aluminum fenders fitment and lines
 

I tried to do some research on this fenders ..has anyone had any obstacles when it comes to fitment ? welding required ? i did noticed at the sema show that the line on top of the fender was a bit rounded instead of being sharp

any input would be welcome

whats the weight on this fenders and hood ? thanks

The lines are the exact same lines as the steel repro fenders. The fitment is good but not perfect. I have been doing this long enough I used plenty of New GM when it was available, they were not perfect either. These cars never passed the Lexus ball bearing test.

Weight savings for the entire front clip is 115 LBS

Let me know if you decide to use them

I believe Gaetano (Track Junky) has an aluminum clip on. Get ahold of him.

What is the cost range for an entire front aluminum clip?

ok so the average fitment wouldnt require welding ? hopefully :_paranoid

$3000 gets

Front fenders left and rear
Hood
Header
Valanace
Deck lid
Bumpers front and rear.

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...MDAluminum.jpg

I just put the rear bumper on my street drag car. Looks perfect! Really cool part saved a quick 10LBS
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/DSC04962.jpg

No welding. If anything if you was going for the Lexus ball bearing gaps you could do some minor welding on the door edge.

ok thanks Frank ,thats all i needed to hear hehe

Do you have the same for a 1968 Firebird?

Nope, AMD makes only Camaro aluminum parts

Are the aluminum panels much more fragile or easier to dent than the regular sheet metal? Any hidden costs for the loss of the weight? (other than the upfront $$$ costs)

The fenders are very fragile and you dont want to be leaning on the tops of them when working in engine compartment. Also, my front fender wells have been cut up top due to accomodate ride height and tire fitment and tire marbles and gravel have hit the underneath of the tops of the fenders and made the tops look like they have pimples. Luckily it doesn't look to bad but it can be avoided and is something to think about.

My personal opinion, if you are serious about nailing good track times spend the money. If you think you will see more street time I wouldn't spend the money. You will constantly have to worry about someone leaning on your car and finding a crease in one of the panels.

Aluminum fenders
 

Someone else said you have to be careful leaning on them when you are working on the car, they get little dents real easy.

They are not that light. I worked on a couple lightweight early 60 cars and those fneders were glorified aluminum foil. These are the same thickness as the steel, so not at all as tender.

There are many ways to prevent damage.Stop dancing on fenders or install inner fenders.And somehow I still don't buy that you can damage fender tops by just leaning,

Wow, really? Many ways to prevent damage? Thanks, dont know what I'd do without you. What was I thinking when I decided to dance on my fenders?

And seriously bro, that part about many ways of preventing damage........absolutely brilliant!!:hail:

I have no benefeit or reason to make up what I said. If you dont believe me, talk to DreamSpeedMotors. They work and maintain my car on a regular basis.

I've seen steel fenders dented on top by elbows, I can only imagine what would happen with an aluminum fender.

Jody

Common sense tells me not to lean on fenders especially with elbows,no matter what car I'm working on,if people lack it,don't blame fenders,mmkay? :lateral:

maybe you need to tell them to lay off the car or use padded fender covers?:rolleyes:

but did you not just say

that's what I was responding to. You can absolutely damage fenders by leaning on them, and common sense would tell you that it's even easier to do with aluminum fenders............. So you say you don't believe that leaning on fenders can cause damage and then say you know not to lean on fenders because it may cause damage. :willy:

Jody

Maybe I haven't worded myself as I wanted to,but I simply said that I don't belive that fenders can be damaged by leaning on them and if anyone who has no common sense is working on a car without proper protection regardless of what material fenders are made of,I would make them pay for the damage.

In 20 plus years of doing body and paint I had a fair share of aluminum body parts that needed repair due to collision damage,not stupidity and most were tough parts,even Mitsubishi EVO VII & VIII fenders that don't even weigh a pound, granted I haven't had a chance to work on AMD aluminum parts yet,but I have on their steel parts.I'm not only a dealer for AMD ,I use them as well .

If you haven't worked with aluminum body parts, please don't confuse them with aluminum pots and pans, I have no degree in metallurgy,but can say that most aluminum alloy body and structural parts on late model cars are very resistant to damage,and when damaged are difficult to repair

Before you try to pick this post apart,I'll say: Anything can be damaged by neglect and carelessness.:cheers: Merry Christmas

we'll agree to disagree. I absolutely believe they are easily damaged by leaning on them, since I know that steel fenders can be damaged by leaning on them. Aluminum is much easier to distort in my opinion.

Have a great Christmas and New Year Stefan.

Jody

So to be clear, I have used the aluminum parts and while they are NOT as tender as the race aluminum parts of the old days, they are more tender then steel parts.

With that said, we do not own a fender cover, we just do not lean on fenders or store tools on them, period. It is that simple. The street drag car I posted pictures of has been painted since 1996. We have pulled the motor and freshened it / changed it 7 to 8 times. Change sparks plugs sometimes twice a day at the track switching from motor passes to NOS. We did just fog in the black on the car, flames are original, re cleared the entire car, there is not a ding or chip on the fenders in 14 years. And it has never had a fender cover on it.

I think I could dance on my steel ones (I have inner fenders); I really can't see how you could dent steel ones with elbows, unless they are like wrestling elbows to the fender groin or something :D

there you have it, 14 years and still not a ding, and it's not even a garage queen:cheers:

of course not, they don't lean on them or set anything on them............ kinda tough to damage them if you don't really touch them. :thumbsup:

My point was they are easier to dent or damage than steel, and Frank said the same. I've seen "mechanics dents" in the top of steel fenders from leaning on them, probably with elbows, so I'm sure these would do the same. I am not bad mouthing them, but they obviously require more care to keep them nice and straight.

Jody

all I'm saying is you can manage to work on a car and not cause any damage,but if you plan on leaning or bumping fenders with knees and elbows,dropping tools ,e.t.c. you may end up with dents,dunno

You are absolutely correct. I had to learn the hardway not to lean my elbows on the tops of the fenders while working in the engine compartment. It's a little difficult to notice creasing when using a fender cover. They did crease slightly and it was a lesson learned early on.

Not to say I dont like the product. I love the weight savings and would buy them again.

Just airing fair warning to anyone else interested in buying the product.

Cheers!!

wow! weird how a simple question turned up into a big ol discussion lol ...it reminds me of my wife :lol:

body shop built a nice mustang and had all the prep done.all final blocked out ect.had to send car out to another shop for some engine work.when the car returned the fender tops were filled with a bunch of low spots.they swear they didnt do it.this was steel fenders.
when i was working on my camaro a friend of a friend came by and was tipsy to say the least.he leaned right over and rested both elbows on fender top.i was kinda pissed and let it go for a few minutes.i had enough and said hey i dont wanna sound like a jerk but my whole front end is welded together/fender to valance ect./ can you not lean on the car.he went on for twenty minutes about its steel and wont hurt it.he was shown the door.lol

back to aluminum.my wife had several land rovers and i think they were aluminum.ugly as hell too.

Are 68 parts going to be made? or just 69?

When the AMD sheetmetal first came out, they were on display in the Rick's booth at Carlisle. The tops of the fenders were already lumpy from all the people coming by and tapping on them. These are from 2007.

Sound like race car parts. I can only imagine how many dents would be in my car from servicing to someone leaning, to a pebble on the road....

I know this is an old thread, but I've just mocked up a pair of AMD's aluminum fenders. I've had them for years, and wanted to use them on my current project (69 Camaro, natch).

Anyway, I'm disappointed. They are too flat... not enough curvature on the top line where it meets the hood.

Update: just off the phone with AMD. They no longer manufacture aluminum fenders. They've sold out their last batch and won't be offering them any more.

I have mine all fitted up John, they were a nightmare. I had the tops reinforced to help stop dents, we will see if it works.

Have you tried another hood ?

Every aftermarket cowl hood I've seen (metal or fiberglass) is high in the middle like that. I do not know as far as the CF hoods.

I hear ya about the hood... and no, I haven't tried another one. I don't have one lying around to try.

Besides, it's an Anvil CF hood, and has to stay.

AMD's installer is supposed to call me and we are going to talk about options. I think I'll see if I can get a discount on a set of their steel fenders. At least with a steel fender I can expect a body shop to be able to fix this. They won't do anything other than body filler on an aluminum fender.

I talked to Tracy (at Anvil) about this and he said to put the car outside in the sun, and weight the hood over the support beams along the edge to pull it into place.

So the hood is outside with 250 lbs of stuff on it in a 90 degree Florida sun. He said if that doesn't work, he'll send me another hood.