Saw this ebay ad today and don't recall anyone else bringing this up. I know these fenders were on the way, but haven't seen them really available until now. Check it out. Anyone near Springfield, OH, willing to stop by their store for an in person look-see? I think we'd all like to know if they're everything they say they are.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1951-1952-Ford-Pickup-Truck-F-1-Steel-rear-Fenders-PAIR-Hard-to-find-/161217358034?&_trksid=p2056016.l4276

 

I'd be real interested to see how they package these for shipping, and whether they arrive without dents.

 

I wouldn't worry about packaging, I just bought a front fender for '03 VW Passat. This thing is a little more than a formed piece of tin foil. When it was delivered to my shop via FedEx I was a little concerned because all that covered it was a rather thin wrap of cardboard. It was in perfect condition. I would think if these fenders are made just like the originals they'll be able to within stand a lot more bumping around than the VW fender. I would also hope since these fenders cost over 10X the VW fender they'd package them a lot better.

 

Theyve been listed on the classic haulers site for a few weeks

 

$725 a piece doesn't seem like too bad of a price considering what a shop would charge to repair a rusty original. Plus new, rust free should be a lot better than a patched together part. I still would probably patch a set myself.

I wonder when the front fenders they are advertising will be out.

This could drop the value of used fenders.

 

The rear fender on mine was the first metal working ive ever done, and it wasnt that hard, so i dont think i would buy new rears. The fronts on the other hand, i might consider if the price isnt too high. I guess i should try and fix mine first though and see how hard theyll be compared to the rears.

 

Are they originating from Dennis Carpenter? Or somewhere else?

 

Guys that are having their trucks built for them by a shop should/would buy new fenders since the cost of new fenders versus labor to restore old fenders is less. However, the average do-it-yourself garage type restorer will stick with the used fenders.

I don't see the value of good used fenders dropping.

 

The upper rear part, where there is a reinforcing piece running behind it, convinced me I wasn't that interested in learning metal working. If it were just the running board area, and the stay bracket area, I'd have done it.

 

Same here. I did some work on the fronts with decent success for a novice. However, one did have some damage on the upper front corner. After grinding out the PO's bondo, I looked at the multi-compound curve and decided a little filler was the best alternative. My "skills" weren't quite up to that.

Overall, I am too cheap to have someone else do it and it is good to push yourself to learn something new (bodywork in this case).

 

Some times you can improve on the original design. The rear fenders on my F-2 were pretty much junk but at the time, 30+ years ago, I had to way to find any better so I patched them. I replaced the areas where the running boards bolt on, the bottom corners of the wheel openings, the rear bottom edge and the entire lip that holds the fenders to the box. I welded 14 gauge steel into the area about 3" into the fender and the lip that bolts to the box. This is a weak spot that tends to crack and rust. I haven't had any cracking or rust problems in 30+ years.

I have a set of front F-1 fenders I picked up a few weeks ago from on member of FTE that are in pretty rough shape but I just couldn't see them being scrapped. Once I start working on them I'll post pictures.

 

I am currently working on my rear fenders, they were shall I say a mess. So far I have 19 hours into the passenger side, four patch panels so far and a lot of metal bumping. I have about 10-12 hours of work remaining before it is ready for color. This is my good fender. The driver side needs even more work. If these steel fenders were available for a 48 I think that I might of taken the plunge.

 

I don't think it would take much to make these fit the '48 box with the raised panel. You'd cut out a top section and move it the appropriate amount of space. I'd be kind of nervous cutting up a $725 fender but I think it'd be a lot less work than patching a bunch of rust.

 

They had a prototype of the raised bed side fenders at the ford carlisle last summer, so they should be available soon i would think.

 

I will reserve judgement, but I'm willing to bet the metal is inferior to the originals.
Years ago I was restoring a '49 Chevy truck when their "new" rear fenders became available......I bought 2 and was really disappointed at how flimsy and how much thinner they were than the OE ones. They did fit ok though. Those were made in Taiwan....