So, I don't like to complain, but I feel the need to share my frustrating experience with my front fenders.

It all started with the rotted front edges of my fenders. While surfing ebay one day I came a cross a pair of "rust free" fender fronts which apparently came off of a F-500. Since it was only the fronts and the wheel well opening didn't come into play I figured I was golden. They looked great when I got them I stripped the paint off in a couple places just to check so I proceeded to graft them on to my existing fenders. I got them all welded on and started to strip them and they blew apart. Before I knew I had fist size holes in my "rust free" fenders.

Well, since I'm a cheap skate and can't afford new fenders, I drilled out all the spot welds that hold the fenders together, pulled them apart and patched all the bad spots. I then welded them back together and hammered them back into shape. I thought I was done.

So, Saturday morning I decided to put the front sheet metal on the truck to see how things fit. When I put my new fiberglass valance on, I noticed that the fenders stuck down 1/2" lower than the valance. I started cussing the manufacturer of the valance for screwing it up and thought that I would test fit the steel valance that I've got just to double check. Unfortunately, I found the same problem. Apparently the F-500's have a front valance that is 1/2" taller than the smaller trucks. I then had to section the bottom front edges of the fenders to bring up the bottom corner 1/2" to allow it to match the valance.

What a pain in the neck. Now my front fenders have about 30 hours of work and several hundred dollars in repairs. I should have just bought new ones.

 

Ah yes hindsight is great teacher...

 

Yeah, hindsight is 20-20.

And everytime I do something like that I try to rationalize that it was a good experience because....(fill in the blank).

Maybe that will work sometime...

 

ever the optimist, the metal work experience cannot be bought, You have to do the work to learn and you are better at this than you were last week. You won't be afraid of the work when there is a part you can't buy. thumbs up

 

bummer, I guess the bright side is if you are trying to lower it you just need that f-500 valance and will bring you closer to the road.

 

Now there's an idea, extend the valance.

 

Can't say I didn't think about it. I'm going to have a hard enough time trying to get the valance straight as it is. Add a 4 foot long seam down it and I'd really be in trouble.

 

Have a new deeper lower portion bent up at a metals shop and attach at the bend, if you let the short welds cool and keep after it with a hammer and dolly you shouldn't have much distortion at all to deal with, much easier than straightening a bent up one IMHO.

 

That's why I sold my old fenders (all 6 of them) and bought new. Now there is some guy in Modesto pulling his hair out instead of me. Good luck, Jag