Hey guys, reading through a lot of the posts here, it seems there has been little said about the fitment of aftermarket fenders on the 73-80 C/Ks. Well, My factory fenders have seen better days. I tried salvaging them a couple years ago by doing some rust repair, having grafted new sheet metal into some of the more nasty spots, but with two years having gone by since painting the whole truck, it seems that the metal worms are in full force and bubbles are popping up from the inside out. I understand that the early squarebody trucks were prone to rotting away while still on the showroom floor, so for the OE fenders to have lasted 42 years is a bit of a miracle. Thankfully the rest of the truck is in good shape. So a simple fender swap should get me back in business. I tried finding a good set of OE fenders, but everything out there has rust or damage on it, not to mention all the trim holes, which i won't be using. That said I went to Brothers showroom in Corona, CA and they let me pick out the two best aftermarket fenders in their warehouse. They're all really cool guys that work there, who all share the same passion we have for our rigs. Brothers price of $79 a fender was a sweet deal!
I immediately noticed that when comparing the aftermarkets they sold me to the originals, they seem to be made from sheet metal as thick as the originals and the body lines appeared to be damn near perfect. As with any fender, it's going to be a process getting them fitted to the truck, but for any of you that were curious as to what kind of headache you might have to deal with using aftermarket fenders, specifically the ones sold by Brothers, I will keep you posted on how everything turns out.
So far the old fenders are off, and new fenders bolted up. Body lines and gaps don't look too far off, and there is still more massaging left to do. We shall see how well it all lines up with the hood (which is also a reproduction) when all said and done.
I immediately noticed that when comparing the aftermarkets they sold me to the originals, they seem to be made from sheet metal as thick as the originals and the body lines appeared to be damn near perfect. As with any fender, it's going to be a process getting them fitted to the truck, but for any of you that were curious as to what kind of headache you might have to deal with using aftermarket fenders, specifically the ones sold by Brothers, I will keep you posted on how everything turns out.
So far the old fenders are off, and new fenders bolted up. Body lines and gaps don't look too far off, and there is still more massaging left to do. We shall see how well it all lines up with the hood (which is also a reproduction) when all said and done.
