Repairing rust has long been a problem for most of us. Let's face it, musclecars have not been built for close to thirty years, and those years can take a toll on things like sheetmetal. Maybe you can find the replacement parts you need at a swap meet, but how much will it cost to purchase that 30-year-old piece of metal that may have some small rusted areas, but is still better than what you have? Let's not even venture a guess what a rust-free piece of used sheetmetal can cost.
In the case of a Challenger, there have not been any new fenders around for close to 20 years. Finding a good used fender at swap meet is possible, but you better be ready to give up at least one arm for it. Sure someone may have one or two N.O.S. fenders still stashed away just waiting for the price to really get outrageous, but they've waited too long.
Finding a car that needs no...
Finding a car that needs no rust repair is virtually impossible anymore. After this challenger was pulled out of the barn, a good cleaning revealed some areas that need attention.
Right off of the bat, the...
Right off of the bat, the top of the passenger side fender showed an area of much needed repair...
...and same for the driver...
...and same for the driver side fender.
We found out that Goodmark Industries just finished tooling on brand-new Challenger fenders, and we thought we would put them to the test to see if they were actually any good. Sure, the idea and execution may look good on paper, and they may even have all the right body lines, but will they fit, and do they look right? We were fortunate enough to know a guy, Marty, who just happened to have a '72 Challenger that he recently purchased. The car had not seen the light of day since approximately 1991, but was in decent enough shape to justify restoring.
To remove the fenders, the...
To remove the fenders, the 90-pound bumper and the grill assembly needs to come off. The rest of the job is simply unbolting them.
After we removed the driver...
After we removed the driver side, we found what resembled a folded-up screen door and body filler filling a hole. Yep, we definitely needed to replace the old fenders.
With the new and old fender...
With the new and old fender side-by-side, you can see how the new fender's embossing lines match the originals. Other than some minor differences, like inner-most body form, it looks like factory.