fiberglass fender to door gap big!

[422STROKER]

 

Hi all I have problem with to big a gap along my door to fender line due to  fiberglass fenders.  It is really bad along the upper body line.  What would be the best way to close this gap besides replacing the fenders?  Thanks in advance

tom

[pink panther]

Tom, see if there is any suggestions here.

http://www.cuda-challenger.com/cc/index.php?topic=5693.0

[422STROKER]

 Thanks Panther,

I need to take some pcs because the fenders seem to fit ok along the gap at the bottom and top but there just seems to be some "missing fiberglass" at the major body line in the center of the door.  Has any one had to deal with this problem with fiberglass panels.  Do I just need to bite the bullet and buy steel?  They hacked the header panel to get the fenders in.  1972 Dodge Challenger. 



Also has anyone reattached the inner fender splash shield after a fender install can it be done?


Thanks
Tom

[EvilTwinATX]

Instead of buying steel fenders I bought buy some good fiberglass and build up the gaps by adding glass to the door edge and then sanding it down. If they were steel panels you would do the same thing by welding metal onto the door edge.

This way (fiberglass) would be much less expensive. I suspect that you are going to have fitment issues (at least small ones) with most aftermarket panels. post pics - that way we can see how big the gap is.

Evil

[422STROKER]

Heres a pic of the offending gap!

Tom

ANY suggestions I'm willing to try before I give it to the body shop  THANKS

[MEK-Dangerfield]

Tom,
  I'm sure I'm looking at an optical illusion. At first blush, I want to say the problem is the door... BUT it looks like if the fender were pushed in a little more in the middle, the gap would even itself out. Do you know what I mean? Does the fender kinda stick out beyond the door?

  Mike

[Grancoupe]

I had that problem too. Had to build the edge out to reach the door. It was a gap you could fit your fingers through. I built the edge back to the door so the opening was literally closed. Then fit a file in between the two and filed the space between them evenly. Good luck, hope this was enough info.

[422STROKER]

Thanks both sides are exac same so I hope its the fenders  They are fiberlass - so just some resin and cloth to build up ?or is there a better way ie:  fiber reinforced filler ? ANY body men with an answer?  Paint is only tolerable for another month 4th of july!  Not that I don't the colors just not all at once on the car...

Tom

[torredcuda]

You don`t want to use filler on an edge,it will chip off too easily.You need to grind the area down to the bare fiberglass and biuld it up with cloth and resin and reshape it to get an even edge.The good thing about fiberglass is it is fairly easy to work with and if you screw up just add more glass and try again.

[422STROKER]

thanks torredcuda for the info I'll give it a shot this weekend maybe

tom