C1 Side Fender Replacement

[Richard H.]

Restoring a project car. The right side fender is considerably bowed. Has anyone replaced a side fender? If so, what steps did you follow? Thanks.

[Greg S.]

Re: C1 Side Fender Replacement

Richard,

You didn't say which fender but the procedure is basically the same for all corners as they are all bonded. I believe that anyone with some patience can perform this repair. There are books written about fiberglass repair but these are the basic steps.

First locate the bonding strips for the part you want to replace. A replacement fender or the AIM manual will show you where they are. You need to strip the paint from both sides of the bond. Original factory bonds are seen as a black line of bonding material which is the joint. Use a dremel tool or other grinder to grind out the black bonding material being careful not to grind or cut bare fiberglass. When enough of the material is ground away you can get a knife, spatula or pry bar between the fender and the underlying bonding strip. Some of the bonds may be at the edges of the fenders. If the old part is to be discarded you can use a grinder to simply grind away the old part down to the bond. Carefully use the flat tools to break the bond between the fender and the bonding strip or edge. Sometimes they pop apart and other times you will need to work along the seams. Continue along all seams until the fender is removed. Once the fender is removed grind away all bonding material from the remaining bonding strips or edges. Test fit your new fender to the cleaned bonding strips. You may have to grind here and there to get a good fit.

Once satisfied that everything fits you need to decide how you will hold the new fender to the bonding strip when the bonding cement sets up. Most use clamps where they can and large (1-1.5 inch) fender washers and sheet metal screws on hard to hold places. The sheet metal screw goes through the washer in the middle of the bonding strip to hold the new part in place. Clamps can be used on edges. Test fit all holding devices before mixing the bonding cement and catalyst.

Remove the fender, washers and clamps. Mix and spread the bonding cement on the bonding strips, refit the fender and clamps and washers as they were before. Work quickly as the bonding cement sets up in ten to twenty minutes depending on temperature and mixture strength. Don't be shy about spreading bonding cement. The excess will be ground off after it sets up.

Wait for the bonding cement to set up, remove the clamps, smooth high spots and fill any holes with bonding cement. Now you are ready for traditional body primer and paint.

This is a very simplified explanation but believe me it is not as difficult as it may seem. Tip for the first timer. Wear long sleave shirts and pants as the ground fiberglass will be uncomfortable on your skin. When grinding keep you shop vac running and near the seam to suck up the fiberglass.

[Jerry W.]

Re: C1 Side Fender Replacement

Good writeup....Keep in mind to keep the edges of the joints below the proposed finished surface as best as you can.....once the fender is mounted to satisfaction with bonding material...., don't be afraid to grind the joints liberally ( dished out ).....then use over lapping matted fiberglass strips and pieces along with resin and hardener to fill the joints....lots of grinding and filling to smooth surface.....if you screw up....grind it out and do it again

that's my two cents

[Roger W.]

Re: C1 Side Fender Replacement

I could not have written the procedure better myself. The only tip that I can add, is be prepared to take apart and refit the fender I had to refit my lower fender about 25 times before I bonded it. The new part was slightly different than the original and the top fender panel was bent I had to make an angle iron fixture to keep it straight. after bonding the two fender parts with a new bonding strip the top part was ok.

[Richard H.]

Re: C1 Side Fender Replacement

Thank you gentlemen for the excellent information and directions.

[William B.]

Re: C1 Side Fender Replacement

The 1st thing I would look at is "WHY IS THE FENDER BOWED". It could be the front radiator mount is bad, or previous accident damage.

[Jerry W.]

Re: C1 Side Fender Replacement

Richard...William is right....i have the same problem with the 62 that we are restoring......in the late 70's i replaced the complete front clip with a new one and over the years the car has developed stress cracks above the centerline of the wheel wells and the fenders are slightly bowed....i'm convinced that this is a result of the front end not being properly supported correctly at both the radiator cross brace to the inner fenders on each side and at the bottom of the cross brace....i haven't solved the problem yet as the body work has yet to be started......good luck

also check bonding strips inside just above the wheel well......i checked some restored cars at BJ last year and some were continuios strips over the well and some were not.....like mine is.

[Richard H.]

Re: C1 Side Fender Replacement

The front clip was replaced on this car, but not a complete clip. the section with the cowl vent was left in place and the clip was attached around it. The right side has the significant problem, the left side just a slight bow. I am having the frame checked to make sure it is straight. I will check the other items suggested to help diagnosis the origin of the problem.