Fiberglass Fenders

[Stang427W]

So I wasn't planning on getting any, but i can get some for free pretty much, so why not?, when i buy my fiberglass hood. I was wondering if anyone knows how much weight savings there would be from the standard steel fenders...

 

[mustbereel]

I think mine saved about 10lbs per fender. The fit and finish left much to be desired.

 

[Gailahan]

I bet it's 10 lbs max.

 

[Gailahan]

I think mine saved about 10lbs per fender. The fit and finish left much to be desired.

lol beat me by a few seconds.

 

[Stang427W]

I think mine saved about 10lbs per fender. The fit and finish left much to be desired.

Hmm, how bad is the fit and finish, got any pics?

 

[Gailahan]

Hmm, how bad is the fit and finish, got any pics?

http://forums.stangnet.com/656858-1965-fastback-project-2.html

 

[mustbereel]

http://forums.stangnet.com/656858-1965-fastback-project-2.html

Yikes! you've linked him to a lot of reading material. I was going to take some pictures of the critical spots later. I went back though my pictures and decided the fenders look better in the photos than they do in person.

In the pictures at the botom of the linked page you can see the gap at the doors and around the cowl area. They also don't fit perfectly around the headlight buckets. One side was different than the other and required more work. I cut out areas of fiberglass behind the headlight buckets for clearance. The curve of the fender didn't match the curve of the door/rocker panel either. The surface is wavy as well. With more time and work I'm sure they can be made to look nearly as good as steel but I don't have the patience.

 

[Decurion]

I have 'glass fenders on my Falcon, made by Crites, and theyre nice, but then again the car is white. If you want top fit and finish and/or are using a dark color, just save yourself the trouble and use steel.

 

[Opentracker]

We use a lot of fiberglass on our track cars. The fit and finish is not critical for us. If it was, boy, you would have a lot of work ahead of you. Our '65 coup runs a glass front end as does our '66. I can pick up the hood with one finger, very light.

They look great going down the track at 100+ but sitting still, they don't. I have seen glass made to look nice but I'm not going down that road. I have done body work and I would say it would take 2-3 days worth of work for each fender. A lot of glass would have to be cut out and replaced and some "open spots" would need filling in.