The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Aftermarket fender quality

I have a chance to get a steel reproduction fender for my 56 truck for a resonable price. What are your guys opinion on the quality of these fenders? (The person selling it to me got it from an advertiser in a truck mag) Is fit the same? Steel thickness? Where are these fenders made? I have been restoring pre 1967 VW's for twenty years and can tell you 90% of the aftermarket stuff (with the exception of rubber) for those cars are crap. I figured it would be the same here, but wanted to get some opinions.

the front TF repop fenders are pretty new and not from the 'usual suspects', but along w/ the recently introduced TF doors, are supposed to have been set up from GM drawings, tho not sure where they're being stamped - prolly Taiwan as that's the place that's 'cost effective' nowadays! I've talked to a guy who's seen them used and he sez they're quite good - never get a perfect fit because these trucks never fit all that well from the factory, but are well worth the price compared to patching rusted originals, and they're a good gauge, not flimsey stuff

Bill

I bought a fiberglass replacement front left fender for my 62. It SUCKED. Fortunately Chevyduty replaced it at no charge for a metal fender which fit much better, but not perfect. Buying from a individual is a crap shoot.

The 47-59 parts are mostly made by Dynacorn and seem to be a pretty good fit for aftermarket parts. They are the company making the new 69 Camaro full body. I have used and sold their 47-56 parts with no complaints from customers yet. ALL the sheetmetal parts are Taiwan made now but they are much better tooled than 5 years ago in my opinion. The good thing about Dynacorn is they have warehouses in CA,TX and PA that my customers can pick up from and inspect the parts before loading them.Tab the 60-66 front fenders by TRI PLUS are being retooled by Dynacorn i am told so maybe theres hope for the 60-66 crowd.
Ed

I just put a replacement front fender on my 70 c20 suburban. I had to file some of the holes to make everything line up. But 35 years of hard work on a 4X4 you can't expect everything to just line up. The price was less than half the price of original fenders that weren't absolutely the greatest. When I was done everything fit, the lines and gaps were even and I'm happy. Just a lot of patience and a willingness to make it work right. Redcoat

Does anyone know of a source for tilt front clips for the 60-66 trucks?

I remember back in early to mid 90's of an outfit from Oklahoma that made these, does anyone remember the name?

bowtie,try www.usbodysource.com

I just finished retstoring my 1978 GMC 1/2 and had to purchase new front fenders for it. The fenders where $89.00 CDN and where made in Taiwan. Before I removed the original fenders I marked with tape the gaps between the fenders, door and hood to insure a good fit when I bolted in the repo fenders. I have to admit that the repo fenders where a dead fit to the originals. I have heard bad things about the repo fenders but these ones worked out fine.

My experience with aftermarket body parts is that you have to make them fit. Most are made overseas.