J.C. Whitney front fender questions>>>

Paul,

I've used JCW's fenders and, with a little care, it's hard to beat them for the price. HOWEVER, let's make it clear from the start that if you can find a used German fender in reasonable shape, you will be better off. They are a much better product, in terms of metal gauge and quality.

With aftermarket fenders, it's recommended that you replace them in pairs, as the cutouts for lights and their mounting holes often don't precisely match what's already on your car. The fender-to-body mounting holes can also be off, so plan on redrilling some, and welding/brazing patches over the oddball ones. A pair of aftermarket rear fenders I used had the bumper bracket cutouts misaligned by about 10mm, which I didn't notice until I had trouble getting the rubber bracket bushings in place. Since everything had already been repainted, repositioning the cutouts was not an option so I had to live with it.

It is also a good idea to strip the primer/paint off the fender(s) before topcoating, and treat it (them) as you would any bare metal body component (phosphoric acid and/or etching primer.) You may (or may not) be surprised to find rust underneath that factory paint, and it's easier to deal with now than in 2 years when it's bubbling through your nice new paint.

Hmmm, on second thought, maybe hoding out for that used German fender isn't such a bad idea after all ....

Al Adams

I had good luck with JCW fenders. I ended up with Italian made one which are supposed to be good. Not as good as German ones, of course. But do buy them in pairs and it's always good to strip primer to bare metal. Mainly because you should use primer that's compatible with topcoat.

As for Maaco paint... check my 77 Bug site for suggestions.

I had good luck with JCW fenders. I ended up with Italian made one which are supposed to be good. Not as good as German ones, of course. But do buy them in pairs and it's always good to strip primer to bare metal. Mainly because you should use primer that's compatible with topcoat.

As for Maaco paint... check my 77 Bug site for suggestions.

One more thing about looking for a German fender, if you decide to go that route: just because it's already on a car and the same color as the rest of the car doesn't necessarily mean it's been there since the car was built!

Sounds obvious, but the power of wishful thinking can be, well, POWERFUL. The one-owner '68 T-1 that I bought in 1997 looked to me like a car that had pretty good original paint. Tearing it apart revealed that it had had major body work (and been repainted) at least 2 times. The rear fenders (mentioned in my previous post) may have been German, what was left of them after removing bondo and patches. The front fenders were marked (stamped?) with their country of origin, namely sunny Mexico.

Running one's hand (carefully) along the curled-under edge of the fender can be an indication of non-German origin: excessively wrinkled metal was a no-no in the Fatherland.

As I said, the power of wishful thinking lead me to believe that my car was a well-loved relic from another era that was pretty much original. I highly recommend including a refrigerator magnet when checking out any questionable sheet metal, as the presence of bondo may indicate that all is not as it may appear.

Al Adams