pm you my e-mail address.

allyolds68

68's are one year only. You could probably make a 69 work but not a 70-72. It's a totally different fender profile.


Send a PM to dnmfranco. He had a couple sets. They weren't perfect but at least one side wasn't bad. He lives in New Hartford, CT

mrolds69

You can repair them. Here's how...get a small piece of sheet metal like an 1 1/2" wide by 3" bend the 3" length around the hole. Now you have like an 1 1/2" square of metal front and back over the hole. Rivet that homemade clip together with like 4 rivets. Drill a hole where it should be. Get a body clip nut and push it over the metal, align holes. Repeat as required. This repair will be invisible because the lip of the outer fender will cover it. It will be stronger than stock. It's cheap + easy........

Octania

Whaaaaaat?
Really???


so the OEM red inners I have been saving for aeons might be '69 and not '68 at all???


Curses.


Any specifics on how '68 differs from '69, how one can tell by looking at 'em?

BackInTheGame

Mr. Olds,
That is a great idea. I am suffering from the same problem in that most of the bolt holes in the plastic tore while trying to remove the rust-seized mounting bolts. I was trying to figure out a way to back-fill or repair the plastic, in a manner strong enough to hold up to driving.

Your solution is quick and workable. Thanks for sharing!

mrolds69

Glad to help. It definitely works, there was a time when you couldn't buy repro stuff and you had to fix it, make it, or make do.

rothlane'68

Live and learn i suppose, a old olds guy I go to for small parts in NC from time to time wasn't excited about shipping me a set of fender wells, but explained the difference between 68/9 and 70 on, i.e. the 4 to 5 bolt holes. But didn't mention any difference between 68 and 69. It doesn't surprise me that they're different though, 68 is an odd year but its always been my favorite.


Retroranger, I'd still be interested in the 69's if they're in good shape.


Mr Olds, Thanks, I may just give that a shot, I really like the idea a lot, I don't own a rivet gun but saving $ on parts and buying tools instead and doing it yourself is always fun.

RetroRanger

Ill have to check on the 69 fender wells I have them in offsite storage...mr olds idea sounds good tho...

allyolds68

Dean just told me they were the same. I'd defer to him because he knows better than I. Sorry to confuse everyone

rothlane'68

Good to know allyolds, thanks for checking into it!

So no-one has tried the repros?

68442

Sem, as well as others, make a two part epoxy for repairing plastic bumper covers. It is black to boot.
The process is use a small piece of mesh drywall tape(This has a sticky side)
stick it to the repair area. Then mix up the epoxy to fill the area and the hole thats torn out. Once set, sand/feether , redrill the mounting holes and if you are a real perfectionist paint the area/blend with sem Black trim paint restorer.
I have been using this method for years with 100% success and durability.
If you need the part numbers of the products let me know.

rothlane'68

I'm sure i could figure it out, but part numbers would certainly speed up the process! Thanks!

70 w-30

Do they make a red to match the w-30 fender wells? Mine have a couple of bad bolt holes that I can repair but are faded out from age and sun exposure.

Ben

My442

No one answered the question of:

Anyone used reproduction inner fenders?

Suggest that you folks start a "How to repair plastic inner fenders"

RetroRanger

Last week in another thread a guy (rob frm TX) IIRC w a blue 68 posted he used the red repro liners and after some fitting time and a heat gun was satisfied w the fit....I'll see if I can find the thread.

Done and done

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...tml#post892993

rothlane'68

When I pulled up the product on SEM's website the description stated the product is "grey." It only comes in one color, they do make paints to match, but red is not among them. I'm sure you could find a suitable paint to cover these areas, but as other have pointer out, holes along the rim of the fender well will not be visible when they are installed with a fender on the car.

While everyone is here, does anyone know of a part number/supplier for the small rubber plug/bumper that mounts rearward on the inboard side of the fender well? These were rotting on mine and I can't seem to find a supplier for them. Also, what the heck are these things for???

If no-one knows what I'm talking about I can post some pictures later...