GM NOS Fenders... Keep/Fix or Sell?

[Firebird-Geek]

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So I FINALLY was able to open my Genuine GM NOS front fenders. I purchased these back in 2003 from the GM dealership I work at. There were only 6 LH and 30 RH fenders left at the time in the warehouse we got them from.





So they have been one of my prized purchases I made... up until I put them on the car!

The body lines on these GM NOS panels make my aftermarket doors and rear quarters look GREAT! They obviously were stamped near the end of life of the GM tooling. They are TOTALLY rounded out and DULL compared to the other panels. Fitment seems good... but NOT the body lines.



Here are some Examples:

Body Line of aftermarket door:


Body line of Quarter panel:


And Here is the bodyline of the GM NOS fender: (notice how rounded and dull it is)

[Firebird-Geek]

I can not tell if the top of the fender is as bad... but they do seem a bit more dull than the line on the doors. Do they look correct?
NOTE: these panels have not been fitted and are just hanging on the car.

[Firebird-Geek]

The wheel openings also look like they are rounded out. I think these are suppose to have a more squared off lip?

[Firebird-Geek]

So... now my BIG question. Can these be fixed? I was thinking that I could use a dolly on the back of the panel and try and reshape the line by hammering it out a bit more pronounced. BUT, should I be doing this on Genuine GM panels? Are they still a better panel than the aftermarkets?

I know I have read about NOS panels having bad body lines before, but never read how they were fixed or handled?

Or am I better off just ordering some AMD front fenders and sell these GM NOS ones? It is not like my car has many GM panels left on it anyway.

PLEASE give me your thoughts! Just not sure which way to go...

[gray776]

Obviously just my opinion, but in your case I would sell them to someone who needs to have NOS, and buy some quality repops that will better match your lines. Most all new metal is going to need work though.

[Che70velle]

Sell the GM stuff...you can just about name your price. You will make enough to buy some AMD panels, and a LOT of other items you need. This is what I'd do.

[Rick D]

Originally Posted by Firebird-Geek

So... now my BIG question. Can these be fixed? I was thinking that I could use a dolly on the back of the panel and try and reshape the line by hammering it out a bit more pronounced. BUT, should I be doing this on Genuine GM panels? Are they still a better panel than the aftermarkets?

I know I have read about NOS panels having bad body lines before, but never read how they were fixed or handled?

Or am I better off just ordering some AMD front fenders and sell these GM NOS ones? It is not like my car has many GM panels left on it anyway.

PLEASE give me your thoughts! Just not sure which way to go...

Just a thought here but why do you think the GM panels are wrong?? It is more likely that the aftermarket parts are wrong. Unless you have matched them up with original fenders and then the line do not match? Any way how good are you at metal work? If the line need to be sharpened up you can do it but it takes lots of time and patience! I would say as others have, put them up for sale on eBay and then use the money for other parts.

One other thing I would do before you sell them, check out the aftermarket ones to see the lines on those match your other sheet metal?

[Sparks67]

Hire someone good to re-work the NOS panels. A good bodyman can fix those issues, but the problem with aftermarket sheet metal is the door to fender gaps. A friend of mine had a 68 Firebird and those gaps were about 3/8" wide. They spent more hours trying to get them close to mine. I just looked at AMD website and it lists some fender, but it doesn't say that it is the official GM restoration parts. AMD also sells Goodmark, which has a different part number. My 67 RS Camaro has all NOS parts, and it was the best decision that I made in the past. Although, I did buy my 67 NOS fenders in the 80's for only $189 each.

Jeff

[Firebird-Geek]

Originally Posted by Rick D

Just a thought here but why do you think the GM panels are wrong?? It is more likely that the aftermarket parts are wrong. Unless you have matched them up with original fenders and then the line do not match? Any way how good are you at metal work? If the line need to be sharpened up you can do it but it takes lots of time and patience! I would say as others have, put them up for sale on eBay and then use the money for other parts.

One other thing I would do before you sell them, check out the aftermarket ones to see the lines on those match your other sheet metal?

The body lines on the other panels all match each other. I also have the original sheet metal from the car, and you can see a definite difference in the body lines comparing to the new NOS panels.

I think at this point I will order in the AMD panels and see how they fit. I will keep the GM NOS panels until I know I am satisfied with which ones I will use on the car, then sell the others off.

[Jay Hilliard]

I would sell the GM and make yourself a ton of money. I put AMD on my wifes car and the door to fender gaps were HUGE. I had to add metal to door to get gaps correct. I called AMD (been over a year ago), spoke with one of the owners and informed them of the gap issue along with pics of GM fender vs their fender. I was told the issue was the inner structure of fender was incorrectly installed not allowing the outer portion of fender to get the gaps right. The owner said he would investigate production line to check QA. I dont know if this is still an issue or not.

The AMD metal is thicker than other brands. I used their qtrs and door skins as was very happy with the panels. Hopefully the fender issues have been corrected.

Either way, you will have to do some metal work with GM or aftermarket.