Steel inner fenders

[John S]

Anyone use Chevelle steel inner fenders? Heard they will fit with some mods. Bought new ABS plastic 3 years ago. Mediocre fit, did not match wheel opening and already cracked. Also they were thicker than original tighten the bolts and they sink into the plastic. Thinking about going steel. Any thoughts?

John S

[MC1of80]

Used the Chevelle  steel fenderwells on my 70 SS. LOVE THEM.  Only slight difference in a few mounting holes. 

[Canuck]

There are a couple aftermarket companies making the plastic inner fenders. I hear the ones from The Parts Place are the good ones.

[Michael Boyte]

I too have the steel fender Wells . Love them !!

 

[cbolt]

I purchased plastic fenders back in 2002 and am still happy with them. They don't rust, they haven't cracked, they are lightweight, and I don't care if I have to drill a hole in them to mount a wire loom strap or something like that. If I had to do it all over again I would buy plastic.. the nice ones from the parts place. Mine are chevelle inner fenders and don't quite match at the front and are missing the indentations for the wire harnesses on the drivers side.

With the hood closed on the interstate doing 80 mph they look as good or better than the metal ones.

[John S]

I got my plastic inner fenders from Year One. But The Parts Place was stamped on them and year one says they get them from the parts place. The right side is the one that fits bad it doesn’t match the fender opening, the left side fits fine I would get another plastic fender if I could buy just one. I can only buy them by the pair. As far as steel inner fender wells go I heard the ones from AMD are of good quality

John S

[MCfan]

Had 'em both. Prefer the Monte-specific plastic units from the Parts Place - hands down.

[MC1of80]

To each their own. I like the metal, makes the front end/nose stiffer, more solid. Especially at speed and over bumps.

[John S]

Thank you for your help and advice. Hopefully going to test the brakes tomorrow and see if I’ve got that problem resolved.

John S

[Rob Peters]

I have the replacement plastic ones and installed them around 2003 or 2004 and would do plastic again.  Mine have not cracked at all and still look very nice.

Like Thomas says... to each their own

rob

[714024SPEED]

Steel for me 😁 just my 2 cent's

[John S]

I do like the plastic inner fenders they look good just can’t understand or figure out why the right side is so far off it is nowhere close to conforming to the shape of the wheel well.As I stated earlier if I could buy just one I would go again with the plastic and see if that one might fit better I don’t want to buy two and have the same issue again  

John S

[Jared Richey]

Be very careful installing inner fenders in these cars..especially the steel ones,  there is a weak place in these fenders that will ripple them and will make you really sick after the all the body work is done.

[MCfan]

13 hours ago, Jared Richey said:

Be very careful installing inner fenders in these cars..especially the steel ones,  there is a weak place in these fenders that will ripple them and will make you really sick after the all the body work is done.

Great advice, Jared!  Guess I've been lucky so far as I was not aware of that risk.

Another critical factor when installing/re-installing steel inner fenders can be how and where the frame is supported with either jack stands, floor jacks or both.  After removing the steel inners on my '70 SS to completely refurbish them (stripped bare with POR-15 inside and black semi-gloss outside), I had a terrible time getting several of the holes to line up once a few of the fasteners were loosely in place. Adjusting the jack/support points was the ultimate solution but they sure don't go back in place as easy as you might hope or expect.  I've had the plastic inners off my other '70 several times and found them much easier to align.