The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop rear fenders

Dummy me , I bought new bedsides with no fender holes to match my fiberglass fenders with no holes . Have an old set of half ton bedsides and the top of the fender appears to be about 5 inches from the edge where the bedside angles out , but I have an old three quarter ton bed where that same dimension is about 4 inches . Also the fenders don't match up with the running boards and I don't know exactly where the boltholes should be there . Suggestions?

I would suggest that you install the running boards, bolt down the bed, place the vehicle on the ground with the correct tires and rims on the truck and then place the fenders up to the bed sides. You can take two clamps and clamp the front of the fiberglass fenders to the running boards and then take the rear frame to fender brace and clamp that also to the fender. Now take a few steps back and look at the position of the tire in the fender opening. When your happy with the look of the fender just remove the tire and drill some holes in the bed to mount the fenders.

This is a common practice among fiberglass manufacturers. They do not drill holes in the fenders so that the fender can be positioned exactly on the truck. It is difficult to control the fiberglass process to the point where the bolt holes can be accurately placed, so the company saves a manufacturing step and allows the customer to drill them. There are companies that have solved these problems, but you end up paying more for their products. You get what you pay for.

To Chevy1... Tell me more about the "rear frame to fender brace>>>

The rear fender will have a support rod "brace" that attaches to the frame and extends out to support the back of the fender. This will prevent the fender from flapping in the wind and causing stress cracks.