Good originals are out there they are just hard to find. I decided a few years ago to stick with original metal vs. glass and I don't regret it. I am just now getting my parts back from body work and paint. I thought I had a great set of rear fenders and my body guy said "wow, those will need some work." You can see photos on my web page.
Truck restoration log My opinion may change when I get the bill for the body work but I doubt it. They should be good to go for another 60+ years when finished.
I got a box from Mar-k - GREAT!!! Top quility and they even treat the metal to prevent rust. I had mine in bare metal for over three years before they saw any sort of paint and they looked as good as the day I got them.
Three of my fenders I got from mikes-ca-desert-treasures on e-bay. You may want to check with him. He has been parting out quite a few 41-46 over the past two years. Good front fenders are getting just as hard to find as rear ones because most of them were used as bumpers over the years and are pretty well trashed.
Wheelwright Restorations in Wheelwright, MA is now making the extremely hard to find valance panel that goes in between the front fenders as well as cab corners. This guy is talented! You won't go wrong picking up metal parts from him. He will also make various patches for the fenders (i.e.; the lower sections that match up with the running boards).
I ended up buying and selling several pairs of front and rear before settling on the ones I am finally using. In seven years I have only seen three NOS 1/2 ton fenders on e-bay (and I look almost every day). Here's an example of what you will get stuck with for an NOS fender:
NOS front fender $670!!! OUCH!!! I have seen others go for this much as well and have actually coughed up that much myself. I have paid anywhere between $100-$720 for a front fender and between $80-400 for a rear fender. Obviously, the condition of these fenders varied greatly. Not being talented in body work pushed me to buy the best that I could so the amount I am paying for body work and the amount of filler that would be needed is limited. After buying and selling several sets of fenders over the past three years I have managed to get my cost per fender down to $355.92 per fender. I have been fortunate to have been able to sell most for more than I paid for them. Much of this is due to how they are listed on e-bay (i.e.; proper titles & descriptions)
If I had extras, I would put them out there for you but I have already sold most of my extra parts. Good luck.
