Angry Johnny's 69 Camaro Build

[joeko23]

Hey John, have you tried to put a straight edge in the peak between the fender and door? On mine the the peak goes in and I have about 1/4” gap. Do you have this problem too? Wondering how to deal with this?

[214Chevy]

Looking good John...

[Rodknock]

Originally Posted by joeko23

Hey John, have you tried to put a straight edge in the peak between the fender and door? On mine the the peak goes in and I have about 1/4” gap. Do you have this problem too? Wondering how to deal with this?

I'm no body expert, but it seems as though if the fender peak is too far in, and it needs pushed out, you might need to remove shims at the top of the fender and possibly the bottom to make the fender "push out" in the middle. You'll still keep your door gap width. Just shim accordingly to keep the height correct.
Another thing to try is remove the fender and place it with the inside facing up on the ground and put blocks of wood along the top and bottom to support it, and then step on the fender to try to bend it outward a little. I had to do this with one of mine, but the other way, as the peak was too far out.

One thing with these cars, is you will be using body filler to perfect it. There's no getting around it, unless you're a metal working expert.

Also make sure the fenders are attached to the core support, because just a little bit of movement up front will make a difference at the door. I loosely bolt the entire front end, to the car, and don't tighten the inner wheel wells, because you want to be able to have movement of the fenders.

Originally Posted by 214Chevy

Looking good John...

Thank you!!

[joeko23]

Thanks John, I’ll try to push it out. Just don’t want 1/4” of body filler. That’s sure to chip off. Thanks!

[Rodknock]

Originally Posted by joeko23

Thanks John, I’ll try to push it out. Just don’t want 1/4” of body filler. That’s sure to chip off. Thanks!

That's why I used the Eastwood body solder to build up my passenger fender, because I knew to much filler isn't good. Tends to shrink over time as well. At lease the solder is actual metal, and won't shrink.
Is your fender an aftermarket one?

[joeko23]

Yes aftermarket doors and fenders. The peak bows in where it meets door to fender. If I add filler or metal it will then rub on the inside of the fender when I open the door. The body shop that was undercoating and painting firewall suggested to cut the edge of the peak and pull it out. Then weld it. That’s the only way they said it won’t rub.

[dhutton]

Originally Posted by joeko23

Yes aftermarket doors and fenders. The peak bows in where it meets door to fender. If I add filler or metal it will then rub on the inside of the fender when I open the door. The body shop that was undercoating and painting firewall suggested to cut the edge of the peak and pull it out. Then weld it. That’s the only way they said it won’t rub.

I have had to cut the inner edge brace of the fender to get the shape correct. Then reweld the cut once you have the shape you need.

Don

[waynieZ]

I agree with Don, that way you still get the stiffness you need to hold the fender shape and you get the room you need.

[Rodknock]

Originally Posted by dhutton

I have had to cut the inner edge brace of the fender to get the shape correct. Then reweld the cut once you have the shape you need.

Don

When I was having issues with an AMD driver fender, I had a guy tell me the same thing. He said cut the brace in the back by the "V" in the fender, and it will cause it to basically "relax" into place.
I ended up finding an OEM fender, so I didn't have to deal with that issue.

[Rodknock]

This is an issue that has plagued me from the start. Trying to fix the droopy eye, which seems to be a common issue on 69's on the driver side especially. Don't know why. When I had an AMD fender it was even more pronounced. Not quite as bad with an OEM fender.
The fix was so simple, I don't know why I didn't do it before. Just a little cut with a cutoff wheel, move it down, and re-weld. 10 minute fix.

Here's how it was before. It was way worse at one time, but some tweaking and pulling got it close. I'll post a pic of the original issue before the OEM fender first, so you can see how bad it was.

Here's the only pic I had. Even though the grille isn't bolted in, you can see the extreme angle it has.



Here's how it looked before the easy fix. I was almost willing to "live with it" till I tried one last thing.









Here's where I made the cut, and welded back together.





The final outcome, and a comparison shot. I even did the passenger side, just to flatten it out a little more.