after spending 8 hours trying to install a front fender on my 72 i can safetly say the parts place fender i bought is total junk! no matter where i start from fitment is horrible i bought the new plastic inner fender and that is just as bad,nothing lines up properly had to throw in the towel for tonight .the whole fender seems twisted i made the mistake of painting it before installing it first to check it out .lesson learned on trying to save time .i guess ill tear it all apart tomorrow and start over .

 

I understand your frustration. Its not been easy for me either, with factory parts. I can envy body guys who do this, but they have experience. I've got no opinion on parts place, never used them or parts.

I assume you have a selection of spacers and shims? You'll need to try various ones.

Take a break, try again later.

I might suggest to leave out the inner liners for a bit. Maybe a nice warm day in the sun will give you more flexibility. You can get them later.

 

i agree the real body guys make it look easy .thanks for the vote of confidence tomorrow is another day!

 

That sucks. I have heard that all the after market fenders have issues with fitment and that they take serious time to get to fit . I would say start as many bolts as you can loosely and leave the core support loose also.

 

after several more hours finally got the fenders to the point im satisfied and moved on to the front facia and grills which went fairly smooth maybe try the inner fenders tonight

 

Dont do the final tightening sequence until you have the hood and bumper on/test fit. Core support to frame bolts included. Apply plenty of blue or green masking tape to the edges of all the parts.

 

ive had issues with OEM parts..sometimes its a struggle..so..dont be discouraged..

 

I can't speak for the fenders but I did buy the aftermarket red fender wells from the Parts Place for my 68. The fitment was Horrible to say the least!!! I must have had each one in & out 6 times before I was happy with the fit. The heat gun(on low setting) was my best friend! They were way too "narrow" & once I figured out that they needed to be heated & flared out at the front of the wheel opening area they actually fit pretty well. Back in '14 they finally came out with new '68-'69 fenders,anybody tried those yet???

 

I bought the red reproduction from The Parts Place also. I moved and left the old broken ones behind. Car has been stripped to metal and restored and painted. I'm trying to install the reproduction fenders and cant get them to fit? I don't recall how the clips went on all the photos show the metal clips slid over the plastic inner fenders but it seems to me they should go on the metal tabs on the steel fenders? Any advice or photos would be appreciated.

 

I know this is an old thread but I bought goodmark fenders and they fit amazing, even the bodyman said they were the best fit he has seen. I also purchased a trunk lid, from the parts place for the coupe, and it was a great fit also. I think the parts are better now than even two years ago, from my experience anyway.

 

I figured it out. I was not installing them the right way. Someone sent me a thread showing the correct procedure and they went right in with no problem. It was me not the fenders.

 

glad it worked out for you. Mine sucked nowhere near oem. And sub par for aftermarket imo.

 

Interested to see how the reproduction fenders fit. Could you post some images? thanks

 

pics are on my major build post .

 

I found it work best to seat in fender wells then pin front and rear with Phillip's screwdrivers or all's then do the same with top holes. Make sure the plastic fender is seated all the way then mark the positions to drill holes through the holes in the steel fender wells with a black marker. Before drilling the holes check the locations by using the steel clip when seated all the way, the steel tab should be flush against the plastic fender edge,