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Aftermarket sheetmetal fitting issues

2K views 7 replies 4 participants last post by  slammed57 
#1 · (Edited)
So Ive started sheetmetal fitup on the 55 2nd. I tried to buy my way out of a bunch of work by buying doors, front fenders, fender extensions, upper and lower grill trim etc. None of this stuff seems to work together and it looks like Ive got a pile of work cutting and stitching these new panels in order to make them fit. Is this typical?

Any photos that people have of going through this process would be helpfull thanks!
 
#2 ·
LMC....

So I’ve started sheetmetal fitup on the 55 2nd. I tried to buy my way out of a bunch of work by buying doors, front fenders, fender extensions, upper and lower grill trim etc. None of this stuff seems to work together and it looks like I’ve got a pile of work cutting and stitching these new panels in order to make them fit. Is this typical?

Any photos that people have of going through this process would be helpfull thanks!
I am helping a friend w/ his 55 2nd gen.
So far, due to unseen rust, we have: [He bought it, sight unseen.]
Replaced the bed.
The ft and rear fenders.
The hood.
The doors.
Cab corners.
Running boards.
Firewall is a smooth, custom made piece.
Not 1 single part fit like it should.

Doors had to be chopped up, and added onto, to fit the opening.
The hinges had to be drilled out, for adjustment.
The hood, at the cowl, had to be "massaged".
The ft valence panel had to be cut, shortened.

I can take some pics, if you want.
 
#3 ·
That sounds like what I have here. I think I have plan for most of the fitting but certain things have me baffled. The passenger front fender main body line sits 5/8 lower than the door when it lines up with cowl. I figured I would set the main body line then cut the 5/8 out of the flange where it meets the inner, likely still will. Cranking that fender up to where the main line meets flattens the crown though. Not sure how to address that.

The grill is another trouble area. To get the inners, outers, extentions, upper and lower grill bars to come together with the grill I need to apply extreme force. If I leave the grill out it goes together perfect. The grill is oem.
 
#4 ·
the trick with the front fenders is mount the bottom bolt on the fender back by the door towards the bottom of the fender. then match up the fender body line
of the fender with the door body line ( the fender body line is not a perfect straight line and dips down as it gets to the back of the fender, its off by 1/4 inch, you will have to feather a body line in with body filler to get it perfect)
now the top of the fender where it bolts up to the cab can be attached, you WILL need to put spacers between the cab mount and fender mount . now this is where the fenders have major flaws because the top of the fender where it meets the door and cab sticks up about 1/2 in and you will have to section that area to get it perfect. Its my belief is that ether the body line gets stamped at an angle or the top rear of the fender was stamped wrong or maybe both. It took me about 50 hours and pounding my head againts the wall of putting the fender on and off and messin with it. but once i figured it out where to make the cuts it took maybe a days worth of work ... now with all that said and work, i decided to get originals fenders just because they are a gauge or 2 thicker and feels better built and thicker.I have so much time and money in to this truck that i would feel better if it had original fenders on (but thats just me and being anal) but with a little time the reproductions will work just fine for most people hope this helps and save some time for other folks
 
#7 ·
Few pictures of progress. The passenger side fender is pretty awful. Looking for some originals to rebuild.

I put the cab corners in with the original rotten doors on the truck, now that I have the aftermarket doors mounted, the cab corner doesn’t line up so I might have to cut it and move it back. Or use the aftermarket door as parts to fix the original door.

Not sure why but the aftermarket fender and door on the drivers side is not nearly as bad. I almost have that side set, the only real issue is the with door lined up everywhere else is sits in from the back of the cab at the fuel fill hole. Not sure what to do there.

As this truck is on a later 4x4 frame, the original rad support had to go and I made my own. Getting the height and distance from firewall was tricky without having an original for measurements. It may be possible that some of my fender issues originate with the rad support
 

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