68 fender damage question

[CaptMarvel]

Ok, my 68 R/T has some nasty passenger fender damage right at the smallest crease at the front. Maybe a real good body guy could pound it out, but I have some doubts because of the location and accessibility. Other than this, the fender is in pretty good shape. I have another fender, this one pretty rusted except for the area I would be using it for replacement. My 6$ question is, can I or someone good at cutting/welding excise just that area and replace it with that area from the non crumpled fender? Is this done? Take a look at my pics and see what you think, or if there are better options, let me know. I just want to do a decent job without paying a body guy a million bucks to hammer it out if possible....thanks guys.

[CaptMarvel]

Bueller? anyone, anyone?

[rob9593]

I'm not a body guy, but this is the damage that was on my fender.....I took it to a very reputable shop and the guy there basically said that while anything could be repaired, I'd be better off buying another fender to start with ( even at the $700 - $800 they are fetching) since it would be very challenging to get the top part of the fender perfect...this should maybe give you an idea of how much labour they think it would have been to straighten out some damage on a fender...

he basically said if it was just dented on the side, no problem, but bacause the top was pushed in it would difficult to make it perfect again...

Your fender looks the same on the top part so I'm not so sure about hammering it out..... whether the whole section can be cutout and replaced, I don't know, he said mine could not, but it was also in the middle of the fender... I can only pass on the information I got regarding mine and show you what mine looked like...

hope that helps somewhat....

[kab69440]

Well, the fender will first need to be removed from the car. Then the forward reinforcement brace drillled off. And then, more than likely the smaller pieces at the front and inside will need their spot welds drilled and to be removed.Then you can try the hammer and dolly stuff. If you have a good donor section, stitching that on would be my advice. Your best bet for a fast, cheap fix is a slide hammer to remove as much of the dent as possible, and a quart of filler to skim over it.

[Charger-Bodie]

if it were me id work out the damage as well as you can first then cut out the part thats too stretched and make a new piece butt weld it in and a small amount of filler later and youre set!

[Arigmaster]

My passenger fender was like that but not quite as bad. I used a stud setter,torch, and puller on it until it was all out. you have to be careful with the heat though because the metal gets pretty brittle along the body line. The part that was really hard is that I couldn't get behind it with a spoon dolly. (spent 3 days on that spot alone) By the time I was finished, it only required skim coat of plastic and the remaining plastic was paper thin. I ended up replacing the drivers side... it was far worse.

[CaptMarvel]

The more I look at my replacement fender, the more I think I may have it blasted for a few bucks and see whats left. It actually seems pretty solid, but has some very serious surface rust (no rust through) in a few places. What would you all do? Is it worth it to try, or does heavy surface rust mean its too far gone? The replacement fender appeals to me to avoid any cutting or welding....

[Arigmaster]

Take a look at these...

http://www.htpweld.com/products/auto_body_tools/index.htm