My own experience with reproduction parts was even worse than that. I had one piece of a fender spot welded in the wrong position; I had to un-attach it and re-weld so that the front of the fender aligned with the nose of the hood. What was most frustrating for me was how much time I spent trying to get the front sheet metal to align before I realized that the problem was in the construction quality of the reproduction. Knowing in advance that reproduction parts may need work would have tempered my own initial disappointment. I'm happy with how things worked out in the end, but anyone buying reproduction parts should not expect to simply bolt them in place and call it done. I do not know if one vendor is much different than another.

 

I got a right front fender from Mid West Early Ford. I don't know where they get them from. The only difference I could tell was that the repop felt lighter in weight than my original. But that could be because my original had several coats of paint on it. But I think the repop was a smaller gauge.

My body man has not complained to me about a bad fit.

 

You're probably just stronger now abe...lol
The new rear fenders I got feel pretty light too compared to the rusty one I had but maybe I'm stronger now too

 

I have 2 56 trucks I put repop fenders and running boards on ,I found they needed minor tweaking but overall I'm pleased with the outcome

 

Well rusty metal does weigh more than clean metal.

 

Every new piece looks fantastic when it comes out of the box , it's when you start putting the pieces together you find out it's a piece of another puzzle that you need to make fit

 

Y'all weren't stronger you just weren't carrying as much other weight around since your wallets were just lightened. ;-)

 

Spoke to my body man yesterday. I asked him how the repop fender fit. He said he had to elongate some holes to make it fit. It looks great on the truck. But I don't think he had to reshape anything.

 

I found that the right front fender fit better than the left, it could be the the fits are getting better if they have been getting complaints..

 

Any hood alignment tips? Fit is close. I was thinking of getting some 1/4" thick spacers and stick between hood and fenders and then tighten bolts up. 1/4" too much of a gap?

 

My repop fender is the front right.

 

Lucky for you abe the 2 new rear fenders I got look really nice and I'm quite pleased with but like many say they seem to be a lighter gauge...

 

 

You will need to notch the pinch weld flange to allow the fender to pull up to the cab snuggly.

 

Would it be a bad idea to make a cut in fender for pinch weld to slide into?