I've been following the resurrection of swtato's Pace car by Little Jake, and am absolutely awed at the work being done. One piece of the repair has me thinking, and led me to post.

Jake's body man did a rebuild of the shaved front fender lip on the '78 before realizing it was supposed to be shaved - oops! In any event, his buildup and repair of the section was excellent. My '71 has the same problem - Bubba decided that he needed some 60's on the front back in '76, and shaved off the front lip of both fenders...


After seeing the repair done to swtato's car, I'm wondering if the same couldn't be done to mine. I've been ready to replace the front fenders completely, but have had an incredibly hard time finding fenders for this car, especially the driver's side. I have patch panels that I could splice in as well, which could make my repairs a bit easier. So here's the question(s): Should I repair/rebuild the front lips ala Little Jake's body man, leaving the original fenders intact? Should I cut and piece in patch panels. leaving most of the original panels? Or should I replace the whole fender on each side? The car is fairly original, and I like it that way, however I want a strong repair more than anything. It will not be an NCRS car at any point, nor will it be professionally judged. Thoughts and opinions? Who has had success with repaired fenders and how did you do it?

 

My opinion is, since the fender is in very good condition a repair to the lip area that addresses both the outside and inside of the fender would be a smart thing to do. I think it could be done so that there was no clue that the work had been done. It seems a shame to break the fender loose from the bonding strip when the repair is so confined and easy to get to.
Regards,
Alan

 

Seems like it would cut down on your "down time" for the repairs

 

My concern has mostly been the strength of the repair. I'd hate to get it all complete and have a simple bump or mishap crack the repair loose. Maybe I'm not trusting the quality of materials available today... I can use the pics posted by swtato for a reference in forming the sections needed, and I can use the patch panels for a guide/mold. I need to read up on fiberglass repair. I appreciate the opinions and am now leaning towards repair...

 

That area takes little load, so it is not a high-stress area. As long as you reinforce it fairly well, it shouldn't cause you a cracking problem. [As I recall, there is even a little "anti-vibration" strut on the inside to keep that area from flexing.]

 

My 2 cents replace the fenders for the best long term satisfaction. In the end their will be no obvious repairs visible.

 

Im going with Alan on this one. I wouldnt break a fender at the bonding strip to repair that small area. Its not as hard as you would think, if you want to talk to my body guy I can have him give you a call one day and give you a play by play.

 

That would be excellent. Actually the pics taken of the Pace Car restoration seem to really show the method used to form and build the shape of the lip - if there are more of those, they would help immensely. As I get closer to starting this project (still too hot in Dallas!) I'll send you a note and go from there. I appreciate the help!