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I am in need to replace the front passenger fender on a 1975 corvette (I purchased it this way s don't beat me up). As you can see, part of the surround panel was damaged in addition to the fender and door panel and has to be replaced. Has anybody had experience replacing with a 1\3 front clip. Any tips\tricks\advise is greatly appreciated. I have done fiberglass work on boats and jet skis in the past but this will be the first time on a corvette. Thanks in advance.
I feel you are missing more SMC than just what is obvious.
I should not be able to look in and see the hinges in their entirety...so I feel the bonding panel that allows the fender/top hood surround to bond and compete the edge at the door is missing.
As for sectioning in a front clip and doing it a '1/3 clip'...I do not do that....mainly because for me it is waste of time and really nothing is gained except for the increased possibility that the splice area can crack or distort on you.
I either install the panels like GM designed them to go in when they were manufactured...or I install complete front clips.
But do as you wish and I hope all goes well in that respect.
Thanks for the advice as I will have more questions as I dive into this. Like I said, this is how I bought it. 1975 corvette convertible 4 speed car for little over 22,000 miles from the original owner. Unfortunately, he had started to restore it but had a stroke and cannot speak and can no longer work on it so I can't get any info on what happened.
Yes, I am pretty sure that some inner panels are missing and\or cut up and will fix once the fender\front end is removed. Right now I am leaning toward a new front end. Besides cost, what is the difference between the hand laid and press molded front end and what are their good and bad points?
Your Corvette uses SMC (Sheet Molded Compound) as a type of
'fiberglass'...so-to-speak.
Actually it is 'press molded' but normally the term press molded in the Corvette world refers to the early type of fiberglas that GM made the Corvettes out of and it has a polyester based resin.
So buying a 'press molded' front end does not apply here..and I do not know of any company that builds a front end using the correct SMC panels on a jig and sells them as a complete front end.
So...either you buy the panels individually and assemble it and bond it....or....you buy a hand laid polyester fiberglass front end and install it.
A hand laid fiberglass front end is as it says...hand laid by humans and there can be a issues due to it being made by people. SMC panels are made in a press and dies and are much more consistent in their quality.
Have installed numerous hand laid front and rear clips...YES...have they caused me problems...not really. Is there a visual difference in hand laid fiberglass front clips and original panels. YES...they can be at times if you know what to look for. Can some of these visual issues be corrected....YES...but it can take time depending on the year model of the front clip. Is it a 'deal breaker'...that depends on the person and what they want.
When I purchased the car, owner included a new door skin and fender. I guess they are not press molded since they are not black and not smooth on one side.
I am in need to replace the front passenger fender on a 1975 corvette (I purchased it this way s don't beat me up). As you can see, part of the surround panel was damaged in addition to the fender and door panel and has to be replaced. Has anybody had experience replacing with a 1\3 front clip. Any tips\tricks\advise is greatly appreciated. I have done fiberglass work on boats and jet skis in the past but this will be the first time on a corvette. Thanks in advance.
Looks like maybe some of the plenum area and or firewall is missing.
Fender replacement advise
