I have a set of early aftermarket stainless steel inner fenders that I acquired some years ago and I am not sure that it will be worth the effort to "massage" these panels enough to make them fit. The major problem with these inner fenders and other aftermarket panels is the fit at the top of the panel where it bolts to the outer fender. The lip of the outer fender, where it meets up with the hood, has a curve in it. All the aftermarket units I have seen are straight across this edge which leaves a gap when installed. Has anyone found an aftermarket inner fender that fits?
A local sheetmetal shop will fabricate a custom panel for me but it will be pricey. I kinda like the new inner fenders that MidFifty sells but it has the same fitment issues as all the rest.

 

Charlie,
Are you saying that if you bolt the two fenders together it will pull the bow out of the outer fender? The reason I ask is there have been several posts about hoods with bows in them that leave serious alignment issues. It might not be the hood

 

BJ this is an issue between the inner and outer fender and how they mate together. It just so happens that the place where they join is also the place where the hood sits down. The outer fender holds the shape that matches the curvature of the hood, the OEM inner fender is stamped to match this curvature as well but in the aftermarket the inner fenders that are currently being made do not have the curvature to match. I am specifically referring to the custom inner fenders not the off-shore stamped items. Here is a pic showing the style I am talking about, sorry but I don't have a pic with the fenders mounted.

 

Here is the picture from Mid Fifty's site, showing the gap between the factory fender and custom inner fender:

 

midfifty also sells a separate piece that fills in that gap.

http://midfifty.com/item.php?INV_ID=...der-and-fender

 

Yep, that's the gap! It is a PITA because the inner fender is mostly flat with straight bends but the outer fender has a bow in it at the attaching point. I have been looking at a couple of different ways to correct this "gap" but I thought that I would run it by the rest of the group to see if someone might have resolved it already.

 

A guy I know bought this gap filler when he bought the Midfifty inner fenders...he was not impressed as it did not have tapered ends to match the fender gaps.

 

good to know as i have those straight inner fenders and will be installing soon.

 

You could try one of these

 

Isn't there enough flex in the metal to close the gap..?

 

This is a great thread. Should help lots of folks looking at those custom inner fenders.

 

There is but if you cinch up the inner fender to close the gap then the panel gets some warpage in it that defeats the purpose of the clean, flat panel.
I have looked at using various fillers like All-Metal and have recently started looking into a metal insert. Something like a length of 18 ga steel with a 90 degree angle bent into it that would run the length of the joint between the fenders. The top edge would have the curve of the outer fender and offer a clean joint between the two...and the lower edge would be flat and sit cleanly on the inner fender.

 

The inners I built for my 1st truck were built in a round profile, to achieve the fender crown I used my English wheel which in this case you can too if you have one or aders to one.

 

I built mine for my panel as well and they fit well but they aren't stainless steel either...

 

to anyone who has installed the smooth midfifty inner fenders, I was wondering what you did with the flat bottom bend that sits right on top of the frame. I'm trying to decide if its best to screw it in or put some weatherstrip on top of frame. Seems like it would rattle like crazy just sitting there without doing something to it.