I am no expert by any means but I ask if there is a way to tell original red inner fender wells vs reproduction when installed or not?

 

Yes there is....one obvious difference is the very edge of the opening down around the A-Arm. The originals have a slight "square ridge" that runs along the very edge. Repros don't have this.


There are probably other differences (overall "look"/appearance) but the ridge/no ridge deal is relatively easy to spot if all you have to look at is pictures VS. in person.

 

Thanks Ill check it out. I assume original black ones should be identical to original red ones except for color?

 

Correct.


They make repro BLACK inner fenders? Why? Aren't there a boatload of real ones out there now that everyone has repro red inners on their Faux-Four-Twos? I mean, that would be like making repro metal 1970-72 hoods.

 

Is there a part# or date code embossed somewhere?

 

PN will be molded into the wells on the "inside/underside"....generally on the surface right over the top of the tire on the underside.


As far as date codes...

>Found a year ("70" situated inside a "clock" pattern of sorts)molded in (ie-raised numbers, not stamped in) on a black well on the front lip/underside - P side well

>DID NOT find a year code on a RED well at all - P side well

There were some changes to the molded in "bosses" on the D side wells over the years.

Will look again at the P side red well in case I missed the year "clock" number.

 

Is this the ridge your talking about Patton?

 

I see a lot of "valleys and ridges" in that pic so I'm not sure which exact area you're referring to.


Pic shows the ridge I'm referring to....original black well - it was probably put on there to help stiffen the opening a bit.

 

Yes, Im referring to the edge around the A arm like you said. This is a pic of a reproduction well from costpenn thread. Is that what your talking about? Do the reproduction red wells not have that?

I see the the small ridge on the very edge, now I see what you are talking about. Thx

 

I found that the Big Block fender braces don't fit with the repros, AND the opening for the splash shield is about 1//4" wider than originals. In order to install the splash guards and properly mount them, I had to cut the slits all the way up and separate the 3 pieces about 1/8' each to "spread them out" slightly. but its hardly noticeable

 

What is the going price for red inner wells nowadays? In solid condition, no tears or cuts with a little white haze to them?

 

I'm experiencing the same issue with the fender braces hitting on the plastic well. When the braces are off they fit nicely but no go with the braces on.
Were your fender braces originals or repro's ??? I only have repros at the moment and wondering if the shape of them is out compared to originals. I'm thinking of reworking the shape and extending the bottom end as necessary to reposition the hole, but its a bit of a challenge when you cant see things behind the well.

 

I had the same fitment issues with the braces and the repo's. I decided it was less work to clean up my originals then all the rework of the inferior repos. I now have a set of repo black inner fenders that I will be selling at half of what I paid for them just to get them out of my sight.

Maybe some have better luck.

 

I will say that they aren't horrible and I know I could have made them work so keep that in mind. If your originals are in really bad shape then they are probably a good option. I just bought them figuring it would save me some time, but wound up not being the case. You can clean up the originals pretty nicely in most cases.

 

I had oem fender braces and I could not get them to fit with the repro red fenders. I even tried flattening the oem braces but could not get them to fit. I wound up leaving the braces out. I just put the upper bolts in the fenders to make it look like the braces were there.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I've got some repro braces that I'll try to make some significant rework to and see if I can get any improvement and if that doesn't work then I'll run with bolts to get the look like you have until I can find some good original red wells. Cheers.

 

The original's all have part numbers and a year stamp.
The part number is on the bottom right above the tire and the date is also on the bottom side where it meets the radiator support.
I'll post a couple pictures.