Anyone care to do a comparison of aftermarket front fenders? I am in the process of changing mine now. When PICs are working, I can provide PICs of the aftermarket steel fenders, a good quality glass fender and a real cheap glass fender. What I can't provide is a PIC of an original Ford fender in good repair (not prettied up to perfection with finish body work). I also can't provide a PIC of a high end glass fender like the Bebops I saw at PF. They looked pretty darn decent on initial inspection. They made Fairlane's stuff look lame.

It's no secret here that I am not a glass fan but PJS55 and Paul JR got a real good look at what I bought so they can provide some neutral insight. I am pleased with my new fenders so far but perfect they ain't.

 

I bought four new fenders from Sacramento Vintage. They fit very well and I thought the quality was great. Sorry, I can't attest to the quality of the fiberglass units. Good luck, John

 

One of the things that get me, is going to a car show and knocking on a fender and finding out it's not steel. Then see the price

"AMERICAN STEEL" need I say any more?

unless you are racing and weight is a factor.

my 2 cents, for what it's worth

 

I actually do not want to start a fiberglass sucks thread here. I have participated in that one before and I regret it. I just thought maybe we could lay out the advantages and disadvantages of specific sources. It is an often replaced item. It helps to know what you will get it you buy new when deciding how much repair you should attempt on a stock piece.

Also be aware that some of the guys here do not have a steel option for some parts of their trucks. It would help if they knew which vendors have the best glass parts.

The weight issue is a good place to start. Glass is not necessarily lighter. The Gibbons piece is heavy duty. I probably added at least 2 pounds of weight to the cheap fender before it was fit to install. I bet it weighed 13 pounds tops. The aftermarket steel fender appears to be the same gauge as stock.

Aftermarket steel 19 LBs
Cheapo Brand Glass 15 LBs
Gibbons Glass 25 LBs

John

Are you saying your Sacramento Vintage Ford front fenders are perfect? Slap them on and ready for paint? Ready for show? No wrinkles around the headlights? All flanges crisp with no distortion? My new fenders are from Dan Carpenter's. They're nice but they certainly don't meet the criteria I just mentioned.

I'm real curious what a stock fender looked like from the factory. Mine were so patched up bad I couldn't make a good assessment. The general consensus is probably that factory is the best. This is a 50's truck. Is that really the case? I don't know.

 

I'm not "anti fiberglass", my surfboard is made of the stuff.
And I've used it to repair and patch rusted steel holes.

 

My front fenders from Sac Vintage were not "ready to paint" but very close. They had slight scratches on the front vertical edges from shipping that I sanded down and reprimed. I did not notice any wrinkes around the lights, etc. I did have to use a "C-clamp" type vise grip to pull and hold the edges of the fender and the stone guard together while I bolted them to each other. The level of detail is very good. The small hole below the light that I have seen on original fenders is there on my repros as well. The only thing I can complain about is the price. $399 each was pricey, but probably close to what my body and paint guy would have charged me to get the old ones in "new" condition. John in Sacramento

 

godd point. i cant get metal fenders for my truck 1951. i think 53 and up can and under cannot. i would like to know which are better and what is worth the money.

 

I was hoping to post PICs but it isn't going to happen for awhile. I did some test fitting of my fenders today. Outside dimensions and panel alignment super with one exception, I had to drill and bust a spot weld where the upper flange splits and steps down by the upper radiator valance. It was out of place by at least about 3/16 inch in a real bad place for errors. I recovered from that. Only other significant issue are it is a little wavy on the crimp inside the headlight area. Doesn't show but I know it's there. We'll have to see if I get stupid as usual and fix it. I paid $287.50 each at PF.

My Gibbons glass fender is reasonably decent. It fits as good as any glass I have ever used. It is certainly beefy. Has a few of the light waves you often get with glass. Hard to see until you paint.

My cheapo glass fender is garbage. It is typical of the lowest dollar glass parts. External dimensions are off. I had no prayer of ever getting it right. It was too long. Misplaced bolt holes. Just wrong in many respects.

I looked at the Fairlane fenders at PF. They appear to be fairly accurate but have mold seams in bad places. Smells like LOTS of unecessary work.

I look forward to Paul checking in with some Bebops input. Looks like pretty good stuff to me.

 

We have bought a number of fiberglass parts....front valance panel & a rear panel truck valance and now the left front fender....these from BeBops.
Also had a pair of Gibbon front fenders.

All were really nice parts. My son Paul is in DC area today and will comment in more depth when he gets back in a day or two, but we have no problem with the QUALITY parts.

We rate them, as Dewayne indicated, best to worst:

BeBops
Gibbon


Fairlane

Other junk, like some we had on trucks when just purchased.


The gap between groups are there on purpose, to show relative quaity.

I guess if one has had quality parts early on, whether steel or glass, there is a tendency to stay with that material....the reverse of course also applies.

Saving up for the BeBops glass cab,

Paul Gayda

 

Gwilkrrs,

Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, George? Sure you can still get new steel fenders for a '51 or '52! I saw a very nice set of N.O.S. fenders at the Forge on Saturday in the swap meet area. They were quite a bargain and I'm still kicking myself for not picking them up while I had the chance. $2500 for the pair was quite a steal, don't ya think?:-staun

 

I bought a set of repro steel front fenders from obsolete Ford parts in Oklahoma, made in Japan. I mocked them up last weekend and they seemed to match up pretty good. Original gauge metal, correct holes, no waves and crisp edges. My only area of concern was the inside headlight cup area, like 'fenders. I will probably do a little work on that, but overall I am pleased ($289 each off Ebay).

Mike

 

$2500??????????? ive looked and i cant find steel anywhere for my 51. pf was way too far for me while im still sicck. i have to stay close to the docs. pf sounds fun from what ive read.

 

This is Paul the son, all you guys should know by now that there is or probly never will be a ready to bolt on and paint body parts out there. My favorite one is looking at trucks for sale that are "ready for paint". The steel fenders are nice, but i think the companies out there need to put more into the craftmanship of their parts. I hate to say it but our ford truck parts aftermarket is quickly becoming like the streetrod market. WAY over priced for even the smallest things. Let's blame it on Canada. LOL Ya hear that John?


Still recovering from overeating at PF.........

 

"Let's blame it on Canada. LOL Ya hear that John?"

Paul JR

I see quite a few "free China" emblems on my aftermarket stuff. Not to many mapleleaves though.

It doesn't seem to matter where the stuff is made. A USA flag sticker sure doesn't mean too much unfortunately. You just have to be extra cautious. I like to honestly post the shortcomings of my purchases so folks here can make their own decisions. I am pretty good at patching a flat panel with the MIG. Put a compound curve back into a misformed panel? I hope you packed a lunch if you're waiting on me. That's all I really cared about when assessing the metal fenders I bought. The lines look almost perfect right from the vendor.

I know you're back in DC now. Let us now on the Bebops fender install, whenever that may be.